GREENVILLE, N.C. (SMU)-  The (RV) SMU volleyball team earned its third straight sweep with a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-22) victory over East Carolina on Friday night in Minges Coliseum.

SMU (19-6; 13-1 overall) picked up its 12^th sweep of the year and ninth straight victory. Three different Mustangs finished with 12 plus kills.

Jamison Wheeler led the Mustang attack, finishing with 15 kills on .342 hitting, while adding eight digs and a block. Naya Shime turned in double-digit kills with 13 on .423 hitting and added four digs and three blocks. Emma Clothier posted 13 kills on .367 hitting and finished with four digs, three blocks, and an ace. 

Sina Uluave led the Mustang defense with 18 digs. Celia Cullen passed out 41 assists and added seven digs, two kills, and as many blocks. Brooke Frazier finished with eight digs. Casey Batenhorst dished out four assists, and Lauren Ohlinger tallied a service ace and a pair of digs. 

Natalie Perdue tallied five kills and as many digs. Alex Glover finished with a kill and three blocks. 

FROM THE TEAM:
"I am really proud of the grit and heart we displayed as a team tonight, Head Coach Sam Erger said. "ECU is a good team that is well coached and trending up as a program. They have athletes and are at the top of the conference in multiple statistical categories, so to travel to their home and earn a sweep takes grit and we displayed that tonight. I'm also super proud of Celia (Cullen) executing on our offensive game plan well. She led three of our hitters to double digit kills hitting over .300 and it takes a great setter to do that. She is an elite setter and paces our conference in her position. I can't talk about this match with our pointing out Naya Shime. 13 kills on 26 swings. She was unstoppable and we could really count on her. All in all, I'm happy for a tough road win and ready to finish conference play strong."

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. The Pirates jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. SMU took six out of the following eight points after an ace from Frazier, kills from Clothier and Cullen, and three ECU errors. Back-to-back kills from Wheeler sparked four unanswered that knotted the set at 10 apiece. Two kills from Clothier and one from Wheeler gave SMU its first lead at 17-15 and forced an ECU timeout. The following few points went back and forth, but a Shime kill and block with Glover forced an ECU timeout. Shime extended SMU's lead to 22-18 out of the break. Two more Shime kills and a solo block from Clothier led the Mustangs to a 25-20 victory in the first frame. 

Set Two:
Neither team created separation early. Back-to-back kills from Wheeler and Shime put the Mustangs up 9-8. A kill and two Pirate errors gave SMU a two point advantage. ECU led 15-14 at the media timeout. Three straight kills from Clothier erased ECU's lead and put SMU up 21-20. A kill from Wheeler paired with a Cullen and Glover Block forced an ECU timeout down 23-22. The teams went point for point, but a Glover and Shime rejection paired with a Perdue kill sealed a 26-24 set two victory. 

Set Three:
SMU jumped out to a fast start in the third set. Kills from Perdue and Wheeler, a block from Cullen, and a service ace from Ohlinger helped SMU to a 6-2 lead. Three Wheeler kills, and another from Clothier kept SMU ahead by five. The Mustangs maintained their advantage throughout the middle part of the set. Clothier's 12th kill of the match gave SMU a 21-18 lead and forced an ECU timeout. A service error and block from Shime and Glover sealed a 25-22 victory.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jamison Wheeler (15)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (41)
SMU Digs Leader: Sina Uluave (18)
SMU Blocks Leader: Three with three
SMU Ace Leader: Four with one 

TEAM RECORDS SERIES NOTES:

• With the win, SMU improved to 19-6 on the season, and 13-1 in conference.
• Friday was the 26^th meeting between SMU and ECU. SMU leads the all-time series 20-5.

TEAM NOTES:

• SMU won its ninth consecutive conference match.
• SMU is 13-0 when leading in kills.
• SMU is 17-1 when leading in service aces.
• SMU is 13-2 when leading in assists
• SMU is 13-1 when leading in digs.
• Three Mustangs tallied 10+ kills for the eighth time this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES:
Jamison Wheeler led the team in kills (15) on .342 hitting for the 12^th time this season. She turned in double-digit kills for the 15^th time and added eight digs and a block.
Naya Shime finished with double-digit kills (13 ) on .423 hitting for the second consecutive match and 10^th time this season. Shime added four digs and three blocks. Shime entered the night after recording eight kills on a career-high .889 hitting against USF. 
Emma Clothier turned in 13 kills on .367  hitting. Clothier finished with double-digit kills for the 13^th time this season and added four digs and three blocks.
Sina Uluave led the Mustangs in digs with 18 for the 14^th time this season. Uluave reached double-digits for the 19^th time this season. 
Celia Cullen passed out a team-high 41 assists. The senior setter has led the Mustangs in every match this season. She added seven digs, two kills and as many blocks.

UP NEXT:      
SMU hits the road for back-to-back matches against Tulane on Friday and Sunday.