SMU Athletics

FORT COLLINS, Colo. (SMU) – The No. 11-ranked SMU volleyball team improved to 3-0 with a five-set victory over UC Davis (1-2) on Sunday with set scores of 27-25, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, and 15-12.

Three Mustangs logged double-digit kills in the win, led by Suli Davis, who logged 16 for the match with seven digs and two blocks. Gabi Placide followed with 15 kills, hitting .303 with five digs and two blocks.

Natalia Newsome was the other Mustang with double-figure kills, adding 11 kills on a .643 clip.

The Mustangs dominated the net, outblocking UC Davis 13-5. Favor Anyanwu spearheaded the defensive pressure, finishing the match with eight blocks.

Redshirt freshman setter Hannah Beauford dished out 44 assists, with nine digs and six blocks of her own. In the back row defensively, Victoria Harris was all over the court, registering 17 digs in the match.  

MATCH NOTES

• Three Mustangs reached double-figures in kills for the first time this season.
• Anyanwu's performances marked her 26^th career match with five or more blocks and her 11^th with eight or more. Nine of those matches with eight have come at SMU, which already ranks seventh all-time in the category. Anyanwu has played only a little over one season as a Mustang.
• The match saw 31 ties and 18 lead changes.
• SMU has out-blocked its opponents in each of the first three matches of the season.
• With the win, SMU evened the series with UC Davis at one match each. The last time the two programs met was in 2010, when the Aggies won a four-setter in Dallas.

HOW IT HAPPENED:    
Both teams struggled to get anything going offensively as each hit around .200 in the opening set. Davis picked up where she left off against CSU last time out early in the frame with four kills in the opening rallies. She ended up with seven in the frame to help the Mustangs win in extras, 27-25, over the Aggies. SMU led the set 3-0 in blocks and had a .200 to .152 hitting percentage advantage.

The Mustangs began to find their groove midway through the second set. SMU stretched its lead to as much as seven (19-12) in the frame in large part due to their defensive pressure at the net. SMU held a 4-1 advantage in blocks during the frame, which helped force the Aggies to a .088 hitting percentage in set two. The Mustangs never trailed in the second set after 10 ties and six lead changes in the first.

Down 2-0, UC Davis didn't back down from the No. 11-ranked Mustangs. In another back-and-forth set, play at the service line made a huge difference. The Aggies had four aces in the set while SMU logged four service errors and no aces. UC Davis also recorded their best hitting percentage of the match, swinging at a .345 clip, which helped propel them to a 25-20 set three win. Despite both teams hitting over .300, the Aggies held a 14-9 advantage in assists during the frame.

Both teams hit under .200 in the fourth set. The Aggies held a slight edge through the entire set, but never allowed the Mustangs to take a lead. After a timeout at the 19-19 mark when SMU started to gather some momentum, the Aggies answered with three straight points to reach the red zone first, which gave UC Davis some wiggle room to close out the set. The Aggies ended the set with a kill and a block to force a fifth.

Up 6-3 in the fifth set on another Davis kill, UC Davis rattled off a 7-2 run that put the Aggies within five points of the upset victory. SMU held strong despite the adversity of the weekend and went on a crucial 7-2 run of their own with contributions from multiple attackers to win the set 15-12 and claim the match in five sets, its first five-set victory of the year.

SMU LEADERS:          
SMU Kills Leader: Suli Davis (16)  
SMU Assists Leader: Hannah Beauford (44)
SMU Digs Leader: Victoria Harris (17)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (8)  
SMU Ace Leader: Suli Davis (2)
SMU Points Leader: Suli Davis (19.5)

NEXT UP:
SMU will make the short trip to Fort Worth for a matchup with TCU on Wednesday. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with the match streaming on ESPN+.