SMU Concludes Regular Season At Home Against USF And UCF

Nov. 24, 2015

[RV] SMU (26-4, 16-2) vs. USF (10-20, 8-10)
Date & Time	Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m.
Location	Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Live Stats	Gametracker
Live Video	PonyUp TV
Match Info	Match Notes (.pdf)
SMU vs. UCF (14-16, 8-10)
Date & Time	Friday, Nov. 27 at 1 p.m.
Location	Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
Live Stats	Gametracker
Live Video	American Digital Network
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUVolleyball
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUVolleyball
Instagram	/SMUVolleyball

The Mustangs (26-4, 16-2) enter the final week of the regular season needing just one win to set a school record for wins in a season. SMU hosts USF Wednesday at 2 p.m., before playing UCF in Moody Coliseum in the regular-season finale Friday at 1 p.m. A ceremony to honor the program's three seniors will follow Friday's match.

SMU will advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after clinching sole possession of the American Athletic Conference Regular-Season title and the league's automatic berth with a 3-0 win at Connecticut. The weekend saw Morgan Heise break her own SMU single-season record with 658 digs in 2015, and climb to second in the NCAA with 6.09 digs per set. The junior earned her fourth straight conference Defensive Player of the Week award.

Senior Avery Acker leads the nation with 12.42 assists per set, and the Mustangs are hitting .244 as a team. Janelle Giordano leads the team with a .389 attack percentage, and is second in the country with 1.62 blocks per set and third with 175 total blocks, needing just 10 to set a new SMU and conference single-season record. The Mustangs had won a program-record 16 straight matches before falling in five sets at Temple in the final regular-season road match Sunday.

USF is 10-20 on the season and 7-11 in The American, losing three of its last four and nine of its last 13, including a 3-1 loss to SMU in Tampa. Dakota Hampton leads the team with 319 kills, but is hitting just .188. As a team, the Bulls are hitting .196, while opponents have a .225 attack percentage. SMU is 4-2 all-time against USF, winning the last four, including two in straight sets.

UCF is 14-16 overall, 8-10 in The American, losing its last five matches after a five-match win streak. Jale Hervey leads the team with 352 kills, and is one of three Knights with at least 200 kills. UCF is hitting .226 as a team, while opponents are hitting .206. UCF opponents are averaging 2.47 blocks per set with 281.5 total blocks, while the Knights have 197 blocks on the season. SMU is 10-5 all-time against UCF, winning four of the last six, but the Mustangs have won just one of the last three in Dallas. SMU is 4-2 at home against UCF all-time.

Avery Acker
The senior setter was named American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year as a sophomore in 2013, and leads the NCAA with 12.42 assists per set. She has 4,180 assists in her career, ranking third all-time at SMU, and has 1,459 assists this season.

SMU CAREER ASSISTS LEADERS1.     Leslie Olson (1996-99)    4,8622.    Kelli Becerra (2008-11)    4,1913.    Avery Acker (2012-Present)    4,1804.    Jessica Mihm (2002-04)    3,866

Abbey Bybel
A senior outside hitter, Bybel leads the team with 320 kills, and ranks 10th in the league with 2.96 per set. The six-rotation player is hitting .208, and is third on the team with 289 digs. She has 10 double-doubles this season, and matched her career high with 17 digs against Arizona. Bybel recorded her 1,000th career kill against Temple Oct. 9.

Cailin Bula
Bula, a senior outside hitter, has 274 kills and is hitting .269. She was named Offensive Player of the Week in the conference Oct. 5 after recording a career-high 20 kills at Tulsa. She has 970 kills, needing 30 to become the 13th player in program history with 1,000 career kills. Bula also has 63 blocks this season.

Janelle Giordano
A junior middle blocker, Giordano is third in the country with 175 total blocks. She tied the conference record with 13 blocks at UCF, and set an SMU and AAC record for blocks in a three-set match with 12 against Cincinnati. Giordano is third in the league with a .389 attack percentage, and second on the team with 275 kills.

Kristen Stehling
A junior middle blocker, Stehling tied the conference record with 13 blocks at New Mexico. She has 93 blocks this season, needing seven to eclipse 100 in back-to-back seasons. Stehling has 240 kills and is hitting .314, second on the team.

Katie Hegarty
A sophomore opposite hitter, Hegarty is one of five Mustangs with at least 240 kills, scoring 244 this season. She is hitting .215 with 77 blocks.

Lauren Mills
A sophomore outside hitter who takes most of her swings from the back row, Mills leads the Mustangs with 32 aces, ranking fourth in the conference, and has 208 digs. She has scored 57 kills this season.

