Volleyball eliminated by Missouri in NCAA second round

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Fall To Missouri In NCAA Second Round

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 10 SMU volleyball saw their magical season come to a close Friday night as the Mustangs fell to Missouri (22-8) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs finished the 2024 season, their first as a member of the ACC, 25-8 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history and second consecutive season.

Naya Shime led the Mustangs with a season-high 22 kills, hitting .487 with four digs. Maya Tabron also reached double-figures, tallying 14 kills while adding 11 digs. Celia Cullen logged 47 assists and nine digs.

As a team, SMU hit .267 against the Tigers. Missouri out-blocked the Mustangs 12-10 and edged SMU in digs 46-45. The Tigers won the serve and pass battle with 11 aces to just one by the Mustangs.

MATCH NOTES:
Naya Shime's 22 kills were the most by a Mustang in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. It was also her third match this season with 20+ kills.
Maya Tabron logged her 13th double-double of the year Friday night, becoming just the second Mustangs to have a double-double in the NCAA Tournament, joining her teammate Naya Shime, who had 14 kills and 11 digs against Texas State last season.
Under Coach Sam Erger, the Mustangs are 73-25.
SMU came into the season with just three ranked wins in programs 28 year history. This season alone, SMU took down seven ranked opponents, including No. 1 Pitt and No. 2 Nebraska.
The Mustangs finished 2024 with a season attendance of 30,976, a new program record.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | After a back-to-back service, the Tigers raced to a 6-3 advantage early. SMU started to settle in, answering with a 5-0 run to take an 8-6 lead. Missouri fought back to even the score at 11-all on back-to-back kills. After trading points for a shot stretch, Missouri used a 3-0 scoring run, two of the three points coming on aces, to take an 18-16 lead. The Tigers got back two and jumped in front by one. SMU managed to tie it with a service error by Missouri, but the Tigers collected four of the next five to reach set point, 24-21. A service error by the Tigers kept SMU in it, but the Mustangs had a service error of their own, resulting in a 25-22 set one loss. Tabron led the Mustangs with five kills.

SET TWO | Missouri opened the set, scoring three of the first four. The Tigers kept a three-to-four points lead until the 13-10 mark, when Missouri went on a 3-0 run to take a 16-10 advantage. The Tigers continued to control the frame, going on a 5-0 run starting four points later, to increase their lead to 10. Missouri ended the match, scoring three of the last four to take set two 25-14. Shime ended the set with six kills, the highest by either team.

SET THREE | The Tigers scored the third set's first four points. Two straight points by each team followed to keep Missouri's lead at four. SMU worked to within two on

[ShorePony]

Excellent and exciting season. Much to build on.