Volleyball sweeps Texas State, advances to NCAA's 2nd round

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

SMU Advances To Second Round Of NCAA Tournament After Sweeping Texas State

AUSTIN, Texas (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team swept Texas State (25-20, 25-19, 25-16) on Thursday afternoon in Gregory Gym to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The win marked SMU's (26-6; 18-1 AAC) second NCAA Tournament victory in program history. SMU earned its 10th straight sweep and 19th of the season. The Mustangs finished the month of November without losing a set.

Three Mustangs registered 10 plus kills in a balanced offensive effort. SMU held Texas State to a .158 hitting percentage, marking the 12th time the Mustangs have held an opponent between .100-.199 hitting this season. SMU tallied 18 more kills, 14 more digs, and 19 more assists than the Bobcats.

Jamison Wheeler led the Mustang attack for the 16th time this season with 17 kills on .483 hitting. The junior outside hitter added nine digs, two assists, and a block. Naya Shime turned in her fourth double-double of the year with 14 kills on .480 hitting and 11 digs. Shime added a team-high two aces. Natalie Perdue tallied double-digit kills with 10 and added two digs and as many blocks.

Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs with 12 for the seventh time in eight matches. She added one ace and an assist. Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 40 assists. Cullen added five digs and three blocks.

Emma Clothier tallied five kills and three blocks, while Alex Glover finished with two blocks. Casey Batenhorst passed out three assists and recorded an ace, and Brooke Frazier chipped in four 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. The first several points went back and forth. A kill from Wheeler and a Bobcat error put SMU up two early. Two kills from Perdue, two from Shime, and a Uluave service ace gave SMU seven unanswered to extend the lead to 14-6. Wheeler's fourth kill of the match forced a Texas State timeout with the Mustangs leading 19-12. The Bobcats took four out of the following five points to cut their deficit to four. A pair of Texas State attack errors brought the Mustangs to 24, and a kill from Perdue sealed a 25-20 first-set victory.

Set Two:
Two kills from Clothier and one from Perdue sparked four in a row to counter an early Texas State lead. Two kills from Shime, one from Wheeler, a Batenhorst ace, and a Bobcat attack error gave SMU five out of six points to lead 11-6. Glover and Perdue earned kills to keep the run going. A Clothier kill and Ohlinger ace kept SMU ahead by six. Four unanswered from the Bobcats brought the set within four and forced a Mustang timeout. Shime countered the Bobcat run with a pair of kills to give SMU a 25-19 set-two victory.

Set Three:
Two kills from Perdue and an ace from Shime got SMU out fast in the third set. The Mustangs took seven out of the first nine points of the set. Back-to-back kills from Wheeler and two Bobcat attack errors gave SMU an 11-4 lead and forced a Texas State timeout. Two more kills from Wheeler and another Bobcat attack error added three more for the Mustangs. The Bobcats fought back to bring the set within seven, but the Mustangs finished Texas State 25-16.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (17)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (40)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (12)
SMU Blocks Leader: Clothier/Cullen (3)
SMU Ace Leader: Naya Shime (2)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:
With the win, SMU improved to 26-6 on the season.
Wednesday was the seventh meeting between SMU and Texas State. SMU leads the all-time series 5-2.
TEAM NOTES:
SMU won its second NCAA Tournament match in program history.
SMU won its 16th consecutive conference match.
SMU picked up its 19th sweep of the season and 10th in a row.
SMU did not drop a set in the month of November.
SMU is 20-0 when leading in kills.
SMU is 24-1 when leading in service aces.
SMU is 20-2 when leading in assists.
SMU is 20-1 when leading in digs.
SMU turned in a higher attacking percentage than its opponent for the 26th time this season.
Three Mustangs turned in 10+ kills for the 11th time this season.
SMU held Texas State to a .158 hitting percentage, marking the 12th time the Mustangs have held an opponent under .100-.199 hitting this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Naya Shime recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 14 kills on .480 hitting and 11 digs. Shime tallied double-digit kills for the 15th and digs for seventh time this season. Shime has turned in 10+ kills in five out of the last six matches. She added a team-high two aces.
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills for the 16th time this season with 17 on .483 hitting. She turned in double-digit kills for the 20th time this year. Wheeler added nine digs, two assists, and a block.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs with 12 for the 20th time this season and seventh time in eight matches. Uluave reached double-digits for the 26th time. She added one ace and an assist.
Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 40 assists. The senior setter has led the Mustangs in every match this season. She added five digs and three blocks.
Natalie Perdue tallied double-digit kills (10) for the 16th time this season. She added two digs and two blocks.

UP NEXT:
SMU faces the winner of No. 2 Texas and Texas A&M on Friday at 7 p.m. in Gregory Gym.

[Terry Webster]

Texas swept the Aggies. Beat Texas!!