SMU Volleyball Drops 2
AUSTIN, Texas (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team was mere points away from a different outcome against No. 8 Texas in the Time Warner Cable Texas Classic, but fell 3-0 after a hard fought match in the first of two matches Saturday.
Kelli Becerra stretched her string of double-doubles to four straight, finishing with 13 assists and 14 digs against Texas (5-3). The SMU senior setter also had 23 assists and 10 digs in the Mustangs’ 3-2 loss against Santa Clara (5-6) in the second match of the day for SMU (5-7).
The Mustangs fought off two match points in the third set against the Longhorns, tying the set 24-24, but Texas won the next two points to close out the match. After a gut-wrenching loss in the first set, the Mustangs went down in the second set 25-21.
While the third set was the closest of the match, SMU had its biggest opportunity taken away in the first set. The Mustangs charged out to a 12-6 lead over their ranked opponent, and were just five points away from taking the first set leading 20-15. The Longhorns managed to take the next 10 points for a 25-20 win.
Sidney Stewart led the Mustangs with 18 digs, and freshman Caroline Young had a team-high seven kills. Courtney Manning and Caroline Daly each had five blocks as SMU scored 10 as a team.
Against Santa Clara, four Mustangs had at least 10 kills, including Young who led SMU with season-high 15 kills. Dana Powell finished with 10 kills and 16 digs, and Manning had 11 kills with seven blocks in the loss.
Trailing 13-10 in the decisive fifth set, a pair of Young kills pulled SMU to within one, but Santa Clara scored kills on the next two points to win the match with a 15-12 set win. SMU forced the fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth. SMU trailed by three early in the set, but took its first lead, 7-6, and never trailed again.
In the first set, SMU scored four of the last five points to take a 25-22 win for a 1-0 lead in the match. Santa Clara took the second set, a back-and-forth affair, 27-25 with a pair of kills after SMU fought off two set points. Santa Clara kept the momentum, taking the third set 25-20.
The Mustangs begin Conference USA matches Friday when they travel to Orlando, Fla., to face UCF at 6 p.m. CT. SMU will conclude the first weekend of C-USA action at UTEP on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
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