SMU’s Natalie Peters (10) and Kathryn Wilkerson (5) go up for a block against Rice. (Stuart Palley)

The SMU volleyball team split a pair of weekend matches at Moody Coliseum, downing the Houston Cougars 3-1 on Friday and falling to the Rice Owls 3-1 on Sunday.

The Mustangs (13-14, 5-8 Conference USA) have three road matches remaining before the conference tournament begins Nov. 20 in Memphis, Tenn. If the season ended today, SMU would be the No. 8 seed and would face the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles.

In the match against Houston (14-11, 6-6), the Mustangs set a school record with 20 blocks. Senior Natalie Peters had seven stuffs, and junior Kendra Kahanek registered five. The duo also combined for 18 of the team’s 50 kills.

Freshman Dana Powell led the Mustangs with 15 kills, giving her 275 this season. Kathryn Wilkerson, who had 13 kills Friday, leads the team with 314.

SMU surged to a 9-5 lead in the fourth set, but Houston rallied to tie the set 21-21. However, the Mustangs rallied to win four straight points to finish the match.

The Mustangs were not able to keep up the defensive momentum Sunday, as the Cougars hit a blistering .290.

Ashleigh McCord recorded 17 kills in 29 attempts to lead the Cougars in attack percentage. Jessica Holderness and Karyn Morgan combined for 38 kills and 35 digs.

The Mustangs fell behind 2-0 early, but they rallied for a narrow, 25-23 third set victory. However, Houston put the match away with a 25-20 victory in the fourth set.

Powell carried the Mustangs in the third-set victory with a .421 attack percentage. However, the Mustangs could not keep up with Houston’s .333 attack percentage in the fourth set.

SMU, which is hitting .200 this season, hit .202 against the Cougars. Powell and Wilkerson combined for 30 of the Mustangs’ 51 kills.