Volleyball falls at No. 20 Purdue

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Falls At No. 20 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (SMU)- The SMU volleyball team fell in a four set battle (25-21, 14-25, 17-25, 23-25) against No. 20 Purdue in the first game of the Stacey Clark Classic on Friday night in Holloway Gymnasium on the campus of Purdue.

Naya Shime recorded 16 kills on .517 hitting and added three digs. Natalie Perdue added 10 kills, four digs and a block, while Emma Clothier turned in nine kills on .333 hitting, along with three blocks.

Jamison Wheeler notched six kills and a season-high 11 digs, while Celia Cullen dished out 36 assists and recorded four digs. Brooke Frazier tallied a season-high 16 digs and passed out three assists. Sina Uluave finished with six digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set One
Starting the match for SMU were Celia Cullen, Hannah Whittingstall, Jamison Wheeler, Emma Clothier, Natalie Perdue, Naya Shime, and Sina Uluave. A pair of kills from Perdue and one from Clothier sparked four unanswered to give the Mustangs an early lead. Three unanswered from the Boilermakers tied it up at eight. Purdue regained the lead at 11-10. The teams traded blows with several ties and lead changes, but a 3-0 run put SMU up 18-16 and forced a Purdue timeout. Casey Batenhorst kept the momentum for SMU out of the pause, giving the Mustangs their largest lead of the set at 19-16. From there, SMU pulled away. A service ace from Perdue capped off the frame 25-21.

Set Two
Purdue jumped out to a 9-4 lead, forcing the Mustangs to call a timeout. A Batenhorst service ace and a Wheeler kill cut into the deficit out of the break. SMU took three out of four points to bring the set within six. Purdue went on another run on the way to a 25-14 set two victory.

Set Three
Purdue jumped out to a 13-5 lead in the fourth set. A Shime kill got the Mustangs going. SMU took three out of the following four points to cut into the deficit. A 3-0 run forced the Mustangs to burn their final set timeout, trailing 19-10. SMU fired back out of the timeout, registering three straight points to cut the Purdue lead to seven. Shime recorded six kills in the set, but the Boilermakers won the second frame 25-17.

Set Four
SMU found its footing early in the fourth set. Two kills from Shime, one from Wheeler, and a solo block from Alex Glover propelled the Mustangs to four unanswered to take an 8-6 lead. The Boilermakers fought back and deadlocked the set at 10 apiece. Purdue took four out of the following five points, but a Cullen kill and block with Clothier brought the Mustangs within two. A solo block from Clothier and an attack error from the Boilermakers evened the set at 16. Perdue's ninth kill gave SMU its first lead of the frame. Shime's 16th kill of the match put SMU back ahead 21-20. The Mustangs countered back-to-back Boilermaker points with two of their own to regain a 23-22 lead. With the set tied at 23, Purdue scored back-to-back points to finish the match.

SMU LEADERS
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (16)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (36)
SMU Digs Leader: Brooke Frazier (16)
SMU Blocks Leader: Emma Clothier (3)
SMU Ace Leader: Natalie Perdue (3)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES
With the loss, SMU fell to 3-4 on the season and 1-2 on the road.
Friday was the second meeting between SMU and Purdue. SMU trails the all-time series 2-0.

TEAM NOTES
Three different Mustangs recorded 5+ kills for the sixth time this season.
Four different Mustangs recorded 5+ kills for the fourth time this season.
Five different Mustangs recorded 5+ kills for the second straight match.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Naya Shime led the Mustangs in kills (16) for the second time this season and recorded double-digit kills for the third time in 2023.
Celia Cullen entered the Purdue match following back-to-back double-doubles. Cullen tallied 36 assists against the Boilermakers. The senior setter has led the Mustangs and recorded double-digit assists in all seven matches.
Brooke Frazier notched a season-high 16 digs. She led the Mustangs in digs for the fourth time this season, and recorded double-digits for the fifth time in 2023.
Emma Clothier led the Mustangs in total blocks, recording three total (1 solo, 2 assisted).
Jamison Wheeler recorded a season-high 11 digs.
Natalie Perdue recorded double-digit kills (10) for the fourth time this season.

UP NEXT
SMU is back in action against No. 21 Houston Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.

[Charleston Pony]

Give this team credit for playing a really tough non-conference schedule