DALLAS (SMU) – No. 11 SMU Volleyball earned its first sweep of the season, defeating Northern Iowa with set scores of 25-19, 25-16, and 25-13. SMU improved to 4-0 on the season for just the third time in program history.
 
Favor Anyanwu led a Mustang team that out-blocked the Panthers 15-2, with a career-high 11 blocks while adding eight kills with a .727 hitting percentage. Setter Averi Carlson also had a career night at the net with ten blocks to go along with 35 assists to complete her second double-double of the season. Carlson also added seven digs to her stat line against the Panthers.
 
Natalia Newsome put up six kills on eight swings, hitting .750 for the match. Jentry Lamirand got her first start of the season and logged five kills, four digs and two blocks.
 
As a team, SMU hit .355 and held UNI to a .027 clip, the lowest opponent percentage of the season.  
 
MATCH NOTES:

• Anyanwu's 11 blocks is the second most block in a three setter by an individual player since 2015, when Janelle Giordano had 12 against Cincinnati on Oct 23.
• With the win, SMU starts the season 4-0 for just the third time in program history (2007 & 2010).
• SMU improved to 3-0 against Northern Iowa in the all-time series.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE |  SMU built a 7-4 lead in the early portion of the first set. The Mustangs managed a two to three-point advantage until midway through the frame when SMU went on a 3-0 run and then a 6-0 run to pull away in the opening frame. UNI scrapped some points together after the run with two separate three-point spurts of their own, but a kill from Anyanwu and a block from Anyanwu and Carlson gave SMU a 25-19 set one victory. Anyanwu was dominant and efficient in the frame, hitting a perfect 5-of-5 with three blocks. SMU as a team out-blocked UNI 4-1 and forced the Panthers into a .037 hitting percentage. SMU hit .393 in the set, its highest of the match.
 
SET TWO |  The Mustangs turned a 5-5 score to a four-point advantage in the second set, going up 9-5 on a block, a few hitting errors by the Panthers and a kill from Livings. That lead grew to eight (16-8), as SMU tallied seven of the following ten points. The Mustangs kept their foot on the gas, especially at the net, recording four blocks in the set. Anyanwu had a hand in three of those blocks for the Mustangs. Fellow greater Dallas native, Livings, led the Mustangs' attack with six kills on ten swings in the frame, including a kill at the beginning of the final run for SMU. A Newsome kill followed by an ace from Carlson, who had two on the night, closed out the second set in SMU's favor. The Mustangs stifled the Panthers' attack again in the second set, holding them to a .067 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, SMU hit .324 and had five different players earn kills.  

SET THREE | SMU kept the momentum rolling in the third set, jumping off to an early advantage. The Mustangs used a 10-0 run, the longest of the season, to take a ten-point lead (13-3). Five of the ten points came on blocks from the Mustangs. UNI traded points with SMU for the remainder of the set, but the lead was too much to overcome. Wilburn ended another match with an ace to give SMU a 25-13 set win, the most lopsided frame of the season for the Mustangs. SMU held UNI to -.024 hitting percentage with only nine kills. The Mustangs closed out the match with seven blocks in the third set, the most blocks in a set this season. Carlson recorded six of her ten blocks in the third, while Anyanwu added five of her 11 to close out the match. Seven different Mustangs had kills in the final set of the night. 

 SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones (9)
SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (35)
SMU Digs Leader: Jordyn Schilling (9)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (11)
SMU Ace Leader: Averi Carlson (2)
 
Up Next: SMU concludes the DoubleTree Invitational against Stony Brook tomorrow. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CT at Moody Coliseum with the match airing on ACC Network Extra.