DALLAS, Texas – The Miami volleyball team battled the No. 5 SMU Mustangs, Friday, dropping the first two sets before coming back to win the final three to earn the reverse sweep. The Hurricanes earn their first road win of the season, improving to 8-8 on the season and 6-1 in ACC play while extending their win streak to six.

Miami was led offensively by back-to-back ACC Rookie of the Week Ruth Martinez who tallied a career high 29 kills. Asia Harvey and Sonja Danilovic also recorded double digit kills, finishing with 17 and 11 respectively.

Ariana Rodriguez, who tallied 54 assists, also added three service aces, setting a new program record for service aces in a career. The junior setter, earned the accomplishment on the final point of the game, sealing the reverse sweep.

Defensively, Gaby Arroyo led the way with 22 digs, one short of her career high. Lal Akin led Miami with eight total blocks, followed by Martinez and Denitsa Angelova with six each.

Set 1: SMU 25, Miami 22
The Mustangs got out to a quick start in the first set, opening a 6-1 lead on the Hurricanes. Miami fought back, scoring five of the next six to pull within one, capped by a Ruth Martinez service ace. SMU held on to its lead, later extending it to four to lead 16-12.

The Hurricanes and Mustangs traded points before Miami scored three straight, capitalizing on a Martinez kill, and blocks from Sonja Danilovic, Logan Wiley and Martinez to make it 20-19 SMU and force a timeout. SMU scored four of the next seven points, including three straight to seal the 25-22 first set victory.

Set 2: SMU 25, Miami 19
Miami and SMU traded points early in the second set, before the Hurricanes were the first team to score two straight to take a 4-3 lead. The Mustangs went on to take a one-point lead before scoring seven of the next eight points, including six consecutive, to lead 13-7.

Both teams continued to trade points, but SMU continued to hold the lead, building it to at most eight points. Trailing 18-11, the Hurricanes and Mustangs again went back-and-forth before Danilovic, Martinez and Ariana Rodriguez all recorded points to pull within five and force an SMU timeout. The Mustangs were able to hold on though, scoring three of the next five to go up two sets to none.

Set 3: Miami 25, SMU 22
Miami was the first team to open a lead in the third set, going up 4-1 thanks to an Asia Harvey solo block. The Mustangs pulled back within one and eventually tied, but Miami kept fighting, scoring three straight to lead 9-7. SMU tied the match at nine, but Miami found a way to stay in front until the Mustangs pulled ahead and took the lead into the media timeout.

Shortly after the timeout, the Hurricanes scored three straight on Harvey, Danilovic, and Martinez kills to take an 18-16 lead. The Hurricanes maintained their lead for the rest of the set, outscoring the Mustangs 7-6 to make it a 2-1 match.

Set 4: Miami 33, SMU 31
The Hurricanes played their longest set of the year to force a fifth set in the fourth, coming out on top, 33-31. The Mustangs took a 4-1 lead, but the Hurricanes scored three straight, seeing kills from Martinez and Harvey to tie the set at four.

Through the course of the set, neither team built larger than a three-point lead. SMU pulled ahead by two, leading 10-8 but the teams continued to trade points as Miami stayed within one. Two straight Suli Davis kills for SMU put it up by three but Martinez followed with back-to-back of her own, keeping the Hurricanes within one.

SMU held the lead at the media timeout, 15-13, but the Hurricanes scored seven of the next nine points to take a 20-17 lead. Momentum quickly shifted back in SMU’s favor, as they scored four straight to take the lead.

From there, the teams went back and forth, as neither team scored two straight points until the Mustangs took a 28-27 lead. With SMU leading 29-28, Miami found a way to score two straight, as Martinez recorded a kill and combined with Lal Akin for a block to lead 30-29.

The action did not end there, as the teams went back and forth before Miami found a way to win 33-31 and force a fifth set.

Set 5: Miami 15, SMU 9
Miami controlled the fifth set, scoring the first five points with Rodriguez behind the line, including her second ace of the night, tying the program record. The Mustangs got one back before the Hurricanes scored two straight to take a 7-1 lead, forcing SMU to take its final timeout.

The Mustangs got one out of the timeout, but Miami recorded another two points to make it 9-2. SMU went on a run, scoring six of the next eight points to cut Miami’s lead to three, forcing Head Coach Keno Gandara to take a timeout.

The Hurricanes found their rhythm again after the timeout, scoring four of the final five points to earn the reverse sweep and their first ranked win of the season. Rodriguez recorded her third service ace of the night on the final point, setting a new program record for aces in a career.

Up Next: The Miami Hurricanes will wrap their road trip at No. 2 Pitt, Sunday, looking to extend their win streak to seven. First serve is set for 12 p.m. with coverage on ACCN.