SMU
6-1,0-0ACC
Kentucky
6-2,0-0SEC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 25 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 1 |
| SMU | 27 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 3 |
No. 8 SMU Downs No. 3 Kentucky in the Bahamas
Sep 12 | Volleyball
NASSAU, Bahamas (SMU) – The No. 8 SMU volleyball team (6-1) earned its third ranked win of the season, taking down No. 3 Kentucky (6-2) in four sets (27-25, 21-25, 25-21, 27-25) Saturday afternoon in its first match of the Paradise Invitational.
The win marks SMU's 16th ranked win under head coach Sam Erger and its eighth over a top-10 opponent. The victory was also the program's first win over Kentucky.
SMU was led by sophomore sensation Suli Davis, who notched her third straight double-double with season highs in kills (25) and digs (15). The performance was the third time this season that Davis surpassed the 20-kill mark and the 13th time in program history.
Middle blocker Natalia Newsome also reached double digits in kills with 11, hitting .588 for the match. Newsome earned over 10 kills for the second time both in her career and this season.
Libero Victoria Harris led the match with 17 digs, reaching 10+ digs for the seventh straight match to start the year.
The Mustangs logged 13 team blocks against the Wildcats, led by Favor Anyanwu, who finished with eight rejections.
Setter Hannah Beauford dished out 47 assists in the win while also tallying five digs and three blocks.
MATCH NOTES
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With the win, SMU improved to 3-0 against the top-3 SEC programs based on the 2025 final regular season standings. Davis has recorded 15+ kills in all seven matches this season.
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SMU continued its streak of first-set dominance, winning the first set for the seventh straight match to start the season.
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Saturday's performances marked the 12th time that Anyanwu has logged 8+ kills in a match in her time at SMU. She ranks tied for fifth at SMU in just over one season as a Mustang.
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Christa Wilburn logged a season-high nine kills and seven digs in the win over Kentucky.
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SMU hit .429 and .424 in the third and fourth sets, respectively.
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Under Coach Erger, the Mustangs have beaten teams ranked No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, No. 8 (2x) and No. 9
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SMU continued its streak of first-set dominance, winning the first set for the seventh straight match to start the season.
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Suli Davis (25)
SMU Assists Leader: Hannah Beauford (47)
SMU Digs Leader: Victoria Harris (17)
SMU Blocks Leader: Favor Anyanwu (8)
SMU Ace Leader: Christa Wilburn (2)
SMU Points Leader: Suli Davis (27.0)
NEXT UP:
SMU will face No. 14 Purdue tomorrow at 4 p.m. CT in its final match in the Paradise Invitational. The match will air on ESPN.
