No. 5 SMU Dominates No. 12 Stanford In ACC Opener

Friday, September 25

Dallas, Texas

8pm CT

SMU

9-2,1-0ACC

Stanford

7-4,0-1ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Stanford	22	13	16	0
SMU	25	25	25	3

No. 5 SMU Dominates No. 12 Stanford In ACC Opener

Sep 25 | Volleyball

Box Score

DALLAS (SMU) – No. 5 SMU Volleyball (9-2, 1-0 ACC) took care of business Friday night in its ACC opener, toppling defending ACC Co-Champion and No. 12-ranked Stanford (7-4, 0-1 ACC) with set scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-16 inside Moody Coliseum.

SMU continued its streak of ACC dominance, winning its 10th consecutive ACC match, the longest active streak in the ACC.

The Mustangs hit a season-best .407 against the Cardinal, led by Natalia Newsome, who was near perfect on the night with kills on 10 of her 11 swings for a .909 hitting percentage.

Her percentage is the second-highest individual clip in program history with 10 or more attempts.

Suli Davis led the Mustangs in kills with 18, with an efficient .342 hitting percentage, while adding six digs and three blocks.

Redshirt Freshman setter Hannah Beauford dished out 39 assists with five digs and three blocks.

SMU held Stanford to season lows in every major statistical category but aces, including a season-low .103 hitting percentage.

The Mustangs had a stellar night defensively, edging out the Cardinal in digs (41-24) and blocks (11-5). Victoria Harris and Newsome led the charge, with Harris digging a match-high 11 balls for the Mustangs and Newsome logging six rejections.

MATCH NOTES:

The Mustangs are on a 14-match home winning streak, the longest in program history and the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
SMU took a 2-1 series lead, winning the last two matches over Stanford.

Friday's win marked the Mustangs' third consecutive sweep and fourth this season. It is the second sweep over a ranked opponent this year.

SMU is 51-0 when hitting .300 or better under Coach Erger.

The last time SMU hit .400 or better was against Central Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Mustangs hit .618, an NCAA Tournament record for a three-set match.

SMU hit over .300 for the fourth time this season. With Friday's result, the Mustangs have hit .400 or better eight times under Coach Erger.

Newsome has hit .533 or better in eight matches this season, and she reached double figures for the fourth time.

The Mustangs logged double-digit blocks for the sixth time this season.

SMU nearly doubled up Stanford's kill total with a 46-24 advantage.

SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader: Suli Davis (18)
SMU Assists Leader: Hannah Beauford (39)
SMU Digs Leader: Victoria Harris (11)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalia Newsome (6)
SMU Ace Leader: Gabi Placide (2)
SMU Points Leader: Suli Davis (19.5)

NEXT UP:
No. 5 SMU next hosts Cal on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The match will air on the ACC Network.