It’s been over 10 years since SMU and rival TCU played each other on the court but that meant the atmosphere was only even more intense as the two teams battled in the first annual Battle of the Iron Spike.

In the first set, the Mustangs started with 6-3 lead, but the Horned Frogs battled back to tie it at 8-8 before going on a 7-2 run and jumping out to a 17-11 lead. SMU showed its toughness by cutting the lead to 18-15 before TCU took control and closed out the set, 25-21.

SMU and TCU traded leads several times at the beginning of the second set before TCU pulled ahead 11-8. An SMU timeout helped to stem the damage and the Mustangs clawed their way back, 18-16. SMU managed to push their way to match point before Kathryn Wilkerson ended the set with a decisive kill. Sophomore Dana Powell had seven kills alone in the second set and head coach Lisa Seifert couldn’t stress how important Powell was to the team.

“I don’t know if anybody really understands how good she is and how good she’s going to be,” Seifert said. “They couldn’t defend her and I really enjoyed that.”

In the pivotal third set, the two teams remained evenly matched as the set got underway, until the Mustangs’ tenacity came through and the team burst through with a 10-4 lead. SMU managed to increase the lead to 14-7 before TCU was forced to take a timeout. The Mustangs went on to rout TCU and finish the set.

TCU faced a must-win situation in the fourth set and they came out gunning, winning the first two points with emphatic kills and taking the early lead, 8-4. SMU would manage to cut the lead to 24-21 but a serving error ultimately gave the set to TCU.

Entering the final set, SMU had not won a fifth-set tiebreaker yet this season. However, the Mustangs would not be denied, scoring five unanswered point and taking the early lead, 7-2. But, the Horned Frogs wouldn’t go down quietly and managed to cut the lead to 11-7 before SMU called a timeout. In the end, the Mustangs refused to fall and closed out the match, winning their first tiebreaker, as well as the Iron Spike (21-25, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 15-13).

“Every win is huge,” Seifert said. “It was huge to come back and get a win, it was huge to win in five and it’s huge to win against them. There is a natural rivalry between SMU and TCU, so anytime you win that, it’s huge.”

Seifert hoped that more SMU students would come out and support the team. And after a game like this, no one could say they didn’t get their money’s worth.

“I’ve said this a million times,” Seifert said. “I really wish the student body would come out, one time, and watch this game. It is a very intense, exciting game. I challenge every student to do that one time.”