Box Score

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (SMU) – Behind three different Mustangs with double-digit kills, the No. 10 SMU Volleyball team swept Stephen F. Austin 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-16) Thursday night in Nacogdoches, Texas. 
 
Jadyn Livings led the way with 14 kills on 22 swings, hitting .500 against the Lumberjacks. Malaya Jones went errorless in the match, finishing with 13 kills on 28 swings, hitting at a .464 percent clip. Natalia Newsome had a career-best 12 terminations while hitting an impressive .611 in the outing.
 
SMU as a team hit .383 for the match, including .457 in the third set alone, where the Mustangs held Stephen F. Austin to a .086 hitting percentage for the game. SMU had nine blocks in the match, with Natalia Newsome leading the way on five blocks, while Favor Anyanwu and Averi Carlson had three rejections Thursday night.
 
Carlson dished out 37 assists in the three-setter and added seven digs, two shy of the team leader. Mia Silva dug a career-high nine balls against the Lumberjacks.
 
MATCH NOTES: 

• SMU defeated SFA for the first time since the 2021 season.
• The Mustangs improved to 7-2 on the season, while SFA fell to 5-5.
• The win marked SMU's third sweep of the season.
• With 14 kills on the night, Jadyn Livings has reached double-figures in five straight matches.
• SMU improved to 7-1 when it out-blocked its opponent this season.
• SMU's .383 hitting percentage is its second highest percentage of the season. The Mustangs entered the match hitting .290, which ranked 22nd in the country.  
• SMU held SFA to a .086 hitting percentage, the third time this season the Mustangs have held its opponent to under .100. 
• Natalia Newsome had five kills in the first set, tying her career-high for kills in a single set.
• The Mustangs have one more non-conference matchup left before ACC play begins at home against No. 5 Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | A late push by the Mustangs helped SMU secure a tight opening set. The Mustangs won the opening frame 25-22, but it wasn't easy. SMU found itself down one (9-8) until it was able to rally off four straight with an attack error by SFA and then an ace from Carlson that came in between two terminations from Newsome, who finished the first frame a perfect 5-of-5. SFA didn't flinch after the run by the Mustangs and later got a two-point edge (18-16). However, SMU began settling in, starting with a quality answer with five of the following six points. A few powerful swings by Jones started the run. The run provided SMU with several set point opportunities, and in the third set, it secured a kill from Livings, who had four in the frame herself, to close the deal for SMU. There were 14 ties and six lead changes in the set, and SMU started off the match strong offensively with a .310 hitting percentage.
 
SET TWO | Setter Averi Carlson was the catalyst of a dominant second set by the Mustangs. Not only did she dish out 10 assists but she went on a 10-point service run to help SMU jump out to a giant lead, a lead that SFA never was able to recover from. That run started at the 9-7 mark, where, after trailing 6-4, SMU gained the two-point advantage with four straight kills from three different players. Carlson guided the Mustangs to 10-straight points, including an ace of her own to jump out to an 18-7 lead. SFA stopped the bleeding momentarily as Carlson's run ended on one of only two service errors, followed by an attack error by the Mustangs to make it 18-10. SMU didn't let back-to-back lost points phase them as the Mustangs ended the frame on a 7-2 run, including each of the last four to win the set in renowned fashion. SMU's block really came on in the second set notching a match-best six rejections in the frame.
 
SET THREE | The third set saw the Mustangs' best start to a frame as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead. SMU extended that lead to 11-6 until three straight points by SFA made things interesting for the moment. The momentum that the Lumberjacks gained was short-lived as the Mustangs rallied for five straight, three of those points coming from Anyanwu as she recorded a kill and two blocks, one solo, in the sequence. The run put SMU up 23-12, and from there, the Mustangs closed out a solid bounce-back performance with a 25-16 set three win to complete the sweep. SMU hit its highest percentage of the match in the third, swinging at a .457 percent clip.
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jadyn Livings (14)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (37)
SMU Digs Leader: Mia Silva (9)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalia Newsome (5)
SMU Ace Leader: Averi Carlson/Maggie Croft (2)
SMU Points Leader: Jadyn Livings/Natalia Newsome (14.5)
 
Up Next: SMU will next face UTEP tomorrow, Friday, September 19 at 5 p.m. CT in Nacogdoches, Texas to conclude nonconference play.