SMU Volleyball Loses To UAB
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SMU) – Caroline Young had a match-high 24 kills to lead the Mustangs, but UAB took the match with a 15-12 win in the fifth set for the 3-2 victory (18-25, 25-15, 25-17, 20-25, 15-12). SMU was able to fight off three match points before the Blazers scored the final point.
Young was one of three Mustangs with at least 10 kills with freshman Abbey Bybel scoring 13 kills and five digs, and Maddie Lozano posted 10 kills with five blocks. Olivia Bailey finished the match with 48 assists and a match-high 17 digs.
SMU had the advantage in digs, recording 78 in the match to UAB’s 73, but the Blazers (16-11, 8-3 Conference USA) had 12 blocks to seven by the Mustangs (8-15, 5-6 C-USA). Sam Skinner led the Blazers with 22 kills and 16 digs, joining SMU’s Bailey with the match’s only double-doubles.
The Mustangs came back to even the match in the fourth set, taking a 25-20 victory. SMU went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead, and held off a charge at the end by the Blazers for the five-point win. Bybel had five kills in the set, and Lozano had four to lead the Mustangs.
In the first set, Young had a set-high nine kills to lead the Mustangs to a 25-18 win over the Blazers. The Mustangs never
trailed by more than one point in the opening frame, and broke a 15-15 tie with a 10-3 run to close out the set and take the early advantage. SMU beat the Blazers 22 digs to 16, and hit .410 for the set.
The Blazers evened the match in the second set, erasing a 10-5 SMU lead with a 6-1 run to tie the score at 11. After the Mustangs score the next two points, the Blazers scored 14 of the next 16 points to take a 25-15 win and even the match 1-1. UAB held Young to just two kills, posting four blocks, and hit .351 in the set.
SMU scored four of the first six points in the third set, but UAB quickly erased the lead, scoring nine of the next 11 points for an 11-5 lead. The Mustangs rallied late, going on a 5-2 run, but the deficit was too great. UAB held off the charge to take a 2-1 lead in the match with the 25-17 victory. Young added seven kills in the set for the Mustangs to take her match total to 18.
The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum on Sunday to host Memphis at 1 p.m. SAAC is sponsoring a Pack the House event, and will provide free food.
