The SMU volleyball team traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to crash the Bama Bash this weekend, but a fifth-set tiebreaker loss in their final match with McNeese State prevented them from succeeding.

The Mustangs, who won earlier last week against the University of North Texas, carried their hot streak into their first match against Jacksonville State, downing the Gamecocks easily in three-sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-20).

Junior Kathryn Wilkerson and sophomore Dana Powell led the Mustangs with double-doubles in kills and digs, while senior Kendra Kahanek had 12 kills to go with two blocks and a dig.

Sophomore Kelli Becerra, who is averaging 10 assists/game, assisted on 36 of the Mustangs’ 46 kills.

Unfortunately, the hot streak the Mustangs carried into the weekend went cold as the team stepped onto the court against Alabama. The Crimson Tide defeated SMU in three sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-22), stuffing the Mustang attack by holding the team to a .188 average while hitting for a .333 average of their own. Powell led the Mustangs with 11 kills while Wilkerson chipped in with nine of her own.

The volleyball team still had a chance to leave the tournament with a win, but they were unable to finish off McNeese State University, despite outscoring the Cowgirls, 110-96.

Wilkerson and Powell both recorded double-doubles to lead the Mustangs with 21 kills, 12 digs and 20 kills, 13 digs, respectively, but their efforts still were not enough to lift the Mustangs. The team held a 2-1 match advantage after three matches and came within two points of finishing off the Cowgirls before losing the fourth set.

SMU hasn’t won a fifth-set tiebreaker this season and that streak continued, leading to a Mustang loss (25-22, 14-25, 15-25, 26-24, 16-14).

SMU is currently 3-4 overall, with a perfect home record (1-0), no wins on the road (0-1), and are 2-3 on neutral sites. The first SMU conference game will be at University of Texas at El Paso on Sept. 25.