No. 5 SMU hit a season-best .326 and held Yale to .091 in a dominant sweep that extended the Mustangs’ Moody Coliseum winning streak to 13.
No. 5 SMU Volleyball couldn’t have asked for a cleaner finish to non-conference play.
The Mustangs swept Yale 25-14, 25-18, 25-21 Saturday at Moody Coliseum, improving to 8-2 while extending their home winning streak to a program-record 13 consecutive matches. SMU also finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with back-to-back sweeps after beating Rice in three sets two days earlier.
The numbers showed just how complete the performance was.
SMU hit a season-best .326 while holding Yale to .091, the lowest hitting percentage allowed by the Mustangs this season. SMU finished with 41 kills against only 12 attack errors on 89 swings.
Natalia Newsome and Suli Davis shared the team lead with nine kills apiece, but Newsome was especially efficient.
She committed only one attack error on 14 attempts, finishing with a .571 hitting percentage and raising her season mark to an ACC-best .524.
That kind of efficiency has become a familiar formula under head coach Sam Erger.
SMU is now 50-0 under Erger when hitting .300 or better, an impressive statistic for a program that has increasingly built its identity around efficiency and defensive pressure.
The Mustangs also won the back-row battle, out-digging Yale 37-28.
Victoria Harris led SMU with 11 digs, reaching double figures for the ninth time this season, while Sarah Frazeeadded a career-high 10.
At the net and service line, Favor Anyanwu delivered one of the most complete performances of the afternoon.
She finished with seven kills, four block assists and three aces while leading SMU with 12 points. It was her second consecutive match with at least three service aces.
Setter Hannah Beauford directed the offense with 30 assists as eight different Mustangs recorded at least one kill.
SMU’s first-set dominance set the tone. The 25-14 victory was the Mustangs’ most decisive set win of the season, and Yale never seriously threatened to turn the match.
Now the level of competition rises.
SMU opens ACC play Friday against Stanford at Moody Coliseum, with first serve scheduled for 8 p.m. CT on ACC Network.
The Mustangs leave non-conference play ranked No. 5, defending their home floor better than ever and playing some of their most efficient volleyball of the season.
