SMU Volleyball Loses At Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (SMU) – Junior transfer Maddie Lozano led the Mustangs with nine kills and five blocks, but it wasn’t enough to help SMU avoid the sweep by Houston on the road Sunday. Lozano hit .267 for the match, and had four kills in the third set, keeping SMU within striking distance, but Houston took the third set 25-23 to complete the sweep (25-17, 25-15, 25-23).

SMU took a 12-10 lead midway through the third set, and continued to hold the two-point advantage, leading 20-18. The Cougars (3-12, 2-3 Conference USA) scored the next three points to take a 21-20 lead. SMU (4-13, 1-4 C-USA) rallied back to take a 23-22 lead, but Houston used another three-point run to complete the sweep with the 25-23 win.

The Cougars took the early advantage in the match, answering a four-point run by the Mustangs early in the first set with a 7-3 stretch at the end of the set, taking a 1-0 lead with the 25-17 win. Houston put itself in position to sweep SMU with a 25-15 win in the second set. The Cougars scored four of the first five points and never trailed in the second set.

Carla Armstrong finished with eight kills and a team-high nine digs for the Mustangs. The sophomore also had four aces and a block. Courtney Manning added a block to take her career total to 526, needing just five to break Kendra Kahanek’s SMU record.

The Mustangs are on the road again next weekend, taking on UCF in Orlando, Fla., at 6 p.m. CT. SMU will conclude the four-match road trip against Southern Miss on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Hattiesburg, Miss.