SMU Volleyball Falls At UCF
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ORLANDO, Fla. (SMU) – UCF came back to win the fourth and fifth sets for a 3-2 victory (25-18, 16-25, 20-25, 27-25, 15-11) against SMU Sunday afternoon in The Venue at UCF. Four Mustangs finished with at least 10 kills, led by Caroline Young and Abbey Bybel who each recorded 17.
SMU took a 6-3 lead to start the fifth, with backup setter McKenzie Shea playing for injured starter Avery Acker, but the Knights rallied back to take a 7-6 lead. SMU retook the lead 10-9, but a 5-1 run by the Knights erased SMU’s one-point lead, giving UCF the match with the 15-12 win. The Knights improved to 21-7 overall, and lead the American Athletic Conference with a 14-2 record. The Mustangs fell to 22-6, 11-5 in The American.
Cailin Bula scored 14 kills, and Kristen Stehling added 11 for SMU. Morgan Heise finished with 30 digs, reaching 30 for the fourth time this season. Avery Acker posted her 23rd double-double of the season with 49 assists and 15 digs before leaving the match late in the fourth set.
UCF took a 5-1 lead to start the fourth set, but SMU came back to take an 8-7 lead. The Mustangs took a three-point lead, 15-12, but UCF again fought back, taking a 19-17 lead. SMU erased the deficit, and took
a 24-23 lead. UCF scored four of the next five points to win the set 27-25, forcing a fifth set.
The Mustangs held off a late charge by the Knights to win the third set 25-20. SMU took an 8-3 lead to start the set, and led by as many as seven, 18-11. UCF rallied to within three, 19-16, and cut the lead to two, 22-20. SMU then scored the next three, finishing the set with kills from Giordano and Young for a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Knights took an 11-5 lead to start the first set, and held the advantage throughout for a 25-18 victory. SMU trailed by seven, 14-7, but rallied to cut the lead to four, 16-12, but couldn’t get any closer. UCF committed just three errors, hitting .424 with 17 kills, while the Mustangs hit just .189 with 12 kills, including seven by Young.
The Mustangs evened the match with a 25-16 victory in the second set. SMU took a 9-4 lead, quickly bouncing back from the first-set loss. UCF rallied to within one, 11-10, but a kill from Bula and a setting error by the Knights sent the lead back to three points, 13-10. SMU pushed the lead to six on a 5-1 run, ending the threat from UCF. SMU hit .346, while holding the Knights to a .179 attack percentage with nine digs and four blocks for the Mustangs.
SMU returns home for three of its last four matches, starting against Connecticut Friday night in Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. The Mustangs will celebrate their three senior after Sunday’s match against Temple at 1 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.
