Volleyball Travels No. 1 USM And UCF
Nov 4 | Volleyball
Nov. 4, 2009
DALLAS (SMU) - For the second week in a row, the Mustangs will take on the top-ranked team in Conference USA, traveling to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a showdown with Southern Miss (23-4, 11-2 C-USA) Friday night. SMU will then take on UCF (11-15, 3-10) in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday.
The Mustangs enter the weekend having won eight of their last 10 matches, but are just 6-7 away from Moody Coliseum this season. SMU is 18-8 overall, 8-4 in C-USA, coming off a tournament berth-clinching sweep of UTEP.
SMU is a combined 7-2 against the two teams, going 3-1 against Southern Miss, in a series that started in 2006, and 4-1 against UCF, first playing the Knights in 2005. The Mustangs have taken three straight from the Golden Eagles since losing the first match, including a 3-1 win at home last season. SMU started 4-0 against UCF, but fell to the Knights 3-1 in the opening round of last season's C-USA Tournament.
The Golden Eagles bring a conference-high 11-match winning streak into the match, and are 8-1 at home. USM is allowing opponents a league-low .145 hitting percentage, and ranks fourth in digs, 15.98 per set, and blocks, 2.28 per set. Led by Ashley Mell, who ranks 10th in the league with 3.39 kills per set, and Caitlin Clarke, who ranks 20th with 2.79 kills per set, the Golden Eagles are fifth in the conference with 13.28 kills per set.
The Mustangs are second in the conference in both blocks, 2.47 per set, and digs, 16.78 per set, and have three of the league's top-20 in each category. Kendra Kahanek, second with 1.18 per set, Courtney Manning, fourth with 1.10 per set, and Jessica Oliver, 10th with 0.99 per set, are all among the league leaders in blocks, while Sidney Stewart is fourth in digs with 4.58 per set, Dana Powell is 16th with 3.13 per set, and Kathryn Wilkerson is 17th with 3.08 per set.
Dana Powell is also third in the league with 3.90 kills per set, leading an SMU team that ranks sixth in the league with 12.85 per set, less than half a kill per set behind the Golden Eagles.
The Mustangs will then turn their attention to a UCF team that, despite a losing record, has two of the best hitters in the league. Erin Campbell ranks sixth in the conference with 3.64 kills per set, while Kristin Fisher is 12th with 3.10 per set. The Knights average 12.22 kills as a team, but are hitting just .182.
SMU will face Southern Miss Friday at 7 p.m., and battle UCF Sunday at 12 p.m. CST.
