Nov. 12, 2014
SMU takes on USF Friday and league-leading UCF Sunday in a pair of road matches this weekend. The Mustangs have won five straight, improving to 21-5 overall and are third in the American Athletic Conference at 10-4.
The Mustangs lost at home to UCF earlier this season, falling 15-13 in a gut-wrenching fifth set, snapping SMU's 11-match win streak. The Knights went on to win their first 13 conference matches before falling 3-1 at Temple Sunday. SMU beat USF 3-0 in Dallas.
SMU boasts the nation's 10th ranked setter, with
Avery Acker averaging 11.58 assists per set. The junior has had 21 double-doubles in 26 matches and is second on the team in digs.
Morgan Heise leads the Mustangs with 489 digs, and ranks 35th in the NCAA with 4.99 digs per set.
Caroline Young enters the weekend averaging 3.08 kills per set, and has scored 357 points this season with 36 aces.
USF has the league's top-rated defense at the net, averaging 2.32 blocks per set with 234.5 on the season. Jennica Mullins leads The American with 124 blocks, and Erin Fairs leads the Bulls' offensive attack, ranking third in the league with 386 kills. USF is 11-15 overall, 5-9 in The American, winning just three of its last eight matches.
UCF is 13-1 in the conference, 20-6 overall, losing its last match 3-1 at Temple, second in the league at 11-3. Jale Hervey and Kia Bright are both averaging over three kills per set, and DeLaina Sairden is scoring 2.57 kills per set. UCF leads the league with a .291 attack percentage, and also averages a league-high 14.52 kills per set with 13.73 assists per set.
The Mustangs are 9-4 all-time against UCF, winning three straight before falling 3-2 at home earlier this season. SMU evened its record, 2-2, all-time against USF with a 3-0 win at home earlier this year.
HOME SWEET HOME Over the past two seasons, SMU is 22-3 when playing at home, losing two five-set matches and suffering a loss to eventual league champion Louisville in 2013. The Mustangs are 12-1 in Moody Coliseum this season after going 10-2 in the Dedman Center last year while Moody Coliseum was undergoing renovations. The Mustangs are 152-95 all-time at home, with a 142-93 mark in Moody Coliseum. SMU set the record with 12 wins at home in 2009, and went 11-1 in 2003 for a program-best .917 win percentage at home.
SENIOR SEASON Caroline Young has 293 kills, ranking seventh in the American Athletic Conference, and picked up her second conference Player of the Week award after 30 in six sets at Tulane and Houston. She has scored at least 10 kills in seven of the last eight matches after two matches in the back row due to an injury, including four double-doubles to take her season total to seven. She has scored at least 10 kills in 20 matches, including a season-high 23 against then-No. 24 Oklahoma. In her career, the Brenham, Texas, native has 1,323 kills, ranking ninth all-time at SMU.
SETTING THE STAGE Avery Acker is 10th in the NCAA and leads the American Athletic Conference with 11.58 assists per set. She set a career high with 62 assists against New Mexico, and had 48 at Houston, the most at SMU in a three-set match since Jessica Mihm had 50 against Cal Poly in 2004. The Poth, Texas, native has a league-high 21 double-doubles this season, including the last 11 matches. The junior has 1,135 assists this season, and 2,561 for her career. Acker also has 318 digs, second on the team, including a career-high 25 at Temple.
Abbey Bybel Abbey Bybel scored a career-high 16 kills at Temple, and has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 12 matches. She has 290 kills overall, second on the team, and is third in digs with 252. She has recorded double-doubles in four of the last nine matches, including a career-high 17 digs at Temple for her 10th double-double of the season. The junior has led the team in kills in seven of the last 12 matches, finishing with at least 10 kills 18 times this season.
Morgan Heise Morgan Heise earned her second consecutive conference Player of the Week Award and third of the season after averaging 6.5 digs per set at Tulane and Houston, finishing with 39 in six sets. The sophomore is averaging 4.99 for the season, ranking third in The American and 35th in the NCAA. In conference matches, she is second in the league with 5.31 digs per set. Heise scored a career-high 38 digs at Arkansas, which ranks third in a match all-time at SMU. She has eclipsed 15 digs in 16 matches, including nine with at least 20 digs, and has 84 assists and 19 aces. She has 489 digs this season, 10th all-time in a season at SMU. Heise has a career total of 895 digs.
NATIONAL RANKINGS The Mustangs rank 34th in the NCAA in assists per set, averaging 12.95, and
Avery Acker is 10th individually with 11.58 per set. The SMU offense is 52nd in the country, averaging 13.59 kills per set. Defensively, the Mustangs are 52nd in the nation, averaging 16.31 digs per set, and sophomore libero
Morgan Heise is 35th individually, averaging 4.99 per set. The Mustangs are holding opponents to a .160 attack percentage, which is 32nd in the country.
Janelle Giordano also ranks 59th in the NCAA with 1.24 blocks per set.
MIDDLE BLOCKERS The Mustangs are second in the American Athletic Conference with 2.27 blocks per set, recording 222.0 on the season, including a season-high 14 against UCF.
Janelle Giordano is second in the league and ranks 59th in the country with 1.24 per set, posting 122 on the season, including a season-high nine against UCF.
Kristen Stehling has 88 blocks, including a career-high nine against Houston.
Cailin Bula With 15 kills at Temple and 16 kills at Connecticut,
Cailin Bula reached double digits in back-to-back conference matches for the first time this season. The junior has eclipsed 10 kills 14 times this year, including five of the last six matches. She hit .467 at Connecticut and .333 at Houston. Bula is third on the team with 226 kills, and also has eight aces and 40 blocks.
Julianne Scheidler Senior defensive specialist
Julianne Scheidler recorded a career-high 12 digs in a four-set win at Connecticut after finishing with nine at Temple. She then recorded 11 digs in three sets at Houston. In limited action, Scheidler's previous season high was seven digs at Memphis after
Caroline Young suffered an ankle injury which knocked her out of the match. She has 78 digs this season, reaching double figures in four of the last five matches. She has also committed just two reception errors in 140 attempts.
