Volleyball rolls Wichita State

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From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Sweeps Wichita State In First Of Two Matches This Weekend

DALLAS (SMU)- The SMU volleyball team picked up a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14) sweep of Wichita State in the first of two matches this weekend on Friday night in Moody Coliseum.

SMU (10-5; 4-0 American Athletic Conference) picked up its sixth sweep of the season and seventh straight victory. The Mustangs are 6-0 in Moody Coliseum.

Two SMU players registered 10 plus kills, and four Mustangs turned in at least five kills. SMU held the Shockers to .126 hitting.

Natalie Perdue turned in her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 11 digs. Naya Shime added 10 kills and a pair of blocks.

Celia Cullen passed out 28 assists and recorded eight digs, while Sina Uluave tied her career-high of eight assists and added a team-high 16 digs. Jamison Wheeler posted seven kills, nine digs, and a pair of assists. Emma Clothier added six kills, two digs and as many blocks, while Alex Glover added two kills and blocks. Casey Batenhorst added two aces, and Brooke Frazier finished with six digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Jamison Wheeler, Natalie Perdue, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Naya Shime, Celia Cullen, and Sina Uluave. A kill from Shime and a service ace from Uluave helped SMU to a 4-0 run to start the match. A Shime kill and an assisted block with Glover extended the lead to 11-6. The Mustangs led 15-9 at the media timeout. Kills by Shime and Glover and aces from Wheeler and Batenhorst propelled SMU to five out of the following six points to take a 22-16 lead. SMU used its separation to finish the Shockers 25-19 in the first set.

Set Two:
A kill from Shime and an assisted block from Clothier and Cullen put SMU up 3-1 early. The Shockers took their first lead of the match at 6-5. A pair of Shime kills, and a block from Perdue and Glover gave the Mustangs an 11-9 advantage. SMU took four out of five points, capped off by a Wheeler kill to lead 15-11 at the media timeout. Three unanswered extended SMU's lead to 19-15 and forced a Shocker timeout. Wichita State fought back, but back-to-back kills from Perdue sealed a 25-20 victory in the second frame.

Set Three:
SMU's momentum carried into the third set, where they dominated wire to wire. Three kills from Perdue and a block from Clothier propelled four unanswered. SMU rattled off its longest run of the season, scoring 13 straight points that extended through two Shocker timeouts to put the Mustangs in control of the set. Perdue's 14th kill sealed a 25-14 dominating set three victory.

SMU LEADERS
SMU Kills Leader: Natalie Perdue (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (28)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (16)
SMU Blocks Leader: Naya Shime/Alex Glover (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Casey Batenhorst (2)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES
With the win, SMU improved to 10-5 on the season, and 4-0 in conference.
Wednesday was the 16th meeting between SMU and Wichita State. SMU leads the all-time series 9-7.

TEAM NOTES
SMU is on a seven match win streak.
SMU picked up its sixth sweep of the season.
SMU is 6-0 in Moody Coliseum. SMU swept Memphis in its conference opener. SMU took down Texas Tech, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and LSU at the 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.
SMU is undefeated (4-0) in conference play.
SMU is 7-0 when leading in kills.
SMU is 6-1 when leading in digs.
SMU recorded a higher attacking percentage than its opponent for the 10th time this season.
SMU is 9-2 when leading in aces.
SMU is 6-1 in three set matches.
Four Mustangs tallied 5+ kills for the 10th time this season.
Two Mustangs tallied 10+ kills for the fifth time this season.
Two Mustangs tallied 10+ digs for the seventh time this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Natalie Perdue recorded her fourth double-double of the season (14 kills, 11 digs). Perdue led the Mustangs in kills for the fifth time this season and turned in double-digits for the eighth time.
Naya Shime recorded double-digit kills (10) for the seventh time this season. Shime added a pair of blocks.
Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 28 assists. Cullen has led the Mustangs in assists in all 15 matches. She added nine digs.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs with 16 digs for the sixth consecutive match. Uluave recorded double-digit digs for the 11th time this season. She tied her career-high in assists with eight.

UP NEXT
SMU is back in action against Wichita State Sunday at noon in Moody Coliseum.