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Postmatch Press Conference

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 10 SMU volleyball swept its third straight opponent Friday night, running past Duke (9-15, 5-8 ACC) at Moody Coliseum with set scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-22. The Mustangs improved to 18-6 on the season and collected their tenth ACC win of the year.
 
With three aces Friday night against Duke, Natalie Foster tied SMU's single-season ace record of 51. The Mustangs saw production from up and down the line up against the Blue Devils, led by Naya Shime, with 11 kills while hitting .333 while adding seven digs. Setter Celia Cullen added 36 assists kills and six digs, and Brooke Frazier led the Mustangs with nine digs. 
 
Along with her three aces, Foster also added eight kills while hitting .412 and a team-high six blocks. The Mustangs hit .389 as a club, their fourth-highest attack percentage of the season and third-best in ACC action. 
 
MATCH NOTES:

• The win marks the program's first win over the Blue Devils. The Mustangs entered the contest 0-2.
• SMU has swept 12 opponents this season.
• Foster has now earned three or more aces in nine matches this season.  
• With six digs against Duke, Maya Tabron needs four more digs to reach 1,000 for her career.
• Shime went for 10+ kills for the 19th time this season.
• The Mustangs out-blocked the Blue Devils 8-1 and won the battle at the service line with seven aces while allowing only three. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET ONE | After an even first few points, resulting in a 4-4 tie to start the match, the Mustangs created separation with a three-point swing that included kills from Jamison Wheeler, an attack error, and an ace from Casey Batenhorst. SMU slowly increased their lead and then used a 6-0 run to take control of the first set. The run gave SMU a 19-10 lead, including kills from four Mustangs. Duke responded with two points after the run, but SMU collected three more, two of which came on aces from Foster. The Blue Devils scrapped for points late, holding on four two set points on back-to-back kills by Shime, ending Duke's hopes of an opening set win with a kill to take the first frame 25-16. Shime led the Mustangs, who hit .455 in the first set, with six kills.  
                                                                                                          
SET TWO | Duke kept paced with the Mustangs in the early moments of the second set, eventually taking a two-point lead (8-6). SMU didn't let their deficit stand for long, responding to the momentum shift with seven straight points with Ellie Bolton on a service run. Several Mustangs had a hand in the run, but Foster stood out for the SMU with two kills during the stretch. Duke stopped the bleeding momentarily, but three more points in a row came the Mustangs' way, and then a four-point run put the set out of reach, putting SMU up ten (20-10). Duke collected themselves down the stretch, with four straight, which cut their deficit to six, but Natalia Newsome forced set point with a kill and, after a point by the Blue Devils, Wheeler capped off the set with a kill to give SMU a 2-0 advantage, winning the frame 25-18.  Wheeler and Foster each put down three kills in the frame.

SET THREE | SMU picked up where they left off and collected the first two points of the third set. However, Duke scored four straight points to take a 4-2 lead. The Blue Devils stretched that lead to as much as four (11-7) until three straight by the Mustangs cut the lead down to one. SMU finally closed the gap and took the lead thanks to four straight by the Mustangs, which gave them a 17-15 lead. Again, Duke had a quality response, collecting six of the following eight points to take a 20-19 lead. After a timeout by SMU to talk things over, Newsome gave the Mustangs another spark after being added to the rotation. She leaped high for back-to-back kills, followed by a big block from Celia Cullen and Newsome, which gave the Ponies a 22-20 lead. A kill from the Blue Devils trimmed the lead back down to one, but SMU earned three of the final four points, capped off by a kill from Shime, completing the sweep. Shime led the final set with four kills as the Mustangs closed the match, hitting .382 in the third set.  
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Naya Shime (11)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (36)
SMU Digs Leader: Brooke Frazier (9)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalie Foster (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Natalie Foster (3)
 
UP NEXT:    
SMU Volleyball will host No. 25 North Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 1 p.m. CT inside Moody Coliseum. For all things SMU Volleyball, follow the program on Instagram, X, and Facebook.