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DALLAS – SMU dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 23-21) match against Houston on Friday. The Mustangs (4-2, 0-2 AAC) fell behind 2-0 in the match, but battled all the way back to force a fifth set. Jadyn Bauss had nine kills in the third set to keep the Mustangs alive. SMU forced the Cougars to earn the game with a back-and-forth clash in the final set.
 
The Mustangs, who were without two starters due to Covid-19 protocols, dropped the first two sets before rallying to win the third and the fourth sets. You could still see a determined SMU group on the court that was not going to back down . SMU was down 18-12 in the set, but then a 7-1 Mustangs' run tied the match up at 19. Bauss had three kills in that key part of the set. The momentum swung to the SMU side of the court as the Mustangs' staved off elimination. SMU gutted out a fourth set win, holding the lead the rest of the way after it was tied at 10. Houston (5-1, 2-0 AAC) pushed SMU to its limits, but the Mustangs held tough to force a determining fifth set. In the final set, there were 16 ties and eight lead changes. Nine potential match points were available in the set. The Mustangs gave Houston everything they wanted, but the rally for SMU came up just short.
 
Bauss secured her fifth double-double on the season by adding 16 digs to her 21 kills. Hannah Jacobs and Alex Glover both had big nights at the net notching 15 and 10 kills, respectively. Zairyn Hemsley continued to step up at the setter position, dishing out a career-high 48 assists in the match. Bria' Merchant and Makayla Miller both had another big night defensively with 16 and 13 digs, respectively. Hemsley added 19 digs to lead SMU in that category.
 
Abbie Jackson paced Houston with a game-high 32 kills. Torie Frederick led all players with 25 digs.
 

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SMU hits the road for the first time this season. The Mustangs' play at Wichita State next Friday and Saturday on ESPN+.