No. 12 volleyball collects 10th sweep at Virginia Tech
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2024 1:39 amFrom SMUMustangs.com:
No. 12 Mustangs Collect 10th Sweep At Virginia Tech
Box Score | Photo Gallery
BLACKSBURG, Va. (SMU) – No. 12 SMU volleyball earned their 10th sweep of the season Friday night on the road over Virginia Tech (7-14, 1-10 ACC) with set scores of 25-23, 25-21, and 25-19. The Mustangs improved to 16-6 on the season and 8-3 in conference games.
SMU was led by Maya Tabron, who finished the match with 14 kills on .357 hitting, with a team-high 13 digs. Naya Shime logged 11 kills against the Hokies while hitting .400.
Natalie Foster ended the match with nine kills, hitting .571 with two blocks. Celia Cullen took sole possession of sixth place on SMU's career assists leaderboard with a 35-assist performance Friday night.
The Mustangs hit .319, SMU's second-highest hitting percentage in ACC play. SMU also outdug the Hokies 34-28 in the win.
MATCH NOTES:
Tabron logged her eighth double-double of the season, fifth in conference play.
Tabron now has 15 double-dig kill performances and 10 double-figure dig outings this season.
Cullen needs eight more assists to crack the top five in career assists at SMU.
Shime went for 10+ kills for the 17th time this season.
Casey Batenhorst has logged two aces in three of the last four matches.
SMU leads the overall series over the Hokies 2-1 with the win Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | The Mustangs raced off to a 4-2 lead to start the opening set before Virginia Tech collected five of the next six to tie the set 6-6. The clubs traded leads until a three-point swing for the Mustangs put them up by three (16-13), with two of the three points coming on kills from Foster. The Hokies gathered themselves in response to the run with two straight points, but SMU kept their foot on the gas with another 3-0 run. Another kill from Foster, an ace from Batenhorst, and an attack error by the Hokies detailed the run that put the Mustangs up 19-15. The Hokies did not let the run phase them, rallying back to within one with three straight points a few moments later. Virginia Tech tied the set at 22-22 on a service error and back-to-back aces from the Hokies. Fortunately, SMU was able to stay composed, collecting three of the final four points to win the frame 25-23. Tabron was electric in the first set, with seven kills on nine swings while adding six digs. SMU hit a match-high .361 in the first frame.
SET TWO | SMU got off to another solid start, surging to a 7-4 lead before a 3-0 Hokie run evened the set at 7-all. Four of the following five went the Mustangs' way, giving them a three-point cushion. SMU held a small cushion until another short spurt put them up three. The run saw SMU collect four points in a five-rally stretch with kills from three different Mustangs. Virginia Tech did not go away without a fight. They tied the match at 20-all, creating a first-to-five situation. SMU went on a 4-0 run with Natalie Perdue at the service line to take a 24-20 lead. The Hokies survived for one set point, but Tabron ended the second set with a big-time swing to give SMU a 25-21 set two victory and a 2-0 advantage in the match. Tabron was prominent again in the second set with six kills.
SET THREE | The third set started much like the first two. SMU used a four-point swing to take a 7-4 lead. The Hokies hung around throughout the middle of the set and then made a run to even the score at 14-14. However, the Mustangs closed out the third set in dominant fashion, outscoring the Hokies 11-5 down the stretch. They held Virginia Tech to their lowest set-hitting percentage of the match (.115) and closed out the match with a 25-19 set three win. Naya Shime came on in the third frame with five kills, putting her in double-figures for the match to help the Mustangs collect yet another sweep this season.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Maya Tabron (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (35)
SMU Digs Leader: Maya Tabron (13)
SMU Blocks Leader: Three With (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Three With (2)
UP NEXT:
SMU Volleyball will conclude their short road trip in Charlottesville, Virginia, against the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday, Nov. 3, at noon CT, airing on the ACC Network.
No. 12 Mustangs Collect 10th Sweep At Virginia Tech
Box Score | Photo Gallery
BLACKSBURG, Va. (SMU) – No. 12 SMU volleyball earned their 10th sweep of the season Friday night on the road over Virginia Tech (7-14, 1-10 ACC) with set scores of 25-23, 25-21, and 25-19. The Mustangs improved to 16-6 on the season and 8-3 in conference games.
SMU was led by Maya Tabron, who finished the match with 14 kills on .357 hitting, with a team-high 13 digs. Naya Shime logged 11 kills against the Hokies while hitting .400.
Natalie Foster ended the match with nine kills, hitting .571 with two blocks. Celia Cullen took sole possession of sixth place on SMU's career assists leaderboard with a 35-assist performance Friday night.
The Mustangs hit .319, SMU's second-highest hitting percentage in ACC play. SMU also outdug the Hokies 34-28 in the win.
MATCH NOTES:
Tabron logged her eighth double-double of the season, fifth in conference play.
Tabron now has 15 double-dig kill performances and 10 double-figure dig outings this season.
Cullen needs eight more assists to crack the top five in career assists at SMU.
Shime went for 10+ kills for the 17th time this season.
Casey Batenhorst has logged two aces in three of the last four matches.
SMU leads the overall series over the Hokies 2-1 with the win Friday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | The Mustangs raced off to a 4-2 lead to start the opening set before Virginia Tech collected five of the next six to tie the set 6-6. The clubs traded leads until a three-point swing for the Mustangs put them up by three (16-13), with two of the three points coming on kills from Foster. The Hokies gathered themselves in response to the run with two straight points, but SMU kept their foot on the gas with another 3-0 run. Another kill from Foster, an ace from Batenhorst, and an attack error by the Hokies detailed the run that put the Mustangs up 19-15. The Hokies did not let the run phase them, rallying back to within one with three straight points a few moments later. Virginia Tech tied the set at 22-22 on a service error and back-to-back aces from the Hokies. Fortunately, SMU was able to stay composed, collecting three of the final four points to win the frame 25-23. Tabron was electric in the first set, with seven kills on nine swings while adding six digs. SMU hit a match-high .361 in the first frame.
SET TWO | SMU got off to another solid start, surging to a 7-4 lead before a 3-0 Hokie run evened the set at 7-all. Four of the following five went the Mustangs' way, giving them a three-point cushion. SMU held a small cushion until another short spurt put them up three. The run saw SMU collect four points in a five-rally stretch with kills from three different Mustangs. Virginia Tech did not go away without a fight. They tied the match at 20-all, creating a first-to-five situation. SMU went on a 4-0 run with Natalie Perdue at the service line to take a 24-20 lead. The Hokies survived for one set point, but Tabron ended the second set with a big-time swing to give SMU a 25-21 set two victory and a 2-0 advantage in the match. Tabron was prominent again in the second set with six kills.
SET THREE | The third set started much like the first two. SMU used a four-point swing to take a 7-4 lead. The Hokies hung around throughout the middle of the set and then made a run to even the score at 14-14. However, the Mustangs closed out the third set in dominant fashion, outscoring the Hokies 11-5 down the stretch. They held Virginia Tech to their lowest set-hitting percentage of the match (.115) and closed out the match with a 25-19 set three win. Naya Shime came on in the third frame with five kills, putting her in double-figures for the match to help the Mustangs collect yet another sweep this season.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Maya Tabron (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (35)
SMU Digs Leader: Maya Tabron (13)
SMU Blocks Leader: Three With (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Three With (2)
UP NEXT:
SMU Volleyball will conclude their short road trip in Charlottesville, Virginia, against the Virginia Cavaliers on Sunday, Nov. 3, at noon CT, airing on the ACC Network.