DALLAS (SMU) – No. 11 SMU Volleyball improved to 3-0 Thursday night as it defeated Washington (1-3) 3-1 in day one of the DoubleTree Invitational with set scores of 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19. The win gave the SMU Volleyball program its 250^th win at Moody Coliseum.
 
Jadyn Livings powered the Mustangs to victory with 18 kills, hitting .371 on the night, while also adding nine digs and six blocks. Malaya Jones followed with 12 kills and 15 digs against the Huskies. It was the reigning National Player of the Week's second consecutive double-double.
 
Setter Averi Carlson paced a Mustang offense that hit .385, the highest percentage of the season, with 49 assists and seven digs. Libero Jordyn Schilling added 13 digs on the match, giving the senior her third straight double-figure dig outing. Sophomore middle Natalia Newsome back her career blocking performance against No.20 Baylor with a team-high seven blocks against Washington.
 
MATCH NOTES:

• With the win SMU starts the season 3-0 for just the fifth time in program history.
• SMU out blocked Washington 11-6 Thursday night out dug the Huskies 49-39.
• The Mustangs held Washington to a .239 hitting percentage.
• Freshman Maggie Croft earned her first two career aces, which came on back-to-back points in third set.
• The match was the first battle between the two programs in volleyball.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | SMU worked its way to a 9-7 lead in the early going. Washington responded with a 4-0 run to take an 11-9 advantage. SMU punched back with a four-point run of their own, two of the points coming on a kill from Livings. SMU's two-point lead after a kill from Newsome was met by a three-point stretch by the Huskies which put Washington back up front. The teams went back and forth with points until a three-point run for the Huskies put them up 22-20. A kill by Washington's Mateska and then back-to-back kills by SMU, one from Livings and one from Anyanwu, leveled the set one score at 23-23. Washington logged the next two points to close out the set on a service error and a kill, winning the frame 25-23. Washington hit .341 in the frame, while SMU hit .222, its lowest of the match. The Huskies won the block battle 3-1.

SET TWO | SMU had the edge in the early portion of the second frame. The Mustangs raced off to a 9-5 lead, the largest lead of either team so far in the match. Midway through the frame, the Huskies used a 6-1 run to even the score at 13, all the points coming on kills. SMU managed to stretch their lead back out against moments later with a 4-0 run to go up 21-17, with points on two kills from Newsome, and one kill each from Scheer and Livings. Washington showed some fight late in the frame, drawing within two at 24-22 and fighting off two set points, but SMU leveled the set score with a kill from Livings to end set two. SMU won the battle at the net in the second frame with a 6-1 advantage in blocks.

SET THREE | Washington opened the third with a 4-1 lead and later led again by four, 10-6. SMU slowly chipped away at their deficit with several runs, but a five-point stretch capped off by two aces from Croft, put the Mustangs back in front 18-15. Washington was able to regroup to even the score at 20-2; however, SMU dominated in the tail end of the frame, outscoring the Huskies 5-2. Jones tallied two points in the final moments of the frame, including the set clinching kill. SMU hit its highest percentage of the match in the third set, swinging at a .526 clip.  

SET FOUR | Kills from Livings, Jones and Anyanwu gave SMU a 3-0 start to the fourth set. Washington scored five of the next seven to even the score. The teams traded points until two separate 3-0 scoring runs put SMU firmly in front, making the score 18-13. The closest the Huskies would get at the end of the set was four, as SMU cruised to a 25-19 set win and 3-1 match victory. Livings and Jones paced the Mustangs in the fourth set with six and five kills, respectively. SMU hit .469 in the fourth set to cap off the night.
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Jadyn Livings (18)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (12)
SMU Digs Leader:  Malaya Jones (15)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalia Newsome (7)
SMU Ace Leader: Maggie Croft (2)
 
Up Next: SMU will take on Northern Iowa tomorrow inside Moody Coliseum at 7 pm CT on the second day of the DoubleTree Invitational. The match will air on ACC Network Extra.