DALLAS (SMU)-  SMU volleyball clinched the American Athletic Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) win over North Texas Friday night in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs (22-6, 16-1 AAC) claimed their third conference title and first since the 2016 season.

The Mustangs won their 12^th straight match and earned their sixth consecutive sweep and 15^th of the season. SMU tallied its third highest hitting percentage of the year (.354). 

Three Mustangs finished with 10+ kills. Emma Clothier led the way with 12 kills on .611 hitting. The graduate student tallied at least 12 kills on .500 or better hitting for the seventh time this season. Clothier added five blocks, two assists, and two digs. Naya Shime turned in 10 kills, eight digs, one ace, and an assist, and graduate outside hitter Lauren Ohlinger posted 11 kills on .391 hitting and added four blocks, two digs, and an ace. 

Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs for the fourth consecutive match with 11. Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 36 assists and eclipsed 1,000 on the season. Jamison Wheeler tallied a career-high five blocks. The junior outside hitter added nine kills, five digs, one ace, and an assist.

Alex Glover posted four blocks and a kill, while Casey Batenhorst finished with two aces and as many digs. Brooke Frazier notched eight digs and dished out two assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set One:
Starting the match for SMU were Jamison Wheeler, Lauren Ohlinger, Emma Clothier, Alex Glover, Naya Shime, Celia Cullen, and Sina Uluave. Two kills from Clothier, and a service ace from Shime rattled off three straight to start the match for the Mustangs. SMU won six out of the following eight points to force a North Texas timeout with an 8-2 lead. SMU scored two more out of the break, and a kill from Glover and back-to-back aces from Batenhorst extended the lead to 10 and forced another Mean Green timeout. A UNT run brought the set within four, forcing SMU to call a timeout. Two UNT errors, back-to-back blocks from Glover and Wheeler, and a Wheeler ace put SMU ahead 24-15. Shime recorded her second kill of the match to seal a 25-18 set one victory. 

Set Two:
An Ohlinger solo block scored the first two points of the set for the Mustangs. Clothier tallied a kill and assisted Wheeler for one that gave SMU a two point lead. Two more kills from Ohlinger and Wheeler and three UNT errors gave SMU five out of six points and put the Mustangs up 12-7. Ohlinger and Clothier recorded back-to-back kills and teamed up for two blocks to extend SMU's lead to seven. Two kills from Wheeler and one from Shime gave SMU a 20-13 lead and forced a Mean Green timeout. SMU took a timeout after UNT answered with three straight. The Mean Green brought the set within one out of the break, but an Ohlinger kill halted the run, and a UNT error gave SMU a 25-22 victory in the second frame.

Set Three:
The teams went back and forth early. Two kills from Shime tied the set at seven apiece. Another Shime kill and assisted block from Clothier and Ohlinger gave SMU a one point lead. Ohlinger tallied two kills, and Clothier added one to spark a 3-0 run that gave SMU an 11-8 lead. The Mustangs took control of the set with two separate 3-0 runs that put them ahead 17-11. Back-to-back kills from Ohlinger extended the to seven and forced a Mean Green timeout. Shime kept the run going with three kills, and a Clothier kill sealed a 25-17 win.  

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Emma Clothier (12)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (36)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (11)
SMU Blocks Leader: Wheeler/Clothier (5)
SMU Ace Leader: Casey Batenhorst (2)

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:

• With the win, SMU improved to 22-6 on the season, and 16-1 in conference.
• Friday  was the 15^th meeting between SMU and North Texas. SMU leads the all-time series 12-3.

TEAM NOTES:

• SMU claimed its third conference title and first since the 2016 season.
• SMU won its 12^th consecutive conference match.
• SMU picked up its 15^th sweep of the season and sixth in a row.
• SMU turned in 10+ blocks for the 10^th time this season.
• SMU is 16-0 when leading in kills.
• SMU is 20-1 when leading in service aces.
• SMU is 16-1 when leading in blocks.
• SMU is 16-2 when leading in assists.
• SMU is 16-1 when leading in digs.
• SMU turned in a higher attacking percentage than its opponent for the 22^nd time this season.
• Three Mustangs tallied 10+ kills for the ninth time this season.
• SMU turned in its third best hitting percentage of the season (.354)

1. (vs. South Florida-.444). 
2. (vs. Memphis-.396)
3. (vs. UNT-.354)

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Emma Clothier led the Mustangs in kills with 12 on .611 hitting for the sixth time this season. She tallied double-digits for the 15^th time this year. Clothier tallied at least 12 kills on plus .500 hitting for the seventh time this season. Clothier passed out two assists and added five blocks, marking the 10^th time she's surpassed 5+ blocks.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs with 11 for the 17^th time this season and fourth consecutive match. Uluave reached double-digits for the 22^nd  time this year and passed an assist.
Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 36 assists. The senior setter has led the Mustangs in every match this season. Cullen surpassed 1000 assists on the year. She entered the night with 999, and now has passed out 1,035 this season.
Jamison Wheeler tallied a career-high five blocks. The junior outside hitter added nine kills, five digs, one ace and an assist.
Naya Shime tallied double-digits (10) for the 12^th time this season. She added eight digs, one ace and an assist.
Lauren Ohlinger turned in double-digit kills (11) on .391 hitting for the third time this season. She added a season-high four blocks, two digs, and an ace. 

UP NEXT:      
SMU faces North Texas on Saturday at 2 p.m.