SMU Volleyball Wins 11th Straight

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DALLAS (SMU) – The Mustangs won 15-13 in the fifth set, extending their program-best win streak to 11 matches after dropping the first match of the season at San Francisco. Caroline Young led the Mustangs with 21 kills, and Cailin Bula earned tournament MVP, scoring 17 kills in the win.

Simone Henderson had just one attack error in the match, getting blocked by Kristen Stehling on the final point to give SMU the 15-13 win in the fifth set. Young scored a kill on the previous point, giving SMU the first and only match point. New Mexico (7-5) took a two-point lead early, 6-4, but after the Mustangs tied it, 7-7, neither team trailed by more than one point until SMU ended the match.

Avery Acker finished with a career-high 62 assists and 12 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. Abbey Bybel recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 13 digs. Young had 13 digs for her second double-double, earning all-tournament honors. Janelle Giordano was also named to the all-tournament team, scoring 12 kills and two blocks against the Lobos. Morgan Heise finished with 27 digs, earning her third straight tournament Best Libero award.

SMU nearly ended the match in the third set, but New Mexico held on late to

win 25-23. The Mustangs rallied from behind, 16-12, to take a 21-19 lead, but the Lobos used four kills and a block to out-score SMU 6-2 and avoid the sweep. New Mexico had five blocks in the set and held SMU to a .120 attack percentage in the set.

In the fourth set, SMU was down three, 20-17, and rallied back to tie it, 20-20, but could never take the lead. New Mexico had two attempts at set point, 24-22, but the Mustangs won both points. The score was tied for the eighth time in the set, 25-25, before New Mexico scored back-to-back points for the 27-25 win, forcing the decisive fifth set.

SMU hit .205 for the match, but New Mexico posted 18.0 blocks. The Mustangs finished with 81 digs and 72 kills, while the Lobos had 71 digs and 66 kills. The Mustangs also scored on seven aces, three by Young.

The Mustangs scored seven of the first 10 points in the first set and held the advantage throughout to win 25-19. The Lobos cut the lead to two, 9-7, but with a 12-10 lead, the Mustangs stretched it to six, 16-10, scoring on two kills and a block after a New Mexico attack error. The Lobos didn’t get within for the rest of the way, and SMU led by as many as eight in the set. Bula led the offense with five kills, and Heise had seven digs in the set.

SMU trailed 23-19 late in the second set, but scored six straight points to win 25-23 for a 2-0 advantage in the match. SMU scored two kills and two blocks before Young ended the set with her second ace of the match. The Lobos took a 12-6 lead, and led by as many as seven, 16-9, threatening the even the match 1-1. The Mustangs trail 20-15 before erasing the deficit and finishing the set on a 10-3 run.

The Mustangs begin play in the American Athletic Conference Friday in Moody Coliseum against UCF at 7 p.m. SMU will also host USF Sunday at 1 p.m. The first kills clinic for fans 12 and under will follow the match Sunday.

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