DALLAS (SMU)-  The SMU volleyball team won its fifth straight match with a (25-23, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18) victory in the first of two matches against Rice on Friday night in Moody Coliseum.

Three different Mustangs tallied 10 plus plus kills, while three notched 10 plus digs. The Mustangs recorded their second best blocking performance of the year after tallying 12, and turned in nine service aces. SMU is 7-1 in Moody Coliseum.

Jamison Wheeler turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills on .350 hitting along with 14 digs. Celia Cullen posted her fifth double-double of the season with 45 assists and 12 digs, while adding four blocks and three kills. Emma Clothier tallied 14 kills on .342 hitting. The graduate middle blocker added six blocks, marking the seventh time this season she's turned in five plus blocks in a match. 

Natalie Perdue posted 13 kills, while adding four digs and three blocks. Alex Glover tallied three kills and five blocks, marking her second consecutive five plus blocking performance and fourth of the season. Naya Shime added seven kills, nine digs and four blocks.

Sina Uluave notched 13 digs and passed out five assists and Brooke Frazier finished with nine digs and two service aces. Casey Batenhorst finished with two aces, and Lauren Ohlinger turned in one along with three digs. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Jamison Wheeler, Natalie Perdue, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Naya Shime, Celia Cullen, and Sina Uluave. Two kills from Perdue and one from Clothier propelled SMU to a 4-0 run to start the match. Rice fought back and brought the set within one, but three unanswered from the Mustangs forced a Rice timeout, trailing 11-6. Another Clothier kill, and an assisted block with Cullen put SMU in front 15-9. Clothier's fifth kill of the set pushed SMU ahead 18-12 and forced Rice to burn its final timeout. Rice answered with four of its own, forcing an SMU timeout up 22-20. Perdue ended the Owls run with back-to-back kills, and a Clothier kill sealed a 26-24 set one victory. 

Set Two:
A Frazier ace, two Clothier kills, and a block from Clothier/Cullen erased an early deficit and put the Mustangs ahead 6-4. The Owls led 15-14 at the media timeout. A Clothier kill knotted the set at 15 apiece out of the timeout. The following few points went back and forth, but Perdue's ninth kill of the match sparked two unanswered, and Rice burned a timeout down 20-18. Three straight from Rice tied the set at 22 apiece. The Owls took the following two points, and a Clothier kill brought the Mustangs within one, but Rice closed out the set with a 25-23 victory. 

Set Three:
Rice jumped out to a 12-9 lead, but three kills from Wheeler and one from Clothier sparked five unanswered, giving the Mustangs their first lead. A Rice error, another Wheeler kill and one from Glover, extended SMU's lead to three. An assisted block from Glover and Shime and a Wheeler ace gave SMU a 20-16 lead. A 4-0 run from Rice knotted the set at 21 and forced an SMU timeout. SMU regained the lead after of the break. The Owls brought the set within a point, but a Clothier kill, Ohlinger ace, and Wheeler kill rattled off three straight to give the Mustangs a 25-22 victory. 

Set Four:
An ace from Clothier, a block from Glover and Cullen, and a pair of Rice errors gave SMU an early 5-2 lead and forced Rice to burn a timeout. A block from Clothier and Shime, a kill from Shime, and one from Glover sparked a Mustang run, forcing Rice to take another timeout down 12-7. SMU created separation after a pair of kills from Clothier and a block with Cullen. Two Wheeler kills extended SMU's lead to nine. Rice put together a 4-0 run, and SMU called a timeout with a 20-15 lead. A kill and ace from Wheeler, a Rice error, and a Glover kill gave SMU four straight out of the break, and a Cullen kill finished off the Owls 25-18.   

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (15)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (45)
SMU Digs Leader: Jamison Wheeler (14)
SMU Blocks Leader: Emma Clothier (6)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:

• With the win, SMU improved to 15-6 on the season, and 9-1 in conference.
• Saturday was the 38^th meeting between SMU and Tulsa. SMU trails the all-time series 25-13.

TEAM NOTES:

• SMU won its fifth consecutive match.
• SMU is 7-1 in Moody Coliseum.  
• SMU is 10-1 when leading in blocks.
• SMU is 13-2 when leading in service aces.
• SMU recorded its second most service aces (9) of the season. SMU tallied 15 at UTSA on 9/23.
• SMU tied its second most blocks with 12. The Mustangs have tallied 12 blocks two other matches this season- vs. Texas Tech (9/15) and vs. Baylor (9/6).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Jamison Wheeler turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 14 digs. Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills for the 10^th time this season and fifth straight match, while recording double-digit digs for the eighth time.
Emma Clothier tallied 14 kills on .342 hitting. Clothier tallied double-digits for the 10th time this season. The graduate middle blocker added six blocks, marking the seventh time this season she's turned in five plus blocks. 
Natalie Perdue posted double-digit kills (13) for the 13th time this season. She added four digs and three blocks. 
Celia Cullen recorded her fifth double-double of the season (45 assists, 12 digs). The senior setter has led the Mustangs in assists in all 21 matches and posted double-digit assists for the 21^st time this season and digs for the fifth time. She added four blocks and three kills.
Alex Glover tallied five blocks, marking her second consecutive five plus blocking performance and fourth of the season. 
Sina Uluave notched double-digit digs (13) for the 17^th time this season. Uluave passed out five assists.

UP NEXT:      
SMU finishes off the weekend against Rice on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Moody Coliseum.