The SMU volleyball team’s season came to an end Friday night after a loss to Houston in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament at Autry Court at Rice, following Thursday night’s victory over UAB.

The Mustangs defeated UAB 3-1 (27-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-21) Thursday night in the first round of the tournament.

Sophomore outside hitter Rachel Giubilato earned a double-double, leading the team with 18 kills and 20 digs, and added two service aces. Senior middle blocker Kelly Larkan followed with 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks, while freshman middle blocker Natalie Peters had 10 kills, nine blocks and five digs.

Senior middle blocker Ashley Zener gave the Mustangs 10 kills and two digs, while senior middle blocker Stephanie Bennett had three kills and six blocks.

Sophomore setter Madison Hill led the team with 43 assists and seven digs, while junior libero Jennette Evanco tallied 16 digs and one service ace.

Evanco said following this match, the team was confident that another victory would ensue.

“We knew exactly what we needed to do,” Evanco said. “We thought we were going to win it.”

The Mustangs fell to Houston 3-1 (30-19, 17-30, 30-25, 30-13) in their next match on Friday night.

Giubilato was strong again for the team with 13 kills and 10 digs followed by Peters with 13 kills, two blocks and three service aces.

Freshman setter Stefanie Kons led the Mustangs (13-16, 8-7 C-USA) with 30 assists and six digs, while Evanco notched 15 digs. Larkan also contributed in the loss with nine kills and five digs, while Zener tallied six kills and two digs.

Houston advanced all the way to the finals, losing to Marshall 3-2.

Evanco said that despite the loss, the Mustangs had a good season and she is confident the team will see success in the future.

“We accomplished what we wanted to accomplish,” she said. “We have a good feeling going into next season.”