Volleyball On SI

SMU Volleyball Survives Late Texas Comeback In Five-Set Thriller

No. 8 SMU built a commanding fifth-set lead before holding off a furious rally from No. 9 Texas to secure the top-10 win at Moody Coliseum.

Paige Durrenberger

The SMU Mustangs talk in a huddle after a point.
The SMU Mustangs talk in a huddle after a point. / SMU Athletics

For eight straight points, Texas volleyball couldn't find an answer.

The Texas Longhorns spent much of Wednesday night playing from behind and finding ways back into the match, but SMU had an answer each time. Even a late fifth-set surge wasn't enough for the Longhorns to overcome the Mustangs, who finished the fifth-set battle 15-10.

With the fifth set tied at two, SMU took complete control. Junior middle blocker Favor Anyanwu struck for back-to-back kills, sophomore outside hitter Suli Davis added three more during the stretch and the Mustangs' block stuffed Texas freshman outside hitter Henley Anderson as SMU ripped off eight unanswered points to turn a 2-2 tie into a commanding 10-2 advantage.

The Longhorns began chipping away with five combined kills from Anderson and senior outside hitter Torrey Stafford. An ace from senior libero Anja Kujundžić pulled Texas within two, but a service error by Kujundžić halted the run at 12-10 and gave SMU the momentum it needed to get the victory.

Davis led the way with an astounding 22 kills and 13 digs, while Anyanwu added 16 kills on a .481 hitting percentage and eight blocks. Sophomore setter Hannah Beauford finished with 53 assists, 10 digs and four blocks as the Mustangs hit .303 for the match. Texas could only manage a .224 percentage.

SMU's presence at the net also gave Texas problems throughout the night. The Mustangs finished with 12 blocks compared with the Longhorns' 7.5, with Anyanwu involved in eight of them. Junior middle blocker Natalia Newsome added four blocks while hitting .533 without an attack error.

Neither team could create much separation early. SMU took the opening set 25-21 behind a .357 hitting percentage before Texas responded in the second, holding the Mustangs to .161 and evening the match with a 25-21 win. SMU reclaimed the advantage in the third, 25-22, putting Texas one set away from its second straight loss.

Instead, the Longhorns forced their way back into the match.

The fourth set featured 13 ties as neither side managed to put the other away. Texas held a 24-23 advantage before a Stafford service error extended the set. The teams traded points from there until sophomore outside hitter Cari Spears put Texas ahead 27-26, and Stafford finished the 28-26 win with a kill, forcing a fifth set.

Stafford and Spears each finished with 18 kills for Texas, with Spears adding nine digs and three blocks. Anderson followed with 15 kills, while senior libero Ramsey Gary anchored the back row with a match-high 27 digs.

Texas has survived SMU's chances to end the match in four, and it nearly was able to come from behind for the win.

But after letting a 10-2 fifth-set lead shrink to two, SMU finally shut the door, ending Texas' comeback and securing its fifth win of the season in front of 6.207 at Moody Coliseum.

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Paige Durrenberger
PAIGE DURRENBERGER

Paige Durrenberger is a sports writer and Economics student at the University of Texas at Austin. She has covered golf, softball, and the Texas Stars for The Daily Texan and is also a contributing writer for 5Wins. Raised in Dallas, Texas, when Durrenberger isn’t covering sports, she’s either out running with her dog Bailey or cheering on whichever Dallas team is in season.

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