DALLAS (SMU) – No. 8 SMU volleyball earned its seventh straight victory Sunday afternoon, defeating Syracuse in consecutive sets (25-15, 25-19, 25-14). The Mustangs held the Orange to a -0.037 hitting percentage, the fourth-lowest opponent hitting percentage in program history.    

Malaya Jones finished with 14 kills, hitting .345, against the Orange, while Averi Carlson notched her ninth double-double of the season with 34 assists and 13 digs, to go along with two aces and four blocks against Syracuse. Favor Anyanwu added seven kills, hitting .667, with a team-best five blocks.   

SMU dug 54 balls in the win, the highest in a three-setter by the Mustangs this season. Jordyn Schilling led the defensive effort with 14 digs.     

MATCH NOTES     

• Malaya Jones reached the double-digit kill mark for the 23rd time this season, 16th in conference matches.      
• Averi Carlson now has nine double-doubles on the season, leading the team. Carlson has five in ACC play.    
• Jordyn Schilling's 14 digs marked her 18th time in double-figures this season. 
• The Mustangs finished with a 42-18 advantage in kills. Eighteen kills by Syracuse are the lowest by an SMU opponent this season.    
• SMU has won 15 of its last 16 matches.   
• SMU remains unbeaten in its series with Syracuse, now leading 5-0. 

HOW IT HAPPENED:      
The Mustangs started the match hot, hitting .300 and holding Syracuse to -0.129 hitting percentage in the opening set, leading to a 25-15 first set victory. SMU held the Orange to just five kills in the frame. Malaya Jones led the way for SMU with four kills in the first, but the Mustangs got production from several others. Six Mustangs recorded kills in the frame, and defensively, SMU dug 16 balls, led by Averi Carlson, who notched seven, while Jordyn Schilling added five in the first set. 

Syracuse went up 11-4 to start the second set, but SMU gathered themselves with an 8-0 run to draw within three. The momentum flipped in the Mustangs' favor, and Syracuse was unable to slow SMU down. SMU went on to win the second frame 25-19, behind seven kills from Malaya Jones in the second. The Mustangs hit .338 in the frame and held the Orange to a .049 hitting percentage.     

SMU held Syracuse to its lowest set percentage of the match in the third frame at -.054. Six Mustangs registered a kill in the set, led by Jadyn Livings with four terminations. The team effort resulted in a 25-14 set three score, the largest set differential in the match. SMU had 19 digs in each of the last two frames.     

SMU LEADERS:     
SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones (14)  
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (34)   
SMU Digs Leader: Jordyn Schilling (14)  
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (5)  
SMU Ace Leader: Averi Carlson (2)  
SMU Points Leader: Malaya Jones (15.5)    
 
Up Next: SMU will host Florida State on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 1 p.m. CT for its final regular-season home match of the season.