DALLAS (SMU) – Wearing gold shoe laces to raise awareness for pediatric cancer, the SMU volleyball team defeated USF, 3-1 (22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 25-20), in Moody Coliseum Friday night to improve to 5-0 in American Athletic Conference matches, 11-5 overall. Lauren Mills led the Mustangs with 15 kills and had 12 digs for her league-leading 11th double-double of the season.

The Mustangs closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set, winning the last three sets. With the score tied, 10-10, SMU scored four consecutive, with two kills from Lexi Nordmann. The run was all the Mustangs needed to keep the lead the rest of the way. USF (6-9, 1-4 The American) never got within two points again.

Katie Hegarty joined Mills in double figures, scoring 10 kills, and Brittany Adams and Kelly Brunstein each added nine kills. It was the SMU defense, however, that made the difference in the match. The Mustangs finished with 72 digs and 11 blocks, holding USF to a .071 attack percentage. Adams matched her career-high with 21 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Montana Watts also had 21 digs. Brunstein accounted for eight of SMU's blocks.

SMU held off the Bulls in the third set, taking a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-19 win. The Mustangs scored the first five points for the second straight set, and took an 11-4 lead with a 4-0 run. The Bulls answered with four straight of their own, cutting the lead to three, 11-8. SMU pushed the lead back to six, 15-9, but USF again countered, coming back to cut the lead to one, 19-18. The Mustangs posted three of their five blocks on the final seven serves to take the set.

USF came back to win the first set, 25-22. The Mustangs led most of the way, scoring three of four to take a 16-13 lead, forcing the Bulls to use their first timeout. After the break, USF rallied for five straight points, taking an 18-16 lead, its first of the set. SMU tied the score four more times before the set was over, but it was another 3-0 run by the Bulls that ended the set, 25-22.

The Mustangs countered with a 25-15 victory in the second set, tying the match at one set each. SMU scored the first five points of the set, and kept the Bulls from mounting a comeback. The lead was stretched to 10 before USF scored its fifth point, 14-4, and SMU led by as many as 11 while cruising to the win. Mills led the SMU offense with five kills and just one error after committing three errors in the first set. Defensively, the Mustangs held the Bulls to just nine kills on a .033 attack percentage.

SMU hosts UCF Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Mustangs for a Cure match. The Mustangs will wear pink jerseys as they raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research.