SMU Volleyball Drops Close Five Set Match At Memphis

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team dropped a tight match Friday, falling 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-13) at Memphis. Caroline Young and Jessica Oliver led the Mustangs with 10 kills each, but the Tigers finished with 65 kills to SMU’s 40.

The Mustangs posted 14.0 blocks, led by Courtney Manning’s eight, while Memphis had just four blocks. SMU also had a higher attack percentage, hitting .216 while Memphis hit just .172, but the Tigers escaped with a two-point win in the fifth set to take the victory.

After the Tigers (15-6, 4-4 Conference USA) took the first set, breaking away near the midpoint for a 25-18 win, the Mustangs (7-13, 3-5 C-USA) took a pair of dominating victories to get within one set of the victory. SMU rebounded after the first-set loss to take a 17-11 lead in the second set. Memphis never got close as SMU continued to extend the lead for a 25-16 win to tie the match.

The Mustangs maintained the momentum in the third set, building a 12-6 lead. Again, the Mustangs kept the Tiger offense quiet on their way to a 25-15 set win. The Tigers answered in the fourth set, scoring the first six points, a lead SMU was never able to overcome. The Tigers held on for a 25-17 win the even the match.

SMU broke an early tie in the decisive set to take a four-point lead, 10-6, in the race to 15, but after Memphis used its last timeout, the Mustangs managed just three more points. The Tigers out-scored SMU 9-3 take the victory on their home floor.

Sidney Stewart had 16 digs in the match, pushing her career total to 1,981. She will continue her pursuit to become the first Mustang ever and fourth person in Conference USA history to reach 2,000 digs in a career when SMU takes on UAB Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., at noon.

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