Volleyball sweeps LSU in Doubletree Ivitational finale

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Sweeps LSU In Finale Of Double Tree Invitational

DALLAS (SMU)— Junior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler hit .517 with 16 kills to lead the SMU volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17) sweep of LSU in the finale of the Double Tree Invitational on Sunday afternoon in Moody Coliseum.

Wheeler was the SMU Double Tree Invitational MVP after turning in three dominating offensive performances. She tallied 53 kills across three matches. Sina Uluave and Emma Clothier were named to the All-Tournament Team.

SMU hit .327 as a team. The Mustangs are undefeated in Moody Coliseum. The sweep marked the third of the season.

Clothier finished with eight kills on .333 hitting. Natalie Perdue posted seven kills and nine digs, while Naya Shime tallied six kills and three blocks.

Celia Cullen dished out 29 assists, nine digs, and four kills. Alex Glover tallied three blocks and as many kills. Sina Uluave notched a team-high 11 digs and added four assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Jamison Wheeler, Naya Shime, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Natalie Perdue, Celia Cullen, and Sina Uluave. A kill from Clothier and a service ace from Uluave got the Mustangs started. With the set tied at five apiece, service aces from Clothier and a Wheeler kill propelled SMU to five unanswered to force an LSU timeout. The Tigers narrowed the gap, but back-to-back kills from Clothier and Wheeler put SMU in front 17-14. A kill from Shime forced another Tiger timeout. The Mustangs took four out of five points after the pause and finished off LSU 25-19 in the first frame.

Set Two:
SMU's momentum rolled into the second set. Trailing by a point early, the Mustangs took six out of the following seven points to lead 7-3. LSU burned its first timeout down 10-5. Uluave's second service ace of the afternoon put the Mustangs up 12-6. Wheeler's 10th kill of the match put SMU up 20-16 and forced the Tigers to burn another timeout. SMU rattled off four out of five points, and a Shime kill finished off the Tigers 25-20.

Set Three:
SMU led the third set wire to wire. The Mustangs took the first two points of the set to jump out to an early lead. With the set tied at six apiece, a Batenhorst service ace, a block from Shime and Glover, and a Glover kill highlighted a 5-0 run that forced an LSU timeout. A Tiger attack error out of the timeout extended the run and saw the Mustangs lead 12-6. LSU fought back and brought the set within two. Back-to-back kills from Wheeler and another from Cullen highlighted another SMU run that put the Mustangs back in control 20-15. SMU used the separation to finish off the Tigers 25-17 in the third frame.

FROM THE COACHES
"I'm so proud of the way our team prepared and executed today against a quality opponent," Associate Head Coach Trent Sorensen said. "Everyone contributed and stayed dialed in from start to finish. It was one of the cleanest, if not the cleanest match we've had so far this season."

SMU LEADERS
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (16)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (29)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (11)
SMU Blocks Leader: Naya Shime (3)
SMU Ace Leader: Emma Clothier/Sina Uluave (2)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES
With the win, SMU moved to 6-5 on the season.
SMU is undefeated in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs took down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Tech in the first two matches of the SMU Double Tree Invitational. The Mustangs picked up their highest ranked victory in program history when it defeated then-No. 14 Baylor 3-2 on Sept. 6.
Sunday was the fourth meeting between SMU and LSU. SMU tied the all-time series at 2-2.

TEAM NOTES
SMU recorded its third sweep of the 2023 season.
Four different Mustangs tallied 5+ kills for the seventh time this season.
A Mustang tallied 15+ kills for the eighth time this season.
SMU is 3-0 when leading in kills

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustang in kills (16) for the third consecutive match and fourth time this season. She hit .517 against The Tigers. 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).
Sina Uluave recorded double-digit digs (11) for the seventh time this season, and added four assists.
Celia Cullen has led the Mustangs in assists in all 11 matches. Cullen passed out 29 against LSU. The senior setter tied her career-high in kills with four for the second consecutive day, while adding nine digs.

UP NEXT
SMU opens American Athletic Conference play against Memphis in Moody Coliseum Wednesday at 1 p.m.

[Charleston Pony]

Good job in what to me was a pretty impressive non-conference slate

[Roach]

I think LSU was receiving votes before yesterday. Ponies have beaten a ranked Baylor High team, swept an always-strong Florida State bunch and now swept LSU. Nice run.