Mustangs Host Tulane On Saturday And Sunday At 2 PM
Oct 6 | Volleyball
Oct. 6, 2011
DALLAS (SMU) - The Mustangs return home after ending Tulsa's 26-match conference-win streak to host Tulane in back-to-back matches on Saturday and Sunday in Moody Coliseum. The Mustangs have won their last two matches, riding the hot hand of Jessica Oliver, who has 54 kills in the last three matches. After a rough start in conference play and one of the toughest non-conference schedules in program history, SMU is gaining momentum as C-USA standings tighten with 15 matches left to play.
SMU has been dominant defensively, ranking second in Conference USA with 17.4 digs per set and climbing to third in the league with 2.4 blocks per set after matching its season-high with 15.0 blocks at Tulsa. The Mustangs have blocked at least 10 attacks in eight matches this season, led by Caroline Daly, who is third in the league with 77 blocks. Sidney Stewart is leading C-USA with 5.11 digs per set.
Tulane enters the weekend 5-10 overall and 0-4 in C-USA matches. Cori Martone leads the team with 139 kills, averaging 2.84 per set, and three other players have at least 100 kills. Nikki Osuna averages 4.66 digs per set to lead the defense, and Anna Wruck has a team-high 57 blocks.
SMU will participate in the Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink campaign during Saturday's match in an effort to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer research. SMU athletics is sponsoring a silent auction during the match, featuring autographed items from SMU coaches June Jones and Matt Doherty.
IN THE PAST
The Mustangs are just 3-11 against Tulane. SMU won 3-2 in New Orleans last season, downing the Green Wave for the first time since 2005. The two teams first met on Sept. 7, 2001, with Tulane winning 3-0. SMU got its first win in the third match of the series, winning both matches of the 2005 season.
STEWART NEARS 2000 DIGS
Sidney Stewart is attempting to become the first Mustang and fourth player in Conference USA history to record 2,000 digs in her career. The senior libero has a school-record 1,930 digs. Stewart set the school record as a junior, finishing her third season with 1,593 digs. This season, she is leading C-USA with 5.11 digs per set. With 16 digs against Houston, Stewart climbed to sixth all-time in C-USA history. With 10 more digs, she would tie for fifth. Stewart also set the SMU record for digs in a match with 42 against Alabama, one shy of the C-USA mark.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
In 2010, the Mustangs have established themselves as one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Of all NCAA teams, SMU ranked 14th in team digs per set (17.65) and 28th in blocks per set (2.55). The Mustangs were one of just two teams to rank in the top-30 in each of the statistics. SMU led Conference USA in both statistics in addition to ranking second in opponent's hitting percentage, allowing kills on just .172 of attacks. In 2011, SMU has established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the league once again. The Mustangs are second in the conference and rank 19th in the NCAA with 17.4 digs per set, and have 159.5 blocks, ranking third in the conference and 68th in the NCAA with 2.4 per set.
TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Kelli Becerra, Dana Powell and Sidney Stewart were elected by their teammates to serve as team captains. The trio takes leading by example to the extreme. Powell has led the Mustangs in kills the past two seasons (440 and 416), earning All-America honorable mention honors both times. Stewart set the school record for career digs as a junior (1,593), and Becerra was an All-Conference USA selection after finishing second in the conference in assists (1,325).
TWICE AS NICE
Dana Powell became the first SMU volleyball player to receive All-America honors, being named honorable mention in 2009 after her sophomore season. Last year, Powell was again named Honorable Mention All-America after leading the team in digs for the second straight season with 416. She also had 445 digs and 75 blocks.
BECERRA REACHES 1000, NEARS TOP-10 Kelli Becerra became the first setter in SMU history to achieve at least 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs. She has 1,094 career digs, and with four more would pass Kelly Klecka for 10th all-time at SMU. The senior is third all-time at SMU with 3,824 assists, one of just five Mustangs to have at least 3,000 assists, needing 43 to pass Jessica Mihm for second.
POWELL CLIMBS CAREER CHARTS
Dana Powell's 18 kills and 27 digs in the match over Marshall last season moved her into the 1,000/1,000 career kills and digs club, which only six previous athletes in SMU history have attained. With 11 kills at UTEP, she climbed into the top-five all-time at SMU with 1,362 kills. She is currently third all-time with 1,426 career digs.
MANNING, OLIVER CLIMB BLOCKS LIST
In just her second season, Courtney Manning broke the SMU single-season blocks record with 162 total blocks. The previous record was set in 2005 when Natalie Peters had 151 total blocks. Manning has 363 career blocks, ranking fifth in school history ahead of teammate Jessica Oliver, who has 360. The career record at SMU is 530 blocks, set by Kendra Kahanek from 2006-09.
SOLID SENIORS
The Mustangs have four seniors leading the charge in 2011. Dana Powell, Jessica Oliver, Sidney Stewart and Kelli Becerra have combined to go 58-35 over the past three seasons. Each of the four seniors has already written their name in the SMU record book. Stewart owns the career digs record (1,930), Powell is fifth in kills (1,362) and third in digs (1,426), Becerra is third in assists (3,824) and Oliver is sixth in blocks (360). The 2010 senior class won 74 matches, more than any other graduating class in program history.
OLIVER NAMED C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK Jessica Oliver was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for after a pair of 20-plus kill performances. The senior led SMU to a 3-2 victory over Houston with 21 kills, including kills on the last three points of the fourth set, allowing the Mustangs to take the win in the fifth. Oliver had 20 kills against Rice with just three errors, hitting .327 in the two matches. With 4.56 kills per set this week, Oliver climbed five spots to sixth in Conference USA with a team-high 3.15 kills per set this season. The award is the first of Oliver's career.
NATIONALLY RANKED
The Mustangs are 19th in the NCAA with 17.4 digs per set, led by senior libero Sidney Stewart, who is 22nd in the NCAA with 5.11 digs per set. Stewart has 337 digs this season. She is second in a season at SMU, recording 578 digs as a junior, 33 shy of the SMU record of 611. Dana Powell is second on the team with 257 digs, 11th in the league with 3.89 per set. Kelli Becerra is 17th in C-USA with 2.88 per set and has 190 on the season. SMU is 68th in the NCAA in blocks with 2.4 per set, led by Caroline Daly who is 71st in the NCAA. She has 77 blocks on the season. Courtney Manning is second on the squad with 73, ahead of Jessica Oliver's 54. Daly is fourth in C-USA, while all three players are in the top-20 in the league.
