SMU Athletics

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (SMU) – No. 11 SMU (2-0) collected its second victory of the season in its first true road match of the year, winning in four sets over Colorado State (1-1) with scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 27-25 Saturday in Fort Collins.

Sophomore outside hitter Suli Davis dominated the Rams, registering her first double-double as a Mustang and 11^th of her career with 22 kills, hitting .314, to go along with 14 digs Friday night.  
True freshman outside hitter Levariya Pinder was a kill shy of the first double-double of her career in her first collegiate match, logging nine kills, 10 digs and two aces.

Libero Victoria Harris was even with Davis for the team lead in digs, logging 14 digs in her second match in the red and blue. The Mustangs totaled 61 digs as a team.  

As a unit, SMU hit .229 while holding the Rams to a .195 hitting percentage. The Mustangs finished with a slight edge in blocks (11-9) and aces (7-6).  

MATCH NOTES        

• The win marks SMU's first win in the series against Colorado State. CSU still leads the overall series 1-5. The Mustangs and Rams last faced off in 1999 in Fort Collins.  
• Sophomore Sarah Frazee logged a career-high eight digs in the win at Colorado State.  
• 11 total Mustangs saw action in the matchup against the Rams.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:    
SMU jumped on the Rams early with Colorado native Gabi Placide back at the service line, going up 7-1 to force a Colorado State timeout. Placide added an ace later in the frame to push the Mustangs' lead back to six, which forced a second timeout for CSU (16-10). The Rams worked within two points after the timeout with a 4-0 run. A kill from Davis halted the run, followed by four of the next five points going the Mustangs way to put them in the red zone. Colorado State put together three straight late in the frame to reach within four, but an attack error ended the set in favor of the Mustangs 25-20. Suli Davis was efficient in the set, with six kills on 10 swings with no errors.  

Pinder saw the first action of her career in the second set and made an immediate impact with back-to-back aces. Colorado State responded with three straight points and maintained a small advantage over the Mustangs. Up 19-18, CSU scored six of the final seven points to close out the second frame and even the set score at one each. After hitting .324 in the first set, SMU was held to a .034 hitting percentage in the second set. Christa Wilburn also added four kills in the frame.  

After a back-and-forth start to the third set, SMU took a three-point (12-9) lead with a 4-0 run that included two kills from Pinder and a kill from Placide. CSU clawed their way back in it to draw within one at the 20-19 mark; however, the Mustangs fed their go-to point scorer, Davis, down the stretch to put them over the top. Davis logged three of the final five points for SMU as they took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-23 win in the third frame. Davis went off in the frame, collecting nine kills in set three. Pinder followed with four kills of her own and seven digs in the set.  

The Mustangs regained their mojo offensively in the early going of the fourth set, hitting over .300 up to the 15-12 mark. That three-point advantage came thanks to the 19^th kill of the match for Davis along with an attack error by CSU, followed by an ace from Davis. Pinder put down a kill after the 15-point media timeout to force the Rams into a timeout of their own with the Mustangs up five (17-12). The Rams made adjustments out of the timeout, leading to a late surge that evened the score at 23-all. CSU held on for two match points, but a kill from Davis and a block from Elle Vandeweghe and Placide sealed the four-set win for SMU.  

SMU LEADERS:          
SMU Kills Leader: Suli Davis (22)  
SMU Assists Leader: Hannah Beauford (36)
SMU Digs Leaders: Victoria Harris/Suli Davis (14)
SMU Blocks Leaders: Favor Anyanwu/Elle Vandeweghe (5)  
SMU Ace Leaders: Gabi Placide (3)
SMU Points Leader: Suli Davis (24.5)

NEXT UP:
No. 11 SMU will remain in Fort Collins to face UC Davis tomorrow with first serve slated for 2 pm CT. The match will also be streamed on YouTube.