Mustangs Come Back To Win Five-Set Thriller Over Memphis
DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team came back to win a thrilling five-set match against Memphis, winning the final three sets for the 3-2 win (23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-14, 15-13). Dana Powell led the Mustangs (11-14, 7-6 Conference USA) with 14 kills and 11 digs for her team-high 15th double-double of the season.
Jessica Oliver, Courtney Manning and Caroline Daly all combined for nine blocks each to lead SMU to a season-high 19.0 blocks, matching the second-highest match total in school history. Oliver also had 13 kills and Caroline Young added 12 to go with Powell’s 14. Sidney Stewart had a match-high 19 digs, and Savannah Myklebust added 10.
The Mustangs clinched the win in the fifth set, edging out the Tigers late in the race to 15 points. Neither team led by more than one point until Memphis (15-11, 4-9 C-USA) scored the first point after the teams switched sides to take a 9-7 lead. SMU tied the set at 10, but trailed by two again 12-10 before scoring five of the next six points for a 15-13 win to take the match.
SMU sent the match to a decisive set with a pair of dominating wins in the third and fourth sets. After Memphis opened the fourth set with a service error, Myklebust served the next five to lead SMU to a 5-0 lead before the Tigers scored. Memphis never got closer than three points down the rest of the set, and SMU took a 25-14 win. After the extended break, SMU opened the third with a 12-5 run. The Tigers couldn’t recover, and SMU stayed alive with a 25-16 win.
Memphis narrowly edged SMU in the first two sets, despite long runs in both sets. The Tigers scored nine in a row in the second set to take a 20-13 lead. SMU rallied, but were only to get as close as two points, 23-21, before falling 25-21. In the first set, it was the Tigers who overcame a large deficit to claim victory. SMU led 11-3, but the Tigers scored six straight to cut the margin to two. The set was close all the way to the end, but it was the Tigers taking it with a 25-23 win.
The Mustangs open a four-match road trip against Southern Miss on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. After two in Hattiesburg, Miss., SMU takes on Houston and Rice in Houston before returning home for the final three matches of the season.
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