DALLAS (SMU) – On a season-best .392 team hitting percentage and only four attack errors, No. 7 SMU Volleyball earned its sixth sweep of the season (25-20, 25-14, 25-14) with a commanding showing against Wake Forest (9-11, 3-6 ACC) Friday night inside Moody Coliseum.
 
The Mustangs improved to 15-4, 7-2 in ACC action, and have won seven straight matches, their longest winning streak of the season.
 
Malaya Jones reached double-digit kills for the fifth straight match, going for 16 terminations, while hitting a season-high .536, against the Demon Deacons. Jones also added six digs and three blocks. The opposite was joined in double-figures by senior outside Madison Scheer, who recorded a season-best 11 kills, while hitting .435.
 
Setter Averi Carlson logged 28 assists in the three-setter with three digs and three blocks. In the first start of her career, freshman middle Maggie Croft finished the match with three kills, two digs and four blocks.
 
SMU out-blocked Wake Forest 10-2 and held the Demon Deacons to a .109 hitting percentage.  
 
MATCH NOTES: 

• Jones had double-digit kills for the 15th time this season and has done so in five straight matches. Her 16 kills were the most in a three-set match by a Mustang this season.
• Christa Wilburn had another impactful night from the service line, logging four aces against Wake Forest. It was her fifth match this season with three or more aces.
• Jordyn Schilling now has 16 aces in ACC play after adding one to her season numbers against the Demon Deacons. She also added a team-best 10 digs in the victory.
• With the win, SMU has won the last two meetings against Wake Forest and now leads the overall series 2-1.
• SMU is 9-0 when hitting over .300 this season, 5-0 in ACC outings.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | Wake Forest challenged the Mustangs early, taking a 15-12 lead entering the mid-set break, but SMU regrouped out of the stoppage with a 6-0 run and scored nine of the following 10 points to win the opening frame, which helped guide it to a 25-20 opening-set win. Malaya Jones paced the Mustangs in the first set with six kills, hitting .500. SMU's block was effective early with five total blocks in the frame.

SET TWO | Wake Forest again kept pace with SMU in the early going of the set, but SMU put its foot on the gas midway through. Starting with an attack error by the Demon Deacons, SMU rallied off eight straight to go up 20-11. Christa Wilburn was at the service line during the run, applying significant pressure to get Wake Forest out of system early. She logged three of her four aces during the run that ultimately gave the Mustangs all the cushion it needed to win the second set dominantly. SMU went on to win the frame 25-14, led by the one-two punch of Jones and Scheer, who had five and four kills, respectively. SMU hit .406 in the frame with no attack errors.  

SET THREE | SMU cruised to win in the third set, hitting a match-best .455 in the final frame. Jones and Scheer each had five of the 12 kills for the Mustangs in the third, helping SMU earn a 25-14 set three win. The Mustangs held Wake Forest to their lowest efficiency of the match at .074 in the third set.  

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones (16)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (28)
SMU Digs Leader: Jordyn Schilling (10)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Christa Wilburn (4)
SMU Points Leader: Malaya Jones (18.5)
 
Up Next: SMU will host NC State on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT to conclude its home weekend.