SMU dominates Radisson Invitational (Photo by James Bilowus, The Daily Campus)
The volleyball team got its season off to a record shattering start this weekend in the SMU Radisson Hotel Invitational. Caitlin Rainbird tied her career high with 20 kills, while Natalie Peters, Rachel Giubilato and Stefanie Kons all registered new career highs in the game against Auburn on Saturday night. Peters set a new career high with 19 kills and Giubilato registered 24 kills, a new personal record, and posted nine digs in the final game of the tournament. Kons had a total of 65 assists in the same game, crushing her previous career high. Auburn was the only team that won games against SMU in the tournament.
SMU kicked off the two-day tournament against Prairie View A&M on Friday night, winning the match in three straight sets (30-17, 30-16, 30-17). Freshman Kendra Kahanek experienced her first college match and contributed significantly to the Mustangs attack percentage by posting a .364. In the third and final game against the Panthers, the Mustangs posted 15 kills, 16 digs and three service aces to close the game 30-17.
On Saturday, SMU faced a double-header, taking on the University of Louisiana-Monroe in the morning and matching up against Auburn later that night. The Mustangs registered another shut out, this time versus Louisiana-Monroe (30-16, 30-16, 30-22). Giubilato dominated Louisiana-Monroe, leading the Mustangs to victory with 23 kills, 24.5 total points and an attack percentage of .636. The match against Louisiana put Giubilato in second place for all-time career high point leaders. Freshman Candace Davis saw playing time in both the Louisiana-Monroe and Auburn games. She posted five digs in the first game against Louisiana.
The final match of the tournament got off to a late start and Auburn came out on top in the first game. The Mustangs and the Tigers were neck-and-neck in points for most of the match, but SMU was able to pull it out in five games (27-30, 30-28, 30-25, 19-30, 15-12). Once Auburn lost its momentum from the first game, they attempted to stall the inevitable loss by asking to clean the floor every three or four points. The women of Auburn surpassed the point of cautious and bordered on the edge of eccentric. These excessive delays were not enough to deter the Mustangs from their destruction of the Tigers.
Family and friends came to Moody Coliseum to watch SMU’s record-breaking match against Auburn. The SMU women put on an impressive show, dominating the Tigers on the court and doing the “chicken dance” during a timeout. The Mustangs had a reason to be in such high spirits: co-captain Caitlin Rainbird posted her first double double of the season with 20 kills and 13 digs. Her co-captain, Jennette Evanco, was a strong force on the floor. The libero could be heard giving direction and encouragement to her teammates.
Three of the Mustangs were named to the all tournament team: Natalie Peters, Rachel Giubilato as MVP and Jennette Evanco as best libero. The women start regular season play Today at the University of Texas-San Antonio.
