No. 10 Mustangs Take Down No. 5 Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. (SMU) – No. 10 SMU Volleyball earned its second win over a top five team this season with a 3-1 victory (25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-12) over No. 5 Stanford (23-4, 14-2 ACC) Sunday in California. SMU improved to 21-5 on the year, with a 13-3 record in ACC play.  

Malaya Jones shined yet again for the Mustangs with 24 kills and nine digs while hitting .426. Kennedi Rogers poured in a career-high 13 kills with a .306 hitting percentage. The freshman also added a career-high six blocks in the win.

Madison Scheer also reached double figures for the Mustangs with a season-best 12 kills against the Cardinal. Averi Carlson guided the Mustangs to a .382 team hitting percentage with 56 assists, tying her season high.  

The Mustangs’ defense thrived in the win, out-blocking Stanford 11-3, led by Maggie Croft, who recorded a career-high seven blocks on Sunday. Christa Wilburn led SMU’s backline effort with a career-best 13 digs against the Cardinal. SMU held Stanford to a .191 hitting percentage, its lowest in ACC play and its second lowest of the season.    

MATCH NOTES   

• The Mustangs have swung at a .300 or better clip in 14 matches this season, 10 times in ACC action. 
• Christa Wilburn broke the single-season record for most aces by a freshman in program history against the Cardinal in the first set. She broke Kendall Patterson’s record of 38, set in 2016.  
• Wilburn now has 40 aces this season, the fifth most in the modern scoring era and tied for seventh most all-time at SMU for a single season. 
• Malaya Jones reached double-digit kills for the 21st time this season, 14th in conference matches. Her Sunday performance marks the seventh time she’s had 20 or more kills this season. 
• Malaya Jones now has 402 kills on the season, the first Mustang to reach the 400+ kill mark in a season since Lauren Mills (404) in 2017. 
• Freshman Kennedi Rogers reached the double-figure mark in kills for just the third time in her career.  
• SMU has won 13 of its last 14 matches this season.     
• The Mustangs have five wins over ranked opponents this season. SMU has 13 ranked wins under head coach Sam Erger, including four over top-5 teams.  
• SMU earned its first win over the Cardinal and evened the series at a game each.  
• The Mustangs snapped Stanford’s 11-match winning streak, the longest streak in the ACC entering the match. The win marked the second home loss for Stanford this season.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:     

Led by seven kills in the first set by Malaya Jones, SMU caught fire midway through the opening set. Up by as much as five, the Mustangs held off a late stretch by the Cardinal to win the frame 25-22. As a unit, SMU hit .323 and held the Cardinal to a .194 efficiency in the opening set.    

Stanford gained an early advantage and held it until a late run by the Mustangs, leveling the score at 18-18. The Cardinal responded by finishing strong, closing out the second frame on a 7-3 run to win the set 25-21.   

SMU worked for a 22-17 lead, due to a 9-3 run midway through the third set. Despite a late run by Stanford, the Mustangs held on to take a 2-1 advantage with a 25-23 set three victory. SMU hit .467 in the third set, led by Jones, who put up six kills in the frame, hitting .600.   

The Mustangs’ block propelled SMU to a commanding set four win. SMU out-blocked Stanford 6-0 in the final set and combined that with a match-best .520 hitting percentage in the frame. SMU’s defense held Stanford to a .000 hitting percentage in the final set. Madison Scheer put down six kills in the set on eight swings to help the Mustangs win the fourth set in dominant fashion, 25-12. Twelve points in the fourth set is Stanford’s lowest point total in a set this season.   

SMU LEADERS:    

SMU Kills Leader: Malaya Jones (24)    

SMU Assist Leader: Averi Carlson (56)    

SMU Digs Leader: Christa Wilburn (13)    

SMU Blocks Leader: Maggie Croft (7)    

SMU Ace Leader: Christa Wilburn (2)    

SMU Points Leader: Malaya Jones (26.5)   

 

Up Next: SMU will return home for three straight beginning on Friday, Nov. 21, with a matchup against Boston College at 1 p.m. CT.