Box Score
Season Stats
DALLAS (SMU) -- SMU beat UTSA 3-1 (25-17, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23) in Moody Coliseum Saturday afternoon to win the DoubleTree Invitational and improve to 10-2 on the season. Avery Acker was named MVP of the tournament, recording 61 assists with nine digs against the Roadrunners (9-5).
Trailing 23-22 in the fourth, SMU scored three straight to end the match with a 25-23 win. UTSA took a 5-2 lead to start the set, and pushed it to five, 12-7. Still trailing by three, 21-18, the Mustangs began mounting the comeback in an attempt to avoid a fifth set. SMU rallied to tie the score, 22-22, before the final push for the win.
Morgan Heise had 19 digs in the final non-conference match, earning the tournament's Best Libero award. Abbey Bybel and Kristen Stehling were also named to the all-tournament team. Bybel had a team-high 14 kills with 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Stehling hit .375 with eight kills, three blocks and two digs against UTSA. Janelle Giordano and Katie Hegarty also scored 12 kills each for SMU.
UTSA avoided the sweep with a 25-21 win in the third set. SMU started the set with a 6-1 run, but the Roadrunners answered right back, tying the score 7-7. UTSA later scored four straight to take a 14-12 lead, and never trailed again. The Mustangs were down by five, 23-18, and scored three straight before the Roadrunners ended the set with two straight points.
The Mustangs went on a 6-1 run, taking a 16-13 lead on their way to a 25-17 victory in the first set. SMU finished the set on an 8-2 run for the 25-17 win and a 1-0 advantage in the match. The two teams were even through the first half of the set, with neither team leading by more than two until SMU claimed the three-point advantage at 16-13. The Mustangs hit .405 in the set with 19 kills, while holding UTSA to 11 kills and a .147 attack percentage.
In the second set, SMU took a four-point lead early, 10-6, and continued to build the lead as the set continued, taking a 2-0 advantage in the match with another 25-17 win. The Mustangs hit .438 in the set, scoring 17 kills, while UTSA was again held to just 11 points on the attack.
The Mustangs hit .269 as a team with 67 kills. UTSA hit .405 in the fourth set to push its attack percentage to .207 for the match, finishing with 52 kills. SMU faces Houston on the road Friday night at 7 p.m. in the American Athletic Conference opener.
