BOCA RATON, Fla. (SMU)-  Jamison Wheeler turned in a season-high 21 kills with teammate Natalie Perdue adding 16 to lead the SMU volleyball team to a four set (28-26, 25-21, 23-25, 25-19) victory over Florida Atlantic on Sunday afternoon in Baldwin Arena.

SMU (12-6; 6-1 AAC) picked up its fourth consecutive road win and second straight conference victory. Four different Mustangs tallied 10+ kills in a balanced offensive effort.

Perdue turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 18 digs. The senior outside hitter's 18 digs tied her career high. Wheeler added eight digs, while Emma Clothier finished with 13 kills on .440 hitting. The graduate middle blocker recorded a season-high in service aces with three.  
 
Sina Uluave notched 21 digs and added a pair of assists. Celia Cullen dished out a season-high 58 assists and added eight digs and two blocks. Naya Shime shined, finishing with 11 kills, three digs and a block. Brooke Fraizer notched 14 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. Florida Atlantic jumped out to an early five point lead. Three straight service aces from Clothier and a kill from Wheeler brought the set within one. The teams battled back and forth until the media timeout, where the Owls led 15-14. Three unanswered from SMU knotted the score at 19 apiece and forced a Florida Atlantic timeout. The remainder of the set saw five ties, but three straight kills from Perdue, Wheeler and Clothier prevailed the Mustangs to a 28-26 victory.

Set Two:
SMU erased an early Florida Atlantic lead with a 5-0 run propelled by a Casey Batenhorst ace and Wheeler kill. The Owls went on a run of their own to even the set at 15. SMU took four of the following five after kills from Wheeler and one from Cullen. Both teams traded 3-0 runs but kills from Shime, Clothier, and Wheeler sealed a 25-21 set two win. 

Set Three:
A pair of kills from Wheeler and one from Shime started the third frame for the Mustangs. Florida Atlantic took five out of the following six points to lead 7-4. Two kills from Clothier evened the set at nine apiece, and back-to-back kills from Wheeler gave SMU an 11-9 lead and forced a Florida Atlantic timeout. Two straight kills from Perdue extended the Mustang advantage to 15-13. Clothier and Perdue struck back-to-back, putting SMU ahead by three and forcing the Owls to burn another timeout. Florida Atlantic fought back after the break but kills from Wheeler, Shime, and Clothier extended SMU's lead to three. Four unanswered from the Owls gave them a 25-23 win. 

Set Four:
FAU jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the fourth frame. Kills from Clothier and Cullen brought the set within one. Two kills from Shime, and a service ace from Wheeler knotted the frame at 14 apiece. The Mustangs began to take control with a 6-0 highlighted by a Perdue ace and kills from Clothier and Wheeler to go up 24-17. Wheeler's 21st kill sealed the victory for the Mustangs.

FROM THE TEAM
"Last week, we lost an extremely hard match against Wichita State," senior outside hitter Naya Shime said. "Although we were all disappointed, we knew that we had to stay focused and have some of our best practices of the year. I am extremely proud of the team for coming out this weekend with fight and winning both matches."

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (21)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (58)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (21)
SMU Blocks Leader: Emma Clothier/Celia Cullen (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Emma Clothier (3)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:

• With the win, SMU improved to 12-6 on the season, and 6-1 in conference.
• Sunday was the first meeting between SMU and Florida Atlantic. SMU leads the all-time series 1-0.

TEAM NOTES:

• SMU won its fourth consecutive conference road match.
• SMU is 9-0 when leading in kills.
• SMU is 12-1 when recording a higher attacking percentage than its opponents.
• SMU is 10-2 when leading in service aces.
• Four Mustangs tallied 10+ kills for the second time this season.
• Two Mustangs tallied 15+ kills for the second time this season.
• Three Mustangs tallied 10+ digs for the fifth time this season.
• Two Mustangs tallied 15+ digs for the second time this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs in kills for the seventh time this season and second straight match after turning in a season-high 21. The sophomore outside hitter tallied double-digit kills for the 10^th time this season and added eight digs, and a block. Wheeler entered the match after turning in her second highest hitting percentage of the season Friday against Charlotte (.394).
Natalie Perdue turned in her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 18 digs. Perdue's 18 digs tied a career-high and she finished with double-digits for the sixth time this season. Perdue turned in double-digit kills for the 10^th time this season.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs (21) for the ninth consecutive match and finished with double-digits for the 14^th time this season. Uluave passed out two assists.
Celia Cullen dished out a season-high 58 assists and added eight digs and two blocks . Cullen has led the Mustangs in assists in all 18 matches.
Brooke Frazier finished with double-digit digs (14) for the seventh time this season.
Emma Clothier tallied a season-high three service aces. She added 13 kills on .440 hitting. Clothier reached double-digits for the ninth time this season.
Naya Shime tallied double-digit kills (11) for the fifth time this season, while adding three digs and a block.
 
UP NEXT:      
SMU continues its road stand at Tulsa on Friday and Saturday.