Aug. 25, 2012

Box Score

Season Stats

ATLANTA (SMU) - The Mustangs rallied to force a fifth set against Georgia Tech, but fell 15-12 in the deciding frame, giving the Yellow Jackets (3-0) a 3-2 victory (17-25, 25-17, 25-20, 24-26, 15-12). Courtney Manning and Cailin Bula earned All-Tournament honors for their performance in the three matches. Manning had nine kills and five blocks in the final match, and Bula had 13 kills, topping her 12-kill performance in the first match of the weekend.

The Mustangs took an 11-7 lead in the fourth set, but Georgia Tech came out of a timeout and scored the next seven points for a 14-11 lead. SMU rallied for the next three points to tie the set 14-14. Another string of four-straight points gave the Yellow Jackets an 18-14 lead. The Mustangs erased the deficit, taking a 23-22 lead with kills by Maddie Lozano and Bula putting SMU in front. Georgia Tech tied the set at 24-24, but SMU scored the next two to force a fifth set with a 26-24 win.

With the first set tied 11-11, the Mustangs went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 18-12 lead. Caroline Young had two big kills in the stretch, and Manning added a kill and a block to put the Mustangs out in front. SMU held off the Georgia Tech rally to take the first set 25-17.

The Yellow Jackets started the first set with a pair of towering blocks, but the Mustangs weren't rattled, battling back for the next two points to even the set. Georgia Tech's biggest lead of the opening frame was three, 6-3.

In the second set, it was the Yellow Jackets who broke the set open, scoring four-straight points to take a 17-12 lead. Georgia Tech held on for the 25-17 win to even the match, blocking four SMU attacks and holding the Mustangs to just nine kills. SMU cut the lead to two, 19-17, but was unable to score again. Georgia Tech broke a 17-17 tie in the third set to take a 19-17 lead. The Yellow Jackets stretched the lead to take a 2-1 advantage in match with a 25-20 win in the set.

Freshman Avery Acker finished with 33 assists and eight digs, and Young had 11 kills with six digs. SMU had nine blocks in the match, but Monique Mead and Bailey Hunter carried the Yellow Jackets with 20 and 19 kills, respectively.

The Mustangs return to the Dallas area next weekend, competing in the TCU Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. SMU's first match is against crosstown-rival TCU Friday at 7 p.m. The Mustangs will also face Army and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday.