SMU Volleyball Scores Historic Win
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DALLAS (SMU) – SMU (5-1) won three straight sets to defeat No. 24 Oklahoma (4-2) 3-2 (16-25, 15-25, 26-24, 25-23, 16-14) in front of the second-largest home crowd in program history, 1,049, to win the SMU Doubletree Invitational. The win is the first over a nationally ranked opponent in program history.
SMU scored back-to-back points on a kill from Abbey Bybel and a block by Caroline Young and Janelle Giordano to win the fifth set 16-14. The Mustangs found themselves trailing 8-5 as the teams switched sides, but rallied to tie the score, 10-10. Neither team led by more than one again until SMU scored the last point to claim the victory.
Young was named tournament MVP after scoring a season-high 23 kills against Oklahoma. Morgan Heise was named Best Libero, posting 18 digs in the win. Janelle Giordano and Abbey Bybel also earned all-tournament honors.
SMU had 72 digs in the match, and Avery Acker recorded 55 assists and 16 digs. Bybel finished the match with 15 kills and 15 digs. Cailin Bula scored 14 kills to give SMU three players in double figures.
The Mustangs scored three straight points to win the third set 26-24, extending the match with the victory. Young had a set-high eight kills, and Bybel added seven as SMU rallied for the win. The score was tied 10-10 when
Oklahoma scored twice for a 12-10 lead, but the Mustangs didn’t let them pull away. SMU tied the set 15-15, but again fell behind. The Sooners worked for a four-point lead, 22-18, but the Mustangs rallied for four straight to tie the set, 22-22. After two straight Oklahoma points, the Mustangs took the set with a four-point run, scoring on three kills and a block.
SMU forced a fifth set with a 25-23 win in the fourth. The Sooners scored three straight points before the Mustangs scored on their fourth set-point serve to take the victory. SMU scored five of the first six points, and stretched the lead to eight, 10-2, but the Sooners came all the way back to tie the score, 13-13. The match was still tied 10 points later, 18-18, before the Mustangs scored three straight for a 21-18 lead, setting up the final dramatic series. Bybel scored the final kill of the set for her 11th of the match.
Despite five kills by Young, Oklahoma took the first set 25-16. The Sooners notched six blocks, and hit .400 with 15 kills and just one error. With the score tied 5-5, Oklahoma went on an 8-3 run to take a five-point lead, 13-8. The Sooners scored four of the last five points to end the set.
Young again scored five kills, reaching double figures after the second set, but the Sooners rode another high attack percentage to a 25-15 win in the second set. Oklahoma hit .455 with 15 kills and no errors for the win. SMU scored to cut the Oklahoma lead to two, 9-7, but the Sooners scored four straight for a 13-7 lead. The Mustangs were unable to recover, falling behind 2-0 in the match.
SMU travels to Arkansas for a tournament next weekend. The Mustangs will face Stony Brook Friday at 4 p.m. On Saturday, SMU will take on South Dakota and host Arkansas.
