SMU Volleyball Wins 10th Straight
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DALLAS (SMU) – The Mustangs won 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) against College of Charleston, matching the longest win streak in program history with their 10th straight win to improve to 10-1, the best start in program history. SMU won 10 consecutive matches in 2003, and started the 7-1 in 2006. The Cougars fell to 7-7 with the loss.
SMU rallied from behind in the third set, scoring four straight, including a pair of kills from Caroline Young, to take a 22-19 lead. Charleston evened the score, 22-22, before SMU scored three in a row to close out the match. Charleston took an 11-7 lead, but the Mustangs battled back to tie the score, 11-11. Neither team led by more than one until SMU’s late run for the 22-19 advantage.
Abbey Bybel and Cailin Bula eached scored a match-high 12 kills, and Bybel finished with five digs. Young recorded 11 kills and seven digs, and Morgan Heise tallied 11 digs. The Mustangs hit just .235, but held the
Cougars to a .170 attack percentage. Avery Acker posted 38 assists and eight digs for SMU, which scored 45 kills in the match.
The Mustangs built a big lead, but had to hold on at the end to win the first set 25-22. SMU went on a 9-1 run to break an 8-8 tie and take a 17-9 lead in the set. The Cougars rallied for five of the next six points, cutting the lead to four, 18-14. SMU stretched the lead back to six, 21-15, with a kill and an ace from Bula on back-to-back points, but Charleston fought back to within one, 21-20. The Mustangs scored the next three points to get to 24-20. After the Cougars scored twice, Bybel blasted her fourth kill of the set for the win.
With a two-point lead in the second set, 20-18, SMU out-scored the Cougars 5-2 for a 25-20 win and 2-0 lead in the match. The Mustangs scored four of the first five points, scoring four straight after an error gave Charleston the first point. Three kills by three different Mustangs during a 3-1 run extended the lead to six, 12-6. The Cougars again battled back, scoring four unanswered to cut the lead to two, 12-10. SMU stretched it to four, 18-14, but Charleston stayed within reach until the final push by the Mustangs.
SMU goes for its third straight tournament championship Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against New Mexico in Moody Coliseum. The Lobos are 7-4 after two wins in the SMU Doubletree Classic.
