Mustangs Earn Split At College Of Charleston Classic

[PonyPride]

Mustangs Earn Split On Final Day Of College Of Charleston Classic
Young and Acker named to All-Tournament Team

Sept. 21, 2013

CHARLESTON, S.C. (SMU) - Caroline Young scored 48 kills, averaging 4.36 per set, earning all-tournament honors after SMU earned a split Saturday, beating Alabama A&M 3-0 after falling to Ball State 3-1 to finish 2-1 at the College of Charleston Classic.

Young hit .257 for the weekend, and finished with 13 kills against Alabama A&M to reach double figures for the sixth straight match. Avery Acker was also named to the all-tournament team, recording 115 assists, including 33 in the final match.

The Mustangs (8-5) knocked off the Bulldogs in straight sets (25-19, 25-16, 25-13). Young led the attack with 13 kills, hitting .360, and freshman Janelle Giordano had six kills with just one error, hitting .714. SMU hit .261 as a team and recorded 43 digs, led by Acker and freshman Morgan Heise, who finished with 43 on the weekend, averaging 3.91 per set. Maddie Lozano and freshman Kristen Stehling also scored seven kills each against Alabama A&M (0-14).

In the first match of the day, Young had 16 kills and Cailin Bula scored 10, but Ball State (11-2) used 17 blocks to take a 3-1 win over the Mustangs (25-21, 27-29, 25-13, 25-14). The Cardinals ended the match in the fourth set with a 25-14 win, holding SMU to just eight kills.

With SMU one point away from going down 2-0 in the match, Bula and Young scored kills to give the Mustangs the lead and Bula landed an ace on the end line for a 29-27 win to even the match. Bula and Young each had six kills in the extended set, and Heise had eight of SMU's 18 digs. The Mustangs posted three straight blocks to take 15-11 lead, but the Cardinals came back to tie the score 20-20, leading to the extra points.

The Cardinals answered the SMU victory with a 25-13 win in the third set to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Ball State hit .500 and recorded six blocks, while there were just 14 digs between the two teams. Young had four kills, but the Mustangs could only muster nine as a team.

Ball State stormed out to an 11-5 lead in the first set, but the freshmen of SMU brought the Mustangs back. Giordano and Stehling each scored a kill and combined for a block as the Mustangs scored four straight to cut the lead to two. SMU pulled to within one, 13-12, but the Cardinals scored five of the next six points to extend the lead back to five, 18-13. The Mustangs rallied back to cut the lead to two, 20-18, but were never able to complete the comeback, falling 25-21.

The Mustangs begin play in the American Athletic Conference Friday at Connecticut. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. SMU returns home on Oct. 4 against Louisville at 7 p.m. CT.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Nice to see Young back to 100% and being dominant again this season.

Wow, women's soccer in Storrs Thursday and volleyball Friday? That would make an awesome road trip!