LEXINGTON, Ky. (SMU) – No. 10 SMU Volleyball (6-2) fell to No. 14 Purdue (7-1) Sunday in Lexington with set scores of 25-23, 22-25, 25-27, 18-25.
 
Opposite Malaya Jones led the Mustangs with 23 kills, hitting .360, with nine digs. Jadyn Livings finished the match with 18 kills and seven digs.
 
Setter Averi Carlson notched her fourth double-double of the season with 52 assists and a team high 10 digs. Casey Batenhorst logged a career-high four aces in the loss.
 
Purdue finished the match with a .294 hitting percentage while SMU hit .197 on Sunday. The Boilermakers controlled play at the net with a 10-3 advantage in blocks.
 
MATCH NOTES: 

• SMU fell to 3-0 all-time against Purdue.
• Jones' 23-kill outing was her third 20 or more kill outing this season and fifth double-digit kill performance of the year.
• Sunday's match was the first time this season that SMU didn't out-block its opponent.
• Batenhorst has now had three or more aces in six matches in her career, two of those coming this season.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | An early 5-0 run put SMU up 7-3. The Boilermakers kept close with the Mustangs and eventually tied the match at 14-14. An SMU 4-0 run stretched its lead back out to 18-14 around the media timeout. However, Purdue caught fire with seven straight, a run that put Purdue up 21-18, forcing SMU into a timeout. A late SMU push proved to be the difference, starting with three straight to tie it, including back-to-back aces from Batenhorst. After a point by Purdue, SMU collected the final three to close the frame on a run that saw a kill from Livings, an ace from Carlson, and an attack error by the Boilermakers. Livings led SMU with seven kills on ten swings.
 
SET TWO | Tied at 10-all Purdue strung together three straight to go up 10-7 early. Purdue extended its lead to five with four of the next six to go up 14-9. The Mustangs kept chipping away and then struck back with its longest run of the match, using six consecutive points to take a 21-22 lead. However, Purdue closed the frame with four straight to win the set 25-22. Purdue's block began to come on, out-blocking SMU 5-0 in the frame. There were eight ties and four lead changes in the set. Jones and Livings finished with five kills in the frame. 
 
SET THREE | Jones' four kills early to help SMU to a 7-5 lead. However, Purdue answered with four straight to go up 9-7, forcing SMU into a timeout. Purdue maintained a narrow lead throughout the middle portion of the third set, until a kill and block by Purdue extended its lead to four (21-17). The Mustangs were able to storm back with four of their own to level the score 21-21. SMU got to set point twice, but on the second, Purdue turned around three straight to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

SET FOUR | SMU was up (6-4) again early in the set, but Purdue strung together another long run, its longest run of the match (7-0), to jump out in front 11-6. The Mustangs battled to within two with three straight, ending on a kill from Jones; however, three straight by Purdue after SMU's push got the Boilermakers back out to a five-point advantage (16-11), forcing SMU into a timeout. Unfortunately for SMU, its deficit was too much to overcome as Purdue won 25-18, the largest set margin of the match, in the fourth to win the top 15 battle. Purdue hit .433 in the set, its highest efficiency of the match. 
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones (23)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (52)
SMU Digs Leader: Averi Carlson (10)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Casey Batenhorst (4)
SMU Points Leader: Malaya Jones (23.5)
 
Up Next: SMU will travel to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a matchup with Stephen F. Austin on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.