Volleyball swept by No. 10 Kentucky

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Mustangs Fall to #10 Kentucky

DALLAS (SMU) – (RV) SMU Volleyball fell to #10 Kentucky with set scores of 25-23, 26-24, 25-21 in the Mustangs' first match of the SMU Doubletree Invitational Friday night.
In the loss, SMU was led by Naya Shime, who logged 11 kills and four blocks against the Wildcats. Setter Celia Cullen finished the match with 27 assists and seven digs, while Maya Tabron had a team-high nine digs to go along with five kills and two assists. Nnedi Okammer had a six kill and four block performance against the Wildcats.
The Mustangs hit .250 as a unit, while Kentucky hit .277 in the three-setter. Kentucky won the block battle 8-6 and SMU edged the Wildcats in digs 35-31.

MATCH NOTES:
SMU moved to 5-3 on the year with three non-conference matches left before ACC play kicks off on Sept. 27 at Georgia Tech.
Naya Shime logged her six double-digit kill outing of the season, and second this weekend
Kentucky now leads the overall series over the Mustangs 4-0. The showing was the first contest between the two teams since 2003.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | After trading scores for the first ten points of the opening set, kills from Celia Cullen and a block from Cullen and Natalie Foster put the Mustangs up 7-5. However, the Wildcats took control with a commanding eight-point scoring run to go up 13-7. SMU managed to slowly claw their way back into contention, keeping themselves within striking distance for a late push. Down 24-21, kills from Maya Tabron and an attack error by the Wildcats drew the Mustangs' within one. Unfortunately, SMU could not force a fifth set point, as Kentucky capped the opening frame with a kill to take the set 25-23. UK finished with 15 kills to just nine for the Mustangs and had three aces to only one by SMU.

SET TWO | Kentucky earned the first four points in set two before SMU answered with three of their own on a kill from Shime and a pair successful swings from Jamison Wheeler. The Wildcats then extended their lead to five midway through the set on an ace to go up five. Kentucky led by as much as six in the frame (20-14), but another late surge by the Mustangs made things interesting. A three-point swing drew the Mustangs within two (22-20), ending with a kill by Okammor to force a UK timeout. After a service error, SMU put together two more points on back-to-back kills. After another Wildcat kill, Wheeler and Shime put two more kills down to tie the set 24-24 and force Wildcat timeout. SMU fought battle hard to keep their hopes of evening the set score alive, but the Mustangs weren't able to get over the hump as UK came out on top 26-24. After low hitting percentages from both teams in the first set, each club hit well over .450 in the second. Shime and Wheeler each had six kills in the second frame.

SET THREE | SMU started set three with the advantage, going up two (9-7) thanks to a three straight ending with a kill from Nnedi Okammor. SMU kept the momentum going, leading for a large portion of the set and holding off runs from the Wildcats, similar to the position Kentucky was in for the first two frames. However, UK began to flip the script midway through. A three-point run followed by a five-point stretch moments later put the Wildcats up three, forcing an SMU timeout. The clubs went back and forth down the stretch, but Kentucky capitalized on their first match-point opportunity this time around to earn the sweep over the Mustangs.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (11)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (27)
SMU Digs Leader: Maya Tabron (9)
SMU Blocks Leader: Naya Shime/Nnedi Okammor (4)
SMU Ace Leader: Natalie Foster (2)

UP NEXT:
SMU Volleyball will host Houston in the final matchup of the Doubletree Invitational tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT.