Volleyball sweeps No. 18 Baylor in Waco
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2024 12:35 amFrom SMUMustangs.com:
Mustangs Sweep No. 18 Baylor in Waco
DALLAS (SMU) – (RV) SMU Volleyball knocked off their second-ranked opponent this season in a sweep of #18 Baylor Tuesday night in Waco with set scores of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-16. During the Sam Erger era, the Mustangs have yet to lose to the Bears.
Naya Shime had a season-high 19 kills while hitting .452 Tuesday night. Jamison Wheeler had another double-digit kill outing with ten kills and eight digs. Ellie Bolton led the Mustangs with 13 digs, followed by Maya Tabron, who logged 11 in the win. Natalie Foster logged nine kills on 13 attempts with a team-high six blocks. Celia Cullen was close to a double-double, ending the match with 37 assists and nine digs.
SMU hit .275 against Baylor and forced the Bears into hitting .020, the lowest opponent-hitting percentage the Mustangs have allowed this season. The Mustangs won the battle in kills 46-20, digs 52-29, and blocks 10-8 in Waco.
MATCH NOTES:
The win marked just the second time SMU Volleyball has won in Waco in the programs 29 year history.
The win also evened the all-time series, with each team now having six wins.
Coach Sam Erger has three ranked wins at the helm on the Hilltop, two against Baylor in each of the last two seasons, and the win over #2 Nebraska a week ago.
Naya Shime earned her 1,000th career kill on Tuesday night.
With her performance Tuesday, Celia Cullen moved up to No. 7 in the SMU record books in assists, passing Kendall Patterson (2576, 2016-19)
SMU has held six of their seven opponents to under .200 hitting.
The Mustangs have swept four of the seven teams they've faced this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | Baylor and SMU traded runs until the midway point of the opening set, as neither team could create any significant separation. It wasn't until a four-point run for the Mustangs that a team could take control of the set. The four-point swing put SMU up 18-13. The Bears answered with two straight after the run, but SMU got both those points back on kills from Shime and Wheeler. SMU was able to edge out Baylor in the opening set, fighting off a late point by the Bears that cut their deficit to three (24-21). Shime capped off the frame in the Mustangs' third set point with a kill to take the opening set 25-21. Shime and Okammor each had four kills in set one.
SET TWO | SMU raced off to a 6-2 lead in the second set after the Bears took an early 2-1 advantage. Baylor came storming back with a significant run to even the score at 8-8. The Bears held a 14-13 lead before the Mustangs caught fire, scoring ten unanswered points to take a 23-14 lead in the second stats. A service error stopped the bleeding briefly, but two kills from Natalie Foster closed out a dominant set for the Mustangs as they took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 win in set two. SMU hit .400 in the second set with 17 kills and held Baylor to a .031 hitting percentage with just six kills. Shime couldn't be stopped in set two, ending the frame with seven kills on ten swings.
SET THREE | The Mustangs got off to another great start in set three, going up 6-1, starting with three consecutive kills from Shime, Wheeler, and Okammor. SMU maintained a healthy lead over the Bears, keeping the foot on the gas throughout the third set. The closest the Bears could reach was seven late in the set, but the Mustangs' lead was too much for the Bears to overcome. Baylor was held to its lowest hitting percentage in the third set at -.023, which helped lead to a 25-16 win in set three to secure the sweep.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (19)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (37)
SMU Digs Leader: Ellie Bolton (13)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalie Foster (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Maya Tabron (3)
UP NEXT:
SMU Volleyball will be back in action Friday night as they host #10 Kentucky in the first of two matches in the SMU Doubletree Invitational this coming weekend.
Mustangs Sweep No. 18 Baylor in Waco
DALLAS (SMU) – (RV) SMU Volleyball knocked off their second-ranked opponent this season in a sweep of #18 Baylor Tuesday night in Waco with set scores of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-16. During the Sam Erger era, the Mustangs have yet to lose to the Bears.
Naya Shime had a season-high 19 kills while hitting .452 Tuesday night. Jamison Wheeler had another double-digit kill outing with ten kills and eight digs. Ellie Bolton led the Mustangs with 13 digs, followed by Maya Tabron, who logged 11 in the win. Natalie Foster logged nine kills on 13 attempts with a team-high six blocks. Celia Cullen was close to a double-double, ending the match with 37 assists and nine digs.
SMU hit .275 against Baylor and forced the Bears into hitting .020, the lowest opponent-hitting percentage the Mustangs have allowed this season. The Mustangs won the battle in kills 46-20, digs 52-29, and blocks 10-8 in Waco.
MATCH NOTES:
The win marked just the second time SMU Volleyball has won in Waco in the programs 29 year history.
The win also evened the all-time series, with each team now having six wins.
Coach Sam Erger has three ranked wins at the helm on the Hilltop, two against Baylor in each of the last two seasons, and the win over #2 Nebraska a week ago.
Naya Shime earned her 1,000th career kill on Tuesday night.
With her performance Tuesday, Celia Cullen moved up to No. 7 in the SMU record books in assists, passing Kendall Patterson (2576, 2016-19)
SMU has held six of their seven opponents to under .200 hitting.
The Mustangs have swept four of the seven teams they've faced this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | Baylor and SMU traded runs until the midway point of the opening set, as neither team could create any significant separation. It wasn't until a four-point run for the Mustangs that a team could take control of the set. The four-point swing put SMU up 18-13. The Bears answered with two straight after the run, but SMU got both those points back on kills from Shime and Wheeler. SMU was able to edge out Baylor in the opening set, fighting off a late point by the Bears that cut their deficit to three (24-21). Shime capped off the frame in the Mustangs' third set point with a kill to take the opening set 25-21. Shime and Okammor each had four kills in set one.
SET TWO | SMU raced off to a 6-2 lead in the second set after the Bears took an early 2-1 advantage. Baylor came storming back with a significant run to even the score at 8-8. The Bears held a 14-13 lead before the Mustangs caught fire, scoring ten unanswered points to take a 23-14 lead in the second stats. A service error stopped the bleeding briefly, but two kills from Natalie Foster closed out a dominant set for the Mustangs as they took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 win in set two. SMU hit .400 in the second set with 17 kills and held Baylor to a .031 hitting percentage with just six kills. Shime couldn't be stopped in set two, ending the frame with seven kills on ten swings.
SET THREE | The Mustangs got off to another great start in set three, going up 6-1, starting with three consecutive kills from Shime, Wheeler, and Okammor. SMU maintained a healthy lead over the Bears, keeping the foot on the gas throughout the third set. The closest the Bears could reach was seven late in the set, but the Mustangs' lead was too much for the Bears to overcome. Baylor was held to its lowest hitting percentage in the third set at -.023, which helped lead to a 25-16 win in set three to secure the sweep.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (19)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (37)
SMU Digs Leader: Ellie Bolton (13)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalie Foster (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Maya Tabron (3)
UP NEXT:
SMU Volleyball will be back in action Friday night as they host #10 Kentucky in the first of two matches in the SMU Doubletree Invitational this coming weekend.