CINCINNATI, OHIO (SMU) – The SMU volleyball team set a program and American Athletic Conference record with 23 blocks to win a five-set thriller at Cincinnati Sunday afternoon. The Mustangs had six blocks in the fifth set for a 21-19 victory to win their second straight five-set match (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 21-25, 21-19) after starting the road trip with a 3-2 win at East Carolina.

The fifth set was a back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing nine times in a set that featured 16 ties. With Cincinnati (5-11, 3-1 The American) leading 15-14 and serving the first match point, Brittany Adams scored to keep SMU (10-5, 4-0 The American) in the match. The Mustangs fought off a total of four match-point attempts by the Bearcats before scoring three straight for the win. The match ended when Katie Hegarty and Meryn Kennedy blocked Carly Nolan's attack for Cincinnati, giving SMU the two-point advantage and the win.

Kennedy had 12 blocks in the match, tied for sixth as the fourth most total blocks in a match at SMU. Kelly Brunstein finished with 10, including five solo blocks, which is tied for second in a match at SMU. Lauren Mills led the Mustangs with 20 kills, matching Nolan and Erica Kostelac of Cincinnati for the match high. The SMU senior also matched her career high with 20 digs for her 10th double-double of the season. Katie Hegarty finished with 15 kills, including four in the final set, and Brittany Adams scored 14.

SMU had 87 digs in the match, led by Mills' 20. Montana Watts posted 19, while Adams had 18 for her sixth double-double. Kendall Patterson assisted on 51 of SMU's 60 kills, and had 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.

The Mustangs took a 2-1 lead with a 25-20 win in the third. SMU outscored the Bearcats 11-6 to start the set, and Cincinnati never got within three points the rest of the way. SMU had five blocks in the set, holding Cincinnati to a .028 attack percentage.

Cincinnati won the fourth set, 25-21, to send the match to a fifth set. The Bearcats took a three-point lead midway through the set, 15-12. SMU answered with back-to-back blocks to cap off a 3-0 stretch, tying the score at 15-15. Cincinnati took the lead back to two, 19-17, and SMU again answered, scoring on back-to-back kills. The Bearcats called timeout and scored three straight before Hegarty scored to end the run. This time, the Mustangs were unable to come back.

SMU held on for a 25-21 win in the first set. After falling behind 4-1 to start the set, the Mustangs charged ahead, building what became an eight-point lead, 23-15. The Bearcats rallied to score five straight, cutting the lead to three, 23-20. Adams ended the run with a kill, and SMU allowed just one more point to win the first set. Each team scored 13 kills in the set, but SMU hit .222 to Cincinnati's .149 attack percentage, with the Mustangs recording 25 digs and the Bearcats 18.

Cincinnati scored four unanswered to end the second set, winning 26-24 to tie the match at one set apiece. With a 24-23 lead, SMU's attack went long. The Bearcats blocked the next SMU attack attempt, and then got a kill to end the set. The Mustangs had to rally from three down, 16-13, to take the lead. SMU went on a 4-1 run to tie the score, 17-17, and later scored three straight to take a 20-19 lead. Once the Mustangs went in front, the Bearcats did not lead again until posting the fateful block that set up set point.

SMU returns to Moody Coliseum to host USF Friday at 7 p.m. The Mustangs also face UCF Sunday at 1 p.m. during the homestand.