CORAL GABLES, Fla. (SMU) – No. 10 SMU Volleyball ended the No. 18 Miami Hurricanes' 15-match winning streak and perfect 5-0 start to conference play with a 3-1 victory (25-12, 21-25, 25-14, 25-21) over the Hurricanes in Coral Gables Sunday afternoon. SMU improved to 12-4, 4-2 in the ACC action and earned its third ranked win of the season.
 
SMU excelled in the serve and pass phase of the match, out serving the Hurricanes, who entered the weekend as the national leaders in service aces. The Mustangs finished with a season-high 12 aces compared to just six from the Hurricanes, led by Jordyn Schilling, who notched a season-high four aces in the victory.
 
The Mustangs were also dominant at the net, running past the Hurricanes in team blocks 13-4. Sophomore Favor Anyanwu notched her second double-figure block outing of her career with 10 rejections, three of them solo blocks, on Sunday. 
 
Individually, SMU's dynamic pin-hitting pair Malaya Jones and Jadyn Livings each logged 12 kills in the win. Freshman Kennedi Rogers provided a spark for the Mustangs in the final two sets with nine kills, hitting .571.
 
Averi Carlson dished out 37 assists with eight digs and paced a Mustang offense that finished with a .340 hitting efficiency. Along with her team-best four aces, Schilling led SMU with 10 digs, her 11th time in double-figures this season.

MATCH NOTES: 

• Malaya Jones notched her 1,500th career kill in the second set Sunday against the Hurricanes.
• SMU collected its third ranked victory of the season and second consecutive win over the Hurricanes. The Mustangs are now 2-1 all-time against Miami.
• Jones tallied over 10 kills for the 12th time this season. Livings reached the double-digit mark in kills for the 14th time this year.
• SMU hit over .300 as a team for the seventh time this season and third time in five conference matches.
• The Mustangs held the Hurricanes to a .119 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season.
• Under Head Coach Sam Erger, SMU in the months of October and November are 46-9 (.836).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | Tied at 8-8, SMU gained separation with a 7-0 run on the back of a Carlson service run that put the Mustangs up 15-8 and forced the Hurricanes into a timeout. The Mustangs' block and service pressure became a trend early in the first set. SMU out-blocked the Hurricanes 5-1 in the first set and notched five aces in the opener, resulting in a 25-12 set one victory. The Mustangs hit an efficient .368 in the frame and held the Miami offensive attack to a -.036 hitting percentage in set one. Jones led the Mustangs' attack with five kills on nine swings, along with two aces.  
 
SET TWO | After a 6-2 start for the Mustangs in the second set, Miami managed to claw its way through the early deficit. A 4-0 run starting at the 16-15 mark put the Hurricanes up 18-16, their largest lead of the match to that point. Miami closed out the set strong and evened the set score at 1-1 using a 3-0 run to win the second frame 25-21.  

SET THREE | It was a 4-0 advantage for the Canes before SMU put together five straight, thanks to a strong service run by Schilling, who put down back-to-back aces in the sequence before a Miami timeout. Out of the timeout, Schilling continued applying pressure with another ace. She stayed on the line for two more points before the Canes stopped the run momentarily. SMU continued to pounce and extended a 5-0 lead (15-10) to nine with kills from Anyanwu, Rogers, and the setter Carlson. The run forced Miami into another timeout, but the break wasn't enough to erase the deficit as SMU cruised to a 25-14 set victory. As a team, SMU hit .571 in the third, led by Livings with five.

SET FOUR | Miami had the faster start in the fourth set, working to gain a 9-5 lead. SMU began to chip away and kept in striking distance until a six-point swing flipped the lead in the Mustangs' favor. Malaya Jones was at the service line during the run and notched a kill, along with kills from the libero Schilling, Livings, and then three consecutive blocks by Anyanwu and Carlson. Kennedi Rogers helped keep SMU's narrow lead with three kills, with the third putting SMU in the red zone. The Mustangs outscored 5-3 after that moment to close out a four-set victory with a 25-21 final set score.
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones/Jadyn Livings (12)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (37)
SMU Digs Leader: Jordyn Schilling (10)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (10)
SMU Ace Leader: Jordyn Schilling (4)
SMU Points Leader: Malaya Jones (16)
 
Up Next: SMU will continue its four match road stretch at Louisville on Friday, Oct. 17. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT on ACCNX.