Nov. 20, 2009
Box Score 
Season Stats
HOUSTON, Texas (SMU) - The Mustangs battled throughout their match with Tulane in the first round of Conference USA Tournament, but in the end it was the Green Wave prevailing with a 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-27, 25-15, 25-18).
SMU finished the match 15.5 team blocks, led by Courtney Manning with seven and Kelli Becerra with six. Jessica Oliver finished with 11 kills, hitting .345, and Dana Powell added nine kills and 26 digs. Kathryn Wilkerson recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 10 kills and 19 digs, and Carly Bergquist added 16 digs. Kelli Becerra posted her 18th double-double in the effort with 38 assists and 10 digs.
The Mustangs (19-12) fell behind 4-0 to start the match, but rallied to even the first set 7-7. Tulane (18-8) kept control of the set, scoring four of the next five points to take a three-point lead, 11-8. SMU again rallied, tying the set 13-13, with several key digs to keep rallies alive. The offensive firepower of the Green Wave kept the Mustangs from capturing the lead, taking an 18-14 advantage and forcing SMU to use their final timeout of the set.
The Mustangs went on a 5-2 run out of the timeout, forcing Tulane to call one of its own, with SMU down one, 20-19. Tulane again kept the Mustangs from taking the lead, scoring four of the next five points to get to set point with a 24-20 advantage. SMU fought off three in a row before falling 25-23 in the first set.
In the second set, SMU rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the score 5-5, but it wasn't until five points later when the Mustangs took their first lead of the match, 8-7. The Mustangs stretched the advantage to five, scoring six of the next eight points to take a 14-9 lead.
Tulane cut the lead to two, 15-13, and the set stayed tight until the Mustangs scored three in a row to take a 20-15 lead. The Green Wave came crashing back, taking a 24-23 lead. SMU answered with two straight to take a 25-24 lead. Tulane tied the set 25-25 before the Mustangs closed the door, evening the match with the 27-25 victory.
The Mustangs kept the momentum coming out of the locker room, starting the third set with a 5-2 run. Tulane cut the lead to one, 7-6, before tying the set 8-8. The Green Wave took the lead on the next point, but the Mustangs answered with two in a row to take the lead back, 10-9. Tulane scored the next four in a row to take a 13-10 lead and force SMU to take a timeout. Tulane scored the first point out of the timeout before SMU scored again. Tulane blasted two in a row to take a commanding 16-11 lead, and the Green Wave kept the advantage, going on to win the third set 25-15.
SMU got out to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but the Green Wave scored four in a row to take a 7-6 lead. Tulane stretched the lead to 14-9 before SMU went on a 5-1 run to cut the lead to one, 15-14. That was as close as the Mustangs got in what proved to be the final set, with Tulane out-scoring SMU 10-4 down the stretch to win the match with the 25-18 victory, eliminating the Mustangs from the tournament.
