Volleyball sweeps Milwaukee in Doubletree Classic Opener

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From SMUMustangs.com:

Volleyball sweeps Milwaukee in Doubletree Classic Opener
Back for Day Two Friday Against Weber State - 1 PM CT

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Tournament Central

DALLAS (SMU) – (RV) The SMU volleyball team earned its second consecutive sweep, dismantling Milwaukee inside Moody Coliseum Thursday afternoon with sets scores of 25-12, 25-20 and 25-12. The Mustangs have now won three-straight matches and are now 3-1 on the season.

Naya Shime led the Mustangs' offensive attack for the second outing in a row, closing out the night with 13 kills while hitting .611 with three blocks. Right under her on the stat sheet was Maya Tabron who tallied eight kills on 14 attempts.

Natalie Foster had yet another productive day at the service line. Foster entered the contest top 10 in the country in aces to start the season, and she added four more to tally, and is now up to 14 which is nearly half the team total through four matches. Jentry Lamirand and Jamison Wheeler had six kills against the Panthers Thursday and Setter Cellia Cullen was all over the court, logging 32 assists and eight digs on day one of the classic.

MATCH NOTES:
The Mustangs have held each of their first four opponents to under .200 hitting for the match to start the season. Tonight, the SMU held Milwaukee to a .147 hitting percentage and had 43 kills to just 23 by the Panthers.
SMU led the assist column with 41 as a team, while Milwaukee finished with 21.
SMU finished the night hitting .515 against the Panthers, their highest percentage of the season.
The Mustangs added eight aces to their season total and are now up to 30 in four contests.
SMU finished with a side out percentage of 82.6% against the Panthers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | SMU jumped on Milwaukee in the early portion of the set, going from a slight 5-4 edge to a 12-4 advantage with a seven-point run. Shime was responsible for three points during the stretch, logging two kills and a block assists, teaming up with Foster at the net. The Mustangs never let up, carrying their momentum from Tuesday's historic night into their match with Milwaukee. The Mustangs closed the set with four-straight, and never let the Panthers back into the set, winning the set 25-12, their second lowest point total allowed of any set this season. In doing so, the Mustangs held the Panthers to an impressive .000 hitting percentage in the opening set.

SET TWO | In set two, Milwaukee kept pace for the first few points, but again SMU went on a long run to create the separation they needed. Up 11-9, two kills from Shime, an ace from Ellie Bolton, and an attack error by the Panthers, increased the Mustangs' lead to six (15-9). A late rally by the Panthers closed the gap. Starting off with two aces, Milwaukee got off six straight to battle back to within two (21-19). However, SMU was able to regroup and earn four of the next five to win the second set 25-20. Shime led the Mustangs with six kills followed by Tabron who recorded five in the second set. SMU also had their highest set hitting percentage in the match, swinging at a .571 percent clip. Cullen had 14 assists in the set.

SET THREE | Much like the first set, SMU dominated the third set to claim their third straight win. The Mustangs began their surge up 7-5 with a four-point scoring run, coming on a service error by the Panthers, a block from Lamirand and Nnedi Okammor, along with a kill from Lamirand and an ace from Foster. The Mustangs grew their lead again a few points later in the set, with another four-point swing to go up 22-11. After a service error, SMU close the match with three beginning with another kill from Okammor, and an ending with an ace by Cullen, resulting in a 25-12 set score. The Mustangs hit .458 to the Panthers' .160 percentage in the final set. Wheeler led the set for SMU with five kills on seven attempts, while Cullen logged six assists, four digs, and a kill. As a team, the Mustangs had 12 digs in set three.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (13)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (32)
SMU Digs Leader: Celia Cullen (8)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalie Foster (4)
SMU Ace Leader: Natalie Foster (4)

UP NEXT:
The Mustangs will host Weber State on day two of the SMU Doubletree Classic tomorrow, Friday Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. CT. For all things SMU Volleyball follow the program on Instagram, X, and Facebook.