Mustangs Matching Up With Tulane And UTEP
Nov 6 | Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2008
DALLAS (SMU)-SMU volleyball (13-14, 5-8 C-USA) will take on the Tulane Green Wave (19-5, 10-1 C-USA) this Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Fogelman Arena, followed by the UTEP Miners (6-20, 2-10 C-USA) on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. in Memorial Gym. The Mustangs are coming off a 1-1 split with the two at home, having lost to Tulane in three sets on Oct. 12, and beating the Miners on Oct. 10 in five sets. The Mustangs finish the 2008-09 season on the road, as they travel to Tulsa on November 16 for their final regular season match.
Too-lane Terrific
Tulane has not dropped a match since their last meeting with SMU, going for six straight wins and dropping only four sets on the way. Tulane's last and only conference loss came to foe UAB on Oct. 5 in five sets. Last time out, middle blocker Jen Linder played out of her mind, recording 10 out of 11 kills with no errors for a .909 hitting percentage.
Minding the Miners
In their last competition, SMU eked out a five-set win against the Miners in Moody Coliseum. UTEP has lost seven of their last eight matches, with the most recent win coming against East Carolina on Oct. 19. SMU will attempt to contain Miner Amy Sanders, as she leads UTEP in kills and digs for the season. Also, playing well is middle blocker Daidre Mendenhall, who along with Sanders put up a double-double performance against UCF in a five-set loss on Nov.1.
Kung-POWell
Freshman Dana Powell has exploded onto the SMU volleyball scene in her last three matches, posting double-double efforts in all of them to bring her 2008-09 total to 14. Powell is presently second on the team in kills for the season and third in digs.
The Great Wall of SMU Volleyball
The SMU block continues to post impressive performances. Unfortunately for Houston, the Cougars found this out the hard way conceding 20 total blocks to the Mustangs' first line of defense. In doing so, SMU recorded team match records in two categories: total blocks and blocks for four sets.
The Great Wall of SMU Volleyball currently ranks third in conference registering 2.30 blocks per set and 235 total blocks behind C-USA leader Memphis, who holds down the No. 8 spot in national rankings, and Houston. Also nationally ranked, and ever improving, is junior Kendra Kahanek, who has moved into the top 30 blockers in the nation at No. 28 with 1.25 blocks per set.
Peter-ing Out? Not quite.
With parents Tim and Chemine in the stands all the way over from Singapore, senior Natalie Peters registered her first double-double of the season against Houston this past Friday with 10 kills and 10 blocks. Peters ranks 8th in conference for digs per set with 1.02 and has already recorded her second best solo blocks season with 21.
