SMU extended their winning streak on Nov. 17 with a victory over Florida State. The team holds steady at No. 10 in the AVCA Poll.
The first set showcased an intense exchange of points. Natalie Foster led the charge for the Mustangs, earning multiple kills, including one assisted by Celia Cullen. Strong performances from players like Ellie Bolton and Maya Tabron kept the scoreboard ticking. SMU sealed the first set at 25-16, thanks to solid attacks from Bolton and Audrey Wheeler.
SMU continued their momentum in the second set, with key hits from Naya Shime and Loren Robertson, who provided powerful kills off sets from Cullen.
Florida State struggled with their defense, committing multiple attack errors which allowed SMU to extend their lead. SMU’s steady performance at the net, highlighted by kills from Shime and Okammor, put the Mustangs in control.
The second set ended with SMU securing a 25-16 victory, leaving Florida State with little room to recover as they failed to match SMU’s intensity.
SMU took advantage of Florida State’s mistakes in the third set. A service ace from Tabron and a powerful kill from Casey Batenhorst helped the Mustangs build an insurmountable lead. Florida State’s offense struggled against SMU’s relentless defense, including strong blocking from Shime and Nnedi Okammor.
Florida State simply couldn’t overcome SMU’s consistency. The Mustangs finished strong, winning the set 25-15 and securing a 3-0 sweep of the match.
After the match, Coach Erger reflected on the team’s performance.
“I thought it was an awesome match. We went into it saying that mentality was going to be a big separator, serving needed to be a separator,” Erger said. “We wanted to win all of the little balls and we wanted to cover. I believe we hit all of the points we needed to in order to win.”
SMU middle blocker Natalie Foster also shared her thoughts on the team’s performance.
“I mean you just have to get that point. It definitely puts pressure on it,” Foster said. “I believe we made some crucial errors in some moments, but it gave us room to recover, and ultimately win the game.”
