SMU Volleyball Knocks Off Cincinnati
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CINCINNATI, Ohio (SMU) – SMU knocked Cincinnati from the ranks of the unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference with a 3-1 win on the road Friday night in Fifth Third Arena. Abbey Bybel led the Mustangs (13-2, 2-1 The American) with 13 kills, and Caroline Young added 10.
The Mustangs ended the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set. SMU had to hold off another late charge from Cincinnati (10-5, 2-1 The American). Trailing 22-16, the Bearcats scored three straight, cutting the SMU lead to 22-19. Bybel scored back-to-back kills to get SMU to match point, 24-19, and won on a service error after Cincinnati scored its final point.
Morgan Heise led the defense with 17 digs, and SMU recorded 9.0 blocks as a team. Kristen Stehling tallied five blocks with seven kills, and Avery Acker and Janelle Giordano were each credited with four blocks. Giordano also had eight kills, while Acker totaled 39 assists and six digs. SMU finished the match with a .224 attack percentage, while hitting above .380 in each of the first two sets. Cincinnati hit just .136 in the match, as SMU finished with 43 digs.
SMU cruised to a 25-15 victory in the second set. The Mustangs hit .387, while
holding Cincinnati to a .115 attack percentage for the second straight set. SMU scored four of the first five points in the second set with three kills and an ace, and built a 20-12 lead before committing their third and final attack error of the set. The Mustangs finished with 15 kills in the set, while the Bearcats scored their 16th kill of the match for their 15th point of the set.
The Bearcats kept the match alive with a 25-19 win in the 3rd set. With the score tied, 12-12, Cincinnati scored four in a row for a 16-12 lead. The Mustangs battled, trying the complete the sweep, but were only able to get within a point once down the stretch, 17-16. Cincinnati outscored SMU 8-3 down the stretch to take the set. SMU had just nine kills with 10 errors in the set, while the Bearcats had 12 kills, nearly as many as the first two sets combined.
The Mustangs held off a Cincinnati charge late in the first set to win 25-17. SMU broke a 6-6 tie with a string of five straight points for an 11-6 lead. The Mustangs pushed the advantage to nine, 21-12, but the Bearcats rallied to cut the lead to six, 23-17. Bybel and Stehling scored back-to-back kills to keep Cincinnati from scoring again, giving SMU the 1-0 advantage in the match. Stehling finished with six kills, while SMU held Cincinnati to just eight as a team.
SMU takes on Memphis Sunday at 1 p.m. as it completes the first road trip in The American conference action. For more information, including how to follow or watch the match, visit www.SMUMustangs.com.
