SMU Volleyball Wins Streak Ends

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DALLAS (SMU) – The Mustangs win streak ended in heartbreaking fashion Friday night as UCF took the fifth set 16-14 in Moody Coliseum in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener. SMU had won 11 straight before the loss, falling to 11-2 overall, while the Knights improved to 8-5.

SMU erased an early deficit in the fifth, and took a 13-11 lead, but the Kinghts scored five of the last six points for the win, taking the match on back-to-back kills. The Mustangs had four blocks in the final set, and Morgan Heise had five of the team’s 17 digs, but SMU could only muster six kills. UCF hit just .026, scoring only nine kills, but the two at the end were enough for the win.

The Mustangs had four attackers with at least 10 kills, led by 15 from Cailin Bula. Caroling Young scored 13, and Kristen Stehling and Janelle Giordano each finished with 12. Avery Acker had 59 assists and 10 digs for her 10th double double of the season. Heise recorded 23 digs in the match, and Giordano also had nine of SMU’s 14 blocks.

SMU rallied from five points back in the fourth to win 25-21, forcing the fifth set. UCF built

a 15-10 lead, but the Mustangs went on a 7-2 run to tie the score, 17-17, scoring on four kills, two blocks and an ace from Young. SMU won the race to 25, holding the Knights to just four more points in the set.

It took 32 points, but the Mustangs won the 1st set 32-30 against UCF, scoring on a kill from Stehling and a block by Giordano and Byble to secure the victory. SMU scored seven of the first 10 points, but the Knights scored seven of the next 10 to even the score. The advantage never got larger than two points for either team the rest of the set. UCF fought off six SMU attempts at set point, and had one attempt of its own, before the Mustangs scored the final point.

Acker recorded assists on 22 of SMU’s 25 kills in the first set, and Giordano scored eight kills. SMU hit .354 as a team, and Bula hit .857 with six kills in seven attempts. UCF hit .298, scoring 19 kills in the first set.

UCF evened the match in the second set, taking a 10-point lead early, 13-3. SMU scored just six kills in the set, falling 25-10. The Knights hit .381, and had 14 digs with three blocks. Stehling led the SMU offense with three kills.

The Knights took the third set, 25-19, for a 2-1 lead in the match. The Mustangs erased a four-point deficit, scoring five straight to take an 11-10 lead. UCF went on a 6-1 run out of its own timeout for a 16-12 lead, and kept SMU at bay down the stretch to take the set.

The Mustangs take on USF Sunday at 1 p.m. in the final match of the homestand. SMU goes to Cincinnati and Memphis next weekend for the first road contests in American Athletic Conference play.

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