Boston College volleyball has dominated many games this season. But conference play has been a completely different story.
That pattern persisted on Friday afternoon when the Eagles (16–13, 5–12 Atlantic Coast) took the court in Dallas, Texas. Southern Methodist (22–5, 14–3) took down BC almost seamlessly, beating it 3–0 and handing the Eagles their fourth consecutive loss.
In its 17 conference matchups, BC has come up with the win in just five of those games. It picked up its 12th ACC defeat when a Sam Hoppes service error ended the third and final set of the matchup.
The Eagles could not find their footing through the entirety of the match. After Maggie Croft notched the first kill of the afternoon for the Mustangs, they never looked back. To BC’s demise, that moment seemed to destroy its offensive morale.
The Eagles got on the board after a Jordyn Schilling service error cut the Mustangs’ 2–0 lead in half, and BC was able to keep the game close for some time. Audrey Ross pioneered that expedition, as her block and an SMU attack error made it 5–3 SMU.
Unfortunately for BC, the Eagles’ faults soon caught up to them. Pummeling the Eagles’ defense, the Mustangs earned 15 kills in the first set alone. Going on a 4–0 run, the Mustangs stretched their lead to 21–11. Shortly after, a Sofija Marjanovic service error handed the Mustangs the first set with a 25–17 win.
Nothing changed for BC in the second frame. In fact, the Mustangs’ lead only stretched this time around. While BC took the first point thanks to a Ross kill, that didn’t mean much in the long run.
A 5–0 run was in the cards for the Mustangs, who capitalized on a Hanna Hoffman service error and back-to-back attack errors from Ross and Hoppes that gave SMU a 20–12 lead.
BC was unable to chip away at the Mustangs’ lead or piece anything together, and SMU snatched the last two points of the second set. It started with a Madison Scheer kill. Just as Croft had begun the game, she ended the second frame by launching into the air and slamming the ball into the ground on BC’s side of the net to win the set 25–16.
Things only got worse for the Eagles in the final set. A 6–0 run for SMU made it 18–5, and a 3–0 run ended the set 25–8 SMU as the Mustangs completely silenced BC’s offense.
A major problem for the Eagles was the fact that Ross, who normally puts up double-digit kills, had five in the entire game. BC’s whole squad tallied just 20 kills in the loss.
