SMU Volleyball Rallies To Beat Tulane
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DALLAS (SMU) – The Mustangs won the fourth and fifth sets for a 3-2 comeback win at home against Tulane (18-25, 25-12, 21-25, 25-19, 25-10). SMU built an eight point lead late in the fourth, and held off the surging Green Wave, who cut the lead to four, 23-19, forcing the fifth set with Maddie Lozano’s first ace of the match to take the fourth 25-19.
The junior transfer had another pair of aces up her sleeve in the fifth set. With the score tied 7-7, Lozano blasted a kill to give the Mustangs the lead and send Lozano to the service line. She sent her first serve to the back right corner, clipping tape as Tulane’s Grave Weaver watched it fall in. Her second serve was a blast just short of Weaver, who hit the ball into the stands to give SMU a 10-7 lead. Tulane never got within three points again, and SMU took the match with the 15-10 win.
Caroline Young led the Mustangs with 20 kills, hitting .500 for the match, and also had three aces and three blocks. Freshman Abbey Bybel had 13 kills and five digs, and Lozano finished with 11 kills and five blocks. Courtney Manning also had five blocks, pushing her career total to 540, extending her SMU career record.
After Tulane (4-15, 2-6 Conference USA) took the first set, scoring 17 kills to SMU’s 12, the
Mustangs (7-13, 4-4 C-USA) dominated the second set the even the match. The Mustangs scored four of the first five points, including two kills by Young, and never lost the lead. After 15 points, the lead was five, and SMU scored four blocks to just one by Tulane on the way to a 25-12 win.
SMU kicked off the third set on a 4-1 run, and maintained the three-point advantage with a 10-7 lead. The Green Wave rallied to take a 17-14 lead, but the Mustangs scored the next three points to even the set. With the score still tied, 21-21, the Green Wave scored four straight points to win 25-21.
Olivia Baily recorded 42 assists and seven kills with eight digs, and freshman Cailin Bula scored seven kills with eight digs and three blocks. Five Mustangs had at least three blocks in the match. SMU will host UTEP on Sunday at 1 p.m., before concluding the homestand against Tulsa Friday at 7 p.m. in the annual “Dig Pink” match.
