DALLAS (SMU) – SMU volleyball started the 2021 season with two sweeps over Pacific and SFA on the first day of the SMU DoubleTree Invitational.

The Mustangs begin 2-0 for the third straight season as Head Coach Lisa Seifert earned her 425^th win at SMU.

Box Score (PDF)
SMU, 3 Pacific 0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-21)
SMU (2-0) began the day against the Pacific Tigers. The Mustangs hit .333 and notched 43 kills on the way to victory. Hannah Jacobs and Jadyn Bauss picked up right where they left off a year ago and led SMU with 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Lily Heim dished out 32 assists, while Makayla Miller protected the back line with 17 digs from the libero position.

Three Mustangs gathered a .400 hitting percentage or better with a minimum of nine swings. Bria' Merchant had half of the team's six service aces, tying a career high. Kaitlyn Knobbe and Jamison Wheeler both made their collegiate debuts in the team's first match of the season.

Box Score (PDF)
SMU, 3 SFA 0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-22)
In the Mustangs' second match of the day Rachel Woulfe led the team with 12 kills, while Jacobs added 11 against Stephen F. Austin. SMU went on to finish with a .368 hitting percentage as opposed to a .176% from the opponent. SMU limited themselves to just eight attack errors. Heim once again set up the offense with 32 more assists. Alex Glover hit a personal-best .875 gathering seven kills on eight attacks to bolster the offense. Bauss also matched her career-best with three block assists against the Ladyjacks.

SFA (0-2) committed 18 attack errors and was unable to gather much through the first two sets. In a tightly contested third set, the Ladyjacks jumped out to a 9-7 lead. After the set was tied at 11, SMU scored four straight points, including back-to-back kills by Bauss to take a 15-11 advantage. SFA cut the lead down to two (22-20), but the Mustangs held tough and took the home court victory.

UP NEXT
SMU will face North Carolina on Saturday on the final day of the SMU DoubleTree Invitational. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

SMU (2-0, 0-0 AAC) vs. North Carolina (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
Dallas, Texas | Moody Coliseum
Saturday, August 28, 2021 – 2:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats