Volleyball wins 14th straight with sweep of Pepperdine

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From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Wins 14th Straight With Sweep Of Pepperdine

DALLAS (SMU)- SMU volleyball picked up a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-16) sweep of Pepperdine on Monday night in the final regular season match in Moody Coliseum.

(RV) SMU is 13-1 in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs won their 14th straight match and earned their eighth consecutive sweep and 17th of the season.

Jamison Wheeler led the Mustang attack with 14 kills. The junior outside hitter added nine digs and three blocks. Reigning AAC Offensive Player of the Week, Naya Shime turned in 11 kills, four digs, a block, and an ace. Emma Clothier tallied eight kills on .375 hitting, three blocks and a pair of digs.

Celia Cullen passed out 32 assists and added four digs and two blocks. Sina Uluave led the Mustang defense with 21 digs. Uluave dished out four assists. Brooke Frazier finished with 10 digs, an assist, and a kill. Alex Glover turned in seven blocks, marking the seventh time she's turned in 5+ blocks this season. Natalie Perdue added five kills and four blocks, while Casey Batenhorst chipped in three service aces and as many assists.

FROM THE TEAM:
"I think Moody and all of our supporters have been great this year, and they've really showed up for us," graduate middle blocker Alex Glover said. "That helps us win more games and get the energy pumped up on the court, so I want to give a shoutout to them because it's really been great this year."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Jamison Wheeler, Brooke Frazier, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Naya Shime, Casey Batenhorst, and Sina Uluave. The first several points of the set went back and forth. A Wheeler ace and back-to-back blocks, one from Wheeler and Glover and another from Glover and Perdue, gave the Mustangs a 12-8 lead. Kills from Clothier and Wheeler and an Ohlinger ace sparked four straight to put SMU up 19-13 and force a Pepperdine timeout. The Waves took five out of six points to bring the set within three, but two straight kills from Clothier sealed a 25-21 victory.

Set Two:
Kills from Shime and Perdue put SMU up 10-8. The Waves led 15-14 at the media timeout after three unanswered. From there, both teams countered each other's runs, starting with SMU rattling off seven straight through two Pepperdine timeouts, with kills from Wheeler and Frazier and a Batenhorst ace. Two kills from Glover, one from Shime and another from Wheeler extended the run and put the Mustangs up 21-15. An assisted block from Wheeler and Glover continued the run after the second Pepperdine timeout. The Waves answered with eight in a row to take a 23-22 lead and force a Mustang timeout. Two kills from Shime and a block from Glover and Perdue scored three straight, giving the Mustangs a 25-23 set two victory.

Set Three:
Two aces from Batenhorst, a kill from Glover and an assisted block with Shime sparked five unanswered to give the Mustangs a 10-6 lead. A Clothier kill and block with Perdue extended the lead to five and forced a Pepperdine timeout. A block from Wheeler and Glover sparked a 6-0 run that put SMU in control of the set and kills from Shime and an assisted block from Clothier and Perdue finished off the Waves 25-16.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (32)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (21)
SMU Blocks Leader: Alex Glover (7)
SMU Ace Leader: Casey Batenhorst (3)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:
With the win, SMU improved to 24-6 on the season.
Monday was the second meeting between SMU and Pepperdine. The all-time series is tied at one apiece.
TEAM NOTES:
SMU won its 14th consecutive conference match.
SMU picked up its 17th sweep of the season and eighth in a row.
SMU is 18-0 when leading in kills.
SMU is 22-1 when leading in service aces.
SMU is 18-2 when leading in assists.
SMU is 17-1 when leading in blocks.
SMU is 18-1 when leading in digs.
SMU turned in a higher attacking percentage than its opponent for the 24th time this season.
SMU held Pepperdine to a .139 hitting percentage, marking the 11th time the Mustangs have held an opponent between .100-.199 hitting this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs with 21 for the 18th time this season and fifth time in the last six matches. Uluave reached double-digits for the 24th time and passed out four assists.
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills with 14. Wheeler tallied double digits for the 18th time this season. She added nine digs and three blocks.
Naya Shime finished with 11 kills. Shime tallied double digits for the 13th time this season. She added four digs, a block and an ace. Shime was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 32 assists. The senior setter has led the Mustangs in every match this season. She added four digs and two blocks.
Alex Glover tallied seven blocks, marking the seventh time this season she's turned in 5+ blocks. Glover added three kills.
Emma Clothier finished with eight kills on .375 hitting. She's finished with at least eight kills on .300 or better hitting in 23 out of the Mustangs 30 matches. She added three blocks and two digs.
Brooke Frazier notched double-digit digs (10) for the 10th time this season. She added one assist and a kill.

UP NEXT:
SMU hits the road to face Temple on Wednesday 10:30 a.m. CT.