Box Score
Season Stats
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (SMU) -- The SMU volleyball team came back in the fourth set to take a 3-1 win (25-21, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22) over Santa Clara in the second round of the Lobo Classic in the Johnson Center Saturday. Janelle Giordano and Cailin Bula led the Mustangs with 13 kills each.
The Mustangs (4-1) trailed 12-6 after Santa Clara (3-2) started the set on a 7-2 run. SMU battled all the way back, cutting the lead to two, 12-10, before eventually taking its first lead of the set, 18-17, on back-to-back kills by Kristen Stehling. SMU out-scored the Broncos 10-5 down the stretch to take the win, its second of the tournament.
Bula hit .333 in the match, scoring 13 kills with just three errors, and Stehling finished with a match-high .389 attack percentage, reaching double figures for the first time this season with 10 kills. Avery Acker had 46 assists, and Morgan Heise recorded 22 digs. The Mustangs hit .203 as a team, and Abbey Bybel tallied nine kills and 12 digs.
SMU fought off Santa Clara in the third, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-18 win. The Mustangs took an 18-10 lead, but the Broncos scored five of the next six points to cut the lead to four, 19-15. This time SMU shut down the run, holding Santa Clara to just three more points, scoring six down the stretch to take the set. Bybel and Bula each scored four kills in the set to pace the Mustangs offensively.
The Mustangs scored three unanswered points to take a 16-13 lead, and held on for a 25-21 win in the first set. With the score tied, 5-5, SMU went on a 6-1 run to take an 11-6 lead over the Broncos. Santa Clara answered with a run of its own, tying the score, 13-13, with three straight points at the end of the run. SMU pushed its lead to six, 21-15, before Santa Clara rallied back to within two, 21-19. The Mustangs scored four of the next six points to take the set.
Santa Clara came back to take the second set, 25-22, evening the match at one set each. SMU led 19-16 with a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the match, but the Broncos scored three straight to tie the score, sparking a 9-3 run to end the set. The Mustangs led by as many as five in the set, using a 6-2 run to take a 14-9 lead, but Santa Clara kept battling, eventually winning the set. Despite five kills by Giordano.
The momentum changed to Santa Clara's favor when Giordano was called for a net violation after slamming the ball down on an over pass by the Broncos late in the second set. The point would've given SMU a 20-16 lead, but instead the score was 19-17. Giordano hit her next attack just wide, and a Santa Clara kill on the next point tied the score, 19-19, setting the stage for the final run by the Broncos.
SMU battles New Mexico for the tournament championship Saturday night at 9 p.m. CT/8 p.m. MT.
