CHARLOTTE (SMU)- The SMU volleyball team opened its American Athletic Conference road stand with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-15) sweep of Charlotte on Friday night in Halton Arena.
SMU (11-6; 5-1 AAC) picked up its seventh sweep of the season and third consecutive road victory. The Mustang defense shined, holding Charlotte to a .047 hitting percentage.
Jamison Wheeler led the way for SMU with 15 kills on .394 hitting.
Emma Clothier tallied eight kills on .412 hitting, and led SMU in blocks with four.
Natalie Perdue turned in seven kills and 10 digs.
Hannah Whittingstall finished with four kills and two blocks, while
Naya Shime posted four kills and as many digs along with a block.
Sina Uluave led the Mustang defense with 15 digs, while adding five assists.
Celia Cullen dished out a team-high 29 assists and added four digs and a pair of blocks.
Brooke Frazier finished with nine digs and two assists and
Casey Batenhorst tallied two service aces.
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. A Perdue kill put the Mustangs on the board first. Three kills from Wheeler and one from Glover gave SMU a four point advantage early in the set. Five unanswered propelled SMU to a 15-8 lead at the media timeout. The Mustangs pulled away out of the pause, and a kill by Lauren Ohlinger and a block by Shime and Clothier finished off Charlotte 25-15. The Mustangs held the 49ers to .081 hitting in the first frame.
Set Two:
Four unanswered from the Mustangs erased an early 49er lead and forced Charlotte to burn its first timeout of the set with a 7-6 lead. A Wheeler service ace highlighted three straight that knotted the set at 10 apiece. A kill from Clothier gave SMU its first lead of the set. Two more from Clothier and two from Wheeler highlighted a run that saw SMU take control by winning 12 out of the final 15 points of the frame. An ace from Batenhorst sealed a 25-16 set two victory.
Set Three:
The teams went back and forth to start the set, but a 3-0 run gave SMU an 11-8 lead and forced a Charlotte timeout. A Clothier kill and three straight 49er errors continued the run out of the break.
Back-to-back Wheeler kills gave SMU its 10th point out of the previous 12 and extended the Mustang lead to 18-10. SMU used its separation to finish off the match with a dominating 25-15 set three victory.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader:
Jamison Wheeler (15)
SMU Assist Leader:
Celia Cullen (29)
SMU Digs Leader:
Sina Uluave (15)
SMU Blocks Leader:
Emma Clothier (4)
SMU Ace Leader:
Casey Batenhorst (2)
TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:
- With the win, SMU improved to 11-6 on the season, and 5-1 in conference.
- Wednesday was the third meeting between SMU and Charlotte. SMU trails the all-time series 2-1.
TEAM NOTES:
- SMU held Charlotte to a .047 hitting percentage. The Mustangs held an opponent under a .100 hitting percentage for the third time this season (vs. Lipscomb, vs. Memphis, at Charlotte).
- SMU won its third consecutive conference road match.
- SMU is 8-0 when leading in kills.
- SMU is 7-1 when leading in blocks.
- SMU is 7-1 when leading in digs.
- SMU is 11-1 when recording a higher attacking percentage than its opponents.
- SMU is 7-1 in three set matches.
- A Mustang tallied 15+ kills for the 10th time this season.
- Two Mustangs tallied 10+ digs for the eighth time this season.
- Three Mustangs tallied five plus kills for the second time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills (15) for the sixth time this season. The sophomore outside hitter turned in her second highest hitting percentage of the season (.394). Wheeler tallied double-digit kills for the ninth time this season and added five digs, a block and an assist.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs (15) for the eighth consecutive match and turned in double-digits for the 13
th time this season. Uluave added five assists.
Celia Cullen dished out a team-high (29) assists and added four digs and a pair of blocks. Cullen has led the Mustangs in assists in all 17 matches and entered today's contest ranked in the top-25 in the nation in total assists.
Natalie Perdue tallied double-digit digs (10) for the fifth time this season. She added seven kills and a block.
Emma Clothier led the Mustangs in blocks with four. She added eight kills on .412 hitting.
Casey Batenhorst led the Mustangs with two service aces.
UP NEXT:
SMU is back in action on Sunday at noon CT at Florida Atlantic.
