No. 10 volleyball sweesp No. 8 Texas A&M, improves to 6-0

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

No. 10 volleyball sweesp No. 8 Texas A&M, improves to 6-0
6-0 start is tied for the best in program history

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 10 SMU Volleyball (6-0) swept No. 8 Texas A&M (5-1) in front of the second-largest home volleyball crowd in program history of 3,076 Tuesday night. The Mustangs won in straight sets of 25-20, 25-14, and 25-19, earning their second sweep of the season and second win over a ranked opponent this year.

Outside hitter Jadyn Livings led the way for the 10th-ranked Mustangs with 14 kills, hitting .400, while adding four digs. Middle blocker Natalia Newsome logged eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage against the Aggies. Favor Anyanwu led the match with eight blocks and Jordyn Schilling led the way with 12 digs.

Setter Averi Carlson dished out 29 assists with four digs and five blocks in the three-setter. As a team, SMU hit .270 and held the No. 8 Aggies to a .070 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season. SMU out-blocked Texas A&M 11-7 on the night.

MATCH NOTES:
The Mustangs are now 6-0, tying the program record for best start to a season.
SMU improved to 2-0 against the Aggies in the all-time series with the win. The first match up was the second round of the Mustangs' second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament back in 2016.
The win marked the 10th ranked victory under head coach Sam Erger and the second of the season. SMU has now beaten three top 10 teams in the last two years at home.
The last time SMU swept a ranked opponent was Nov. 27, 2024 at No. 21 Florida State. The last time the Mustangs swept a top 10 opponent was on Sep. 3, 2024, against No. 2 Nebraska.
The match was the first top 10 home matchup in Moody Coliseum, regardless of sport, since 1957.
Jadyn Livings earned double-digit kills for the first straight match, tied for the longest streak of her career. Her 14 kills were double the Aggies' leading attacker.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | SMU set the tone with four straight points out the gate. Texas A&M responded with four straight of their own to even the score. SMU held on to narrow leads until A&M strung together a three-point stretch, which put the Aggies in front for the first time in the match, 15-14. SMU took the lead back on two kills from Livings and one from Anyanwu and never looked back. The Mustangs outscored A&M 7-4 down the stretch and cruised to a 25-20 win in the opening frame. The Mustangs held Texas A&M to a .097 hitting percentage in the first frame. Newsome and Livings led the way for the Mustangs offensively with four kills each.

SET TWO | The teams traded points to start the second set until a 3-0 run by SMU on an Aggies service error, a block from Newsome and Jones, and a kill from Livings, put the Mustangs up two. SMU held that lead and slowly increased it midway through. Following a kill from Cos-Okpalla of A&M, SMU scored on seven of the following nine points, increasing its advantage to six (18-12). SMU kept its foot on the gas, only allowing the Aggies to two points down the stretch, closing out the frame with a 7-2 run, capped off by an ace from Schilling. SMU's defense was strong in the second set, forcing Texas A&M to its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .027. The Mustangs out-blocked the Aggies in the set 4-1.

SET THREE | The third set was the most back and forth as Texas A&M battled hard to fight off being swept. However, the Mustangs used another late surge to close out the match and improve to 6-0. Tied at 14-14, SMU began to put together a string of runs. A 6-2 run put the Mustangs in front 20-16. From there, SMU ended the Aggies' hopes of extending the match, as the Mustangs went on to win the frame 25-19. The Mustangs were firing on all cylinders in the third set. Offensively, SMU hit .333, its highest percentage of the match. SMU also tallied five blocks in the frame, which was also the highest of any set in the win. Livings capped off a solid night with a set-high six kills on 11 swings. Anyanwu and Newsome each had four blocks in set three.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jadyn Livings (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (29)
SMU Digs Leader: Jordyn Schilling (12)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (8)
SMU Ace Leader: Three with (1)
SMU Points Leader: Jadyn Livings (14)

Up Next: SMU will take on No. 3 Kentucky in Lexington on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT. The match will air on SEC Network+ from Historic Memorial Gymnasium.

[Ikus]

Got to love a sweep of Aggie High!

[indianmustang]

will be tough to retain coach if she keeps winning