The Mustangs hosted their annual Dig Pink match against Houston on Friday for a 3-1 victory in Moody Coliseum.

That win pushed SMU to 14-3 overall and 3-2 in the American Athletic Conference. Mustang Abbey Bybel led SMU with 13 kills, while Morgan Heise had helped with her 26 digs. The Mustangs knocked Houston to 9-8 overall and 1-4 in The American.

The Mustangs came out strong in the first set scoring 10 points before Houston could even score its fourth. SMU pushed the lead by 10, 17-7 and finished the game with ease, 25-13.

The second set looked the same as the Mustangs came out strong, pushing the score to an 11-5 lead early. Houston scored three straight after that to cut the lead to three, 11-8, but SMU didn’t stop there. They went on a 9-2 run for a 20-10 lead. With a nine-point lead, 22-13, the Cougars took a 5-1 run to battle back, cutting the lead down to only 23-18. SMU scored the next two points to end the set, 25-18. Standout, Bybel, again had four kills, leading the Mustangs in the set, and SMU defense recorded four blocks.

The third set was a different story as Houston battled back, forcing a fourth set after a 25-23 win for the Cougars. Houston scored back-to-back kills after taking a timeout to break a 23-23 tie for the victory.

In the fourth set the Mustangs started with a 10-2 run and breezed through the match with a 25-14 win. Houston never got within seven points of the Mustangs the rest of the set. Freshman Katie Hegarty scored the final kill of the match for SMU. Hegarty played front row in place of injured Mustang, Caroline Young. Hegarty finished with 11 kills, hitting .300 in her first start.

The weekend didn’t end there for the Mustangs. They went on to host Tulane on Sunday at 1, ending in a 3-2 victory for SMU.

This marked SMU head coach Lisa Seifert‘s 300th career victory at SMU. Bybel led the Mustangs again with 14 kills and had 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. SMU is now 15-3 overall, 4-2 in the AAC. SMU setter, Avery Acker, posted her 13th double-double of the season with 47 assists and 12 digs. Hegarty and Kristen Stehling each had 11 kills while Janelle Giordano finished with 10, putting four SMU attackers in double figures. Giordano and Hegarty also accounted for eight of the Mustangs 12 blocks.

SMU heads to Tulsa on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game. The Mustangs will then head home to take on East Carolina on Sunday in Moody Coliseum. After that, SMU will be on the road for four-straight road matches.

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