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WINSTON SALEM, N.C. (SMU) – No. 10 SMU volleyball earned their 14th sweep of the season Sunday, defeating Wake Forest  (13-16, 5-13 ACC) 3-0 with set scores of 25-17, 25-19, and 25-20. The win moves the Mustangs to 23-6 on the year and 15-3 in the ACC with two matches left. 

Naya Shime led the Mustangs with ten kills and ten digs while hitting .444. Maya Tabron added eight kills and eight digs while hitting .636, and Nnedi Okammor contributed seven kills on nine swings.
 
Ellie Bolton became the third Mustang to collect 1,000 career digs this season, finishing with six in the match. Celia Cullen dished out 33 assists with six digs, two kills, and two blocks.
 
As a team, SMU hit .361 and out blocked the Demon Deacons 8-4. The Mustangs also won the battle at the service line with eight aces to three by Wake Forest and in digs, 35-26.
 
MATCH NOTES:

• SMU is on their longest winning streak of the season with eight straight. 
• SMU has 11 road wins this season, tied for the most in program history for a single season. (11-2023)
• Shime collected her second double-double of the season and ninth of her career.
• Shime went for ten or more kills for the 21st time this season and 12th against conference opponents.
• Foster now has 12 matches with 3+ aces this season.
• Foster also extended the program's single season ace record to 63, 12 higher than the previous record holder. 

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | The two teams jockeyed for a lead in the opening few points of the first frame. SMU was able to surge in front with a 3-0 run on a service and attack error by the Demon Deacons and an ace from Shime. The stretch put the Mustangs up 13-8 and forced Wake Forest into a timeout to discuss things. Another strong run by SMU, this time four straight, stretched their lead to nine, starting with a pair of kills from Wheeler, followed by an ace from Bolton and a block from Foster and Wheeler. The run put SMU up 19-10. The teams traded points down the stretch, but the lead was too much for the Demon Deacons to handle, as SMU took the first set 25-17. Wheeler led the first set with four kills, as SMU hit .600 in the
opening frame.
 
SET TWO | SMU continued their momentum from the first set to start the second frame, taking an early 3-1 lead with the three points coming on a kill from Tabron and back-to-back aces from Foster. Shortly after, Wake Forest raced in front with a 4-0 run and seven of the next ten to take a 9-5 advantage. SMU slowly chipped their way back into contention and eventually jumped ahead with a 5-0 run, giving the Mustangs a 15-13 lead and forcing Wake Forest into a timeout. The Demon Deacons were able to take back the lead momentarily (18-17), but another strong stretch by the Mustangs gave them the cushion they needed. SMU collected the following five points to go up 23-17 and eventually took the set 25-19 on an attack error by Wake Forest. Shime led the Mustangs with four kills on seven swings. SMU also out-blocked Wake Forest 4-1 in the frame.
 
SET THREE | Out of the intermission, the Mustangs went up 6-0. SMU increased their lead to as much as eight before a 4-0 run ending on back-to-back aces chopped the Mustang's lead in half. After a kill from Shime, Wake Forest collected four of the next five to get within two points at 14-12. A 3-0 run by SMU a few moments later put the Mustangs up five. The Demon Deacons didn't go away quietly, using a 3-0 run of their own to claw within three (23-20), but kills from Foster and Tabron finished off the Demon Deacons on their home court in three sets. The Mustangs hit .393 in the match's final set, led by Shime with four kills on eight swings.
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (10)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (33)
SMU Digs Leader: Naya Shime (10)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalie Foster (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Natalie Foster (4)
 
UP NEXT:    
SMU Volleyball will face off with Florida State for the second time this season on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 11 a.m. CT. The matchup is the final regular season road match for the Mustangs. For all things SMU Volleyball, follow the program on Instagram, X, and Facebook.