SMU Volleyball Sweeps Connecticut
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STORRS, Conn. (SMU) – The Mustangs swept Connecticut in the first American Athletic Conference match of the season, improving to 9-5 overall with the sixth 3-0 win of the season (25-21, 25-20, 25-15). Caroline Young had 15 kills to lead SMU, and the Mustangs finished with 44 digs and 10.5 blocks.
Avery Acker posted her team-high fifth double-double of the season with 37 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Morgan Heise also matched Acker with a match-high 12 digs and had eight assists. Young was the only player in the match to get to double figures in kills, but Cailin Bula and Abbey Bybel each scored nine. Bybel also recorded 10 digs. Lozano posted six blocks in the match and scored seven kills.
SMU held Connecticut (8-7, 0-1 American) to just 15 points in the final set, coming out of the intermission with a 7-2 run. The Huskies never got within four points the rest of the way. Leading 13-8, the Mustangs went on their second 7-2 run of the set for a 20-10 lead. Connecticut scored its final point of the match before Young scored the last two points to end the match.
In the 1st set, SMU quickly established a four-point lead, going ahead 8-4. The Mustangs then scored nine of the next 14 points to push the lead to eight, 17-9. The Huskies rallied back to cut the lead to three, 19-16, but SMU used a timeout to refocus. The Mustangs scored the first three points out of the break, and held off a late charge to take the first set 25-21. Young and Bula each had five points in set, with SMU scoring 16 kills to Connecticut’s nine.
The Mustangs went on a 6-1 run midway through the second set, taking an 11-9 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Connecticut scored three straight to take an 8-5 lead, but after a service error by the Huskies, Young followed a kill from Bybel with back-to-back aces to give the Mustangs the 9-8 lead. Connecticut tied the score 11-11 before the Mustangs went on another run, taking a five-point lead, 18-13. Young and freshman Janelle Giordano sparked the run with two kills each. The Huskies again made a late run, but Bula blasted her eight kill of the match to give SMU the 25-20 win for a 2-0 lead in the match.
SMU wraps up its first conference road trip at Rutgers Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. The Mustangs return home next weekend, hosting Louisville Friday at 7 p.m. and Cincinnati Sunday at 1 p.m.
