Volleyball Hosts C-USA No. 1 Tulane; Takes On UTEP
Oct 28 | Volleyball
Oct. 28, 2009
DALLAS (SMU) - With three weeks left in the regular season and a chance to clinch a tournament berth, the Mustangs take on one of the teams tied for first in Conference USA Friday night when they square off against a Tulane team that has just two conference losses, before battling UTEP Sunday afternoon.
The Green Wave comes to Dallas 9-2 in conference play, 14-6 overall, after winning their last five matches. Tulane, at 35th in the RPI rankings, is the top-rated team in the conference. The Mustangs (17-7, 7-3 C-USA) enter the match fourth in the conference and 65th in the RPI rankings.
SMU brings an 11-match home-winning streak into the competition, the longest in school history, and are 7-1 since losing 3-2 at Tulane on Sept. 27. Friday's match features one of the league's best offenses against one of the league's top-rated defenses.
In conference competition, the Mustangs are first in digs per set, averaging 16.64, and trail only UTEP's 3.02 blocks per set, averaging 2.89 per set. Overall, SMU is second in both categories, averaging 16.53 digs and 2.45 blocks per set. The Mustangs scored 19.0 total blocks against Tulane in their first meeting.
The Green Wave is second in conference matches, hitting .241 and third in kills per set, averaging 14.10. Tulane is sixth with 15.51 digs per set against C-USA opponents, and 10thwith 1.95 blocks per set. Visnja Djurdjevic leads the conference, averaging 4.25 kills per set, 4.71 in C-USA matches.
The Mustangs can clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a pair of wins this weekend, or a win, a UTEP loss and a UCF loss this weekend. The Miners enter the match tied for eighth with UCF with a 10-14 record, 3-8 in C-USA play.
The Mustangs have a 16-7 advantage in the overall series, but it was the Miners that came out on top in the first conference game of the season, sweeping the Mustangs in El Paso, Texas on Sept. 25. This time however, Dana Powell, the SMU leader with 3.82 kills per set, is healthy. The sophomore outside hitter was one week removed from an ankle injury that forced her to miss the William & Mary match prior to the first weekend of conference play.
SMU will tangle with Tulane Friday at 7 p.m. and will face UTEP Sunday at 1 p.m.
