SMU Volleyball Wins At USF
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TAMPA, Fla. (SMU) – SMU improved to 22-5 overall and 11-4 in the American Athletic Conference with a 3-1 victory (26-24, 20-25, 25-21, 25-10) against USF Friday night in the Corral Gymnasium. Avery Acker recorded her 22nd double-double of the season with 39 assists and 18 digs in the win.
The Mustangs never trailed in the fourth set, taking an 11-3 lead to start the final set. SMU extended the lead to 15-5, and never let the Bulls gain momentum, easing to the 25-10 win that ended the match. Cailin Bula had five kills in the set, and SMU hit .591 as a team, while USF(11-16, 5-10 The American) hit -.069 with seven errors and only five kills.
Bula finished the match with nine kills, hitting .290 with zero errors. Caroline Young led the Mustangs with 14 kills, and Abbey Bybel added 10. Morgan Heise had a team-high 22 digs, but Erin Fairs posted 35 for the Bulls to go with 20 kills. Byble also had 13 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.
The Mustangs scored the last three points of the first set to win 26-24, winning on a
kill from Stehling. SMU trailed by as many as four points, 17-13, in the back-and-forth opening set, but scored six of the next seven points to take a 19-18 lead. The Mustangs extended the lead to three, 23-20, but USF scored the next four before the final rally by the Mustangs.
USF evened the match in the second with a 25-20 victory. SMU scored the first point of the set, but it was the only lead for the Mustangs. The Bulls scored the next five, and pushed the lead to six, 15-9. The Mustangs didn’t get back within three the rest of the set.
SMU came out in the third set and took a 12-6 lead it wouldn’t relinquish. The Mustangs trailed just once, 3-2, but went on a 10-3 run to take control en route to a 2-1 lead in the match. The Bulls fought back to within two points, 19-17, and fought off two set points before Bybel scored the final point on a kill. SMU hit .300 in the set, hitting above .200 for the first time in the match.
The Mustangs conclude the road trip at UCF Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. CT. SMU is two matches behind the league-leading Knights, who are 13-2 in The American.
