Volleyball defeats Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 3-1

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From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Defeats Texas A&M-Corpus Christi In Second Match Of Double Tree Invitational

DALLAS (SMU)— The SMU volleyball team defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 3-1 (27-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-14), in the second match of the Double Tree Invitational on Saturday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.

SMU is undefeated in Moody Coliseum. Two SMU players registered 10 plus kills, and five Mustangs turned in at least five kills in a balanced offensive effort.

Jamison Wheeler turned in another impressive performance. The junior outside hitter led the Mustang attack with 18 kills.

Emma Clothier posted 11 kills on .429 hitting. Naya Shime was impressive on both sides of the net. The outside hitter finished with nine kills, 12 digs, and four blocks. Alex Glover earned nine kills on an impressive .818 hitting, and added five blocks.

Sina Uluave notched a season-high 22 digs, while Natalie Perdue added seven kills and three digs. Celia Cullen dished out 37 assists, and added nine digs, while Casey Batenhorst passed out seven and Brooke Frazier turned in five. Frazier also added four digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Celia Cullen, Naya Shime, Natalie Perdue, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Sina Uluave, and Brooke Frazier. Clothier put a kill down to get the match started. SMU scored five out of six points, and a Casey Batenhorst ace put SMU up 7-6. From there, the teams went back and forth, with Wheeler's fifth kill put SMU up 15-14 at the media timeout. Kills from Clothier and Wheeler put SMU up 24-21. Three unanswered from the Islanders tied the set at 24 apiece. A TAMU-CC service error followed by a Perdue kill sealed a 27-25 set victory for SMU.

Set Two:
A pair of Shime kills helped SMU jump to an early 3-2 lead. SMU used a 4-0 run to create some breathing room. SMU led 15-10 at the media timeout. The Mustangs took six out of seven points out of the timeout to take a 21-11 lead. SMU used its separation to finish out the Islanders 25-15.

Set Three:
The teams went back and forth early in the set. A Whittingstall kill tied the set at five apiece. The Islanders used three unanswered to start a run that would put them up 10-7. A pair of small runs tied the match at 13 apiece, but TAMU-CC led by one at the media timeout. SMU evened the set at 17 after a Clothier kill and Islander attack error. SMU took four out of five points, highlighted by two Clothier kills, to lead 21-18. Three straight Islander points tied the match at 21. Lauren Ohlinger's first kill of the match gave SMU a 23-22 advantage. TAMU-CC regained the lead, but Ohlinger countered with another kill. The Islanders took back-to-back points to take the third set 27-25.

Set Four:
A Clothier kill and Shime ace got SMU out to an early lead. TAMU-CC burned a timeout after a Wheeler kill put SMU up 6-3. The run continued out of the timeout as the Mustangs took three out of the first four points after the pause. SMU pulled away after taking seven out of eight points to take a 20-12 lead. The Mustangs dominated the rest of the set, winning the fourth frame 25-14.

SMU LEADERS
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (18)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (37)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (22)
SMU Blocks Leader: Alex Glover (5)
SMU Ace Leader: Casey Batenhorst (3)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES
With the win, SMU moved to 5-5 on the season.
SMU is undefeated in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs took down Texas Tech on Friday in the first match of the SMU Double Tree Invitational after their highest ranked victory in program history when it defeated then-No. 14 Baylor 3-2 on Sept. 6.
Saturday was the fourth meeting between SMU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SMU is 4-0 all-time against the Islanders.

TEAM NOTES
Five different Mustangs tallied 5+ kills for the first time this season.
A Mustang tallied 15+ kills for the seventh time this season.
Two Mustangs tallied 10+ digs for the third time this season.
A Mustang tallied 5+ blocks for the third time this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills (18) for the second consecutive match and third time this season. Against Texas Tech, Wheeler recorded her first double-double of the season. She led the Mustangs with a season-high in kills (19) and a career-high in digs (26). The last time a Mustang had 20 plus digs was vs. Wichita State on 11/23/22.
Sina Uluave recorded a season-high 22 digs. She reached double-digit digs for the sixth time this season.
Naya Shime tallied double digit digs (12) for the fourth time this season. The senior outside hitter added four blocks and nine kills.
Alex Glover turned in nine kills on an impressive .818 hitting along with a season-high five blocks.
Emma Clothier turned in 11 kills on an impressive .429 hitting. Clothier reached double-digit kills for the fifth time this season.
Casey Batenhorst passed out a season-high seven assists and career-high three service aces.
Celia Cullen has led the Mustangs in assists in all 10 matches. Cullen passed out 37 against TAMU-CC. The senior setter tied her career-high in kills with four, while adding nine digs.

UP NEXT
SMU is back in action on Sunday against LSU at 12:30 p.m.