The SMU volleyball team lost a pair of tough matches last weekend at the SMU Radisson Invitational, taking third place in the four-team tournament at Moody Coliseum.
The Mustangs opened the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Montana on Friday, but faltered against the New Orleans Privateers in a 3-1 defeat later that evening. The Mustangs’ fortunes worsened on Saturday when they fumbled a 2-0 lead to lose in five sets to their in-state rivals, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks.
SFA (3-3, 2-1 in the tournament) was crowned tournament champion. The Privateers, who spent last week practicing in Alabama after Hurricane Gustav forced an evacuation of the school’s campus, finished second with a 2-1 tournament record. The Mustangs (4-3) and Montana tied for third after each went 1-2.
In their final match against SFA, the Mustangs appeared to be cruising after a pair of easy wins in the opening sets. In the first set, SMU broke the Ladyjacks in 12 of 16 service points and forced them to hit a dismal .028 in winning 25-16.
The Mustangs picked up the second set 25-20, but the Ladyjacks would flip the script in the third set, breaking SMU on 13 of its 19 service points in a 25-18 victory. The Mustangs dropped a tightly-contested fourth set 25-21, forcing the decisive fifth set.
Stephen F. Austin led by as many as three in the final set before the Mustangs pulled even at 12-12. After winning the next two points, the Ladyjacks blew their first match point on a serving error. With the Mustangs just a point away from pulling even, SFA’s Lauren Railey hammered home a kill to end the match.
Railey, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, finished with 16 kills and a game-leading 61 total attempts. Teammate Mary Caitlin Bottles, who made the All-Tournament team, finished with 16 kills.
For the Mustangs, Kathryn Wilkerson finished with a game-high 19 kills Saturday and recorded 43 kills in the tournament, which garnered her All-Tournament honors. Freshman Dana Powell, also an All-Tournament selection, had 38 kills and 37 digs.
SMU 3, MONTANA 0 (Fri.)
The Mustangs easily took the first set 25-16, but had to battle to win the second and third sets 25-22 and 29-27.
Kendra Kahanek, who quietly put together a solid tournament from her middle blocker position, led the Mustangs with a .545 hitting average and amassed seven kills. Powell and Wilkerson each had 11 kills, and freshman Kelli Becerra led the team with 20 assists and 13 digs.
In the third set, the Mustangs fought off a Montana set point and had four match points of their own before finally sealing the deal on a Wilkerson kill.
NEW ORLEANS 3, SMU 1 (Fri.)
The Privateers raced out to capture the first set before SMU pulled even in the second.
In the decisive third set, New Orleans raced out to a 22-12 lead and won 25-19. The Mustangs fought off four match points in the fourth, but a Dobrilla Kovacevic kill ended the match.
The Mustangs recorded a season-high 13 blocks in the loss. Wilkerson and Kahanek combined for 15 kills, and Kovacevic had a game-high 22 kills.