Brittany Adams
A freshman opposite hitter, who also spends most of her time in the back row, Adams has 82 kills and 223 digs. She also has 10 service aces.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON
The Mustangs matched the program record with their 26th win of the season at Connecticut Friday. The win also gave SMU sole possesion of the American Athletic Conference championship and the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, both program firsts. SMU won 16 straight matches in conference play, breaking the record of 11 straight won last season. The Mustangs won 26 matches in 2014, including a record 15 at home.

BLOCK PARTY
Janelle Giordano is third in the NCAA with 175 blocks, needing 10 to break the single-season record at SMU, and ranks second in the country with 1.62 blocks per set. She has been named to the conference weekly honor roll five times, and was named Defensive Player of the Week after setting a school and league record for most blocks in a three-set match with 12 against Cincinnati. Kristen Stehling matched the conference record with a career-high 13 blocks in the win at New Mexico, and has 93 blocks this season. Katie Hegarty also has 77 blocks. As a team, SMU is leading the American Athletic Conference and is 25th in the NCAA with 2.66 blocks per set.

SMU SINGLE-SEAON BLOCKS LEADERS1.     Courtney Manning (2011)    1842.    Janelle Giordano (2015)    1753.    Courtney Manning (2010)    1624.    Janelle Giordano (2014)    160

SMU CAREER BLOCKS LEADERS1.     Courtney Manning (2009-2012)    5792.    Kendra Kahanek (2006-09)    4673.    Natalie Peters (2005-08)    4844.    Janelle Giordano (2013-Present)    448

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Morgan Heise leads The American and is second in the NCAA, averaging 6.09 digs per set. No SMU player has ever finished the season averaging six digs per set. She has been named conference Defensive Player of the Week seven times this season, including the last four weeks straight. Heise matched her career-high with 38 digs at Temple, and had 36 digs against Arizona. As a team, SMU leads the conference and is sixth in the nation with 17.65 digs per set.

CHASING RECORDS
Morgan Heise is second all-time at SMU with 1,690 career digs. The junior has 658 digs this season, breaking her own single-season record at SMU of 626 digs a year ago. Sidney Stewart holds the record with 2,218 digs from 2008 to 2011. Heise was named American Athletic Conference Libero of the Year in 2014.

SMU ALL-TIME DIGS LEADERS1.     Sideny Stewart (2008-11)    2,2182.    Morgan Heise (2013-Present)    1,6903.    Dana Powell (2008-11)    1,6414.    Kathryn Wilkerson (2007-10)    1,588

SMU SINGLE-SEASON DIGS LEADERS1.     Morgan Heise (2015)    6582.    Morgan Heise (2014)    6263.    Sidney Stewart (2011)    6254.    Candice Davis (2007)    611

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Avery Acker leads the NCAA with 12.42 assists per set, and is second on the team with 316 digs, recording 15 double-doubles this season. SMU is hitting .244 as a team, second in the conference, and all five attackers have at least 240 kills. Abbey Bybel leads the team with 320 kills, ranking 10th in the league with 2.96 per set. Cailin Bula is third on the team with 274 kills. She scored a career-high 20 kills against Tulsa Sept. 30.

EVEN DISTRIBUTION
Abbey Bybel leads the team with 320 kills, and is one of five Mustangs with at least 240 kills. Janelle Giordano has 275 kills with a team-high .389 attack percentage, second in The American, and Cailin Bula has 274 kills, hitting .269. Katie Hegarty has 244 kills, while Kristen Stehling has 240 kills, and is hitting .314. All five attackers had at least 10 kills against TCU and again at Temple, and 11 different Mustangs scored a kill against ECU. SMU is hitting .244, which would be a program record for a season.

SMU ATTACK PCT. SEASON RECORD1.     .244 (1544-529-4161)    20152.    .243 (1526-609-3780)    20133.    .228 (1824-689-4970)    20034.    .222 (1679-663-4582)    20145.    .221 (1617-574-4711)    2010

MOODY MAGIC
SMU set a program record with 15 home wins and just one loss last season. The Mustangs are 158-94 all-time in Moody Coliseum, and went 10-2 in 2013 while playing home matches in the Dedman Center on campus. SMU has won at least 10 matches at home in four of the last six seasons, going 63-18 on the Hilltop during the stretch. SMU is 13-1 at home this season, with two home matches remaining.

RECENT SUCCESS
Over the last five seasons, SMU is 99-58 overall and 64-30 in conference matches, including a 29-9 record in two seasons in the American Athletic Conference. Three players have combined for five All-America Honorable Mention awards, and a Mustang has earned a conference Player of the Year award for their position each of the past two seasons.

Schedule

SMU Concludes Regular Season At Home Against USF And UCF

Players Mentioned

Avery Acker

Avery Acker

Brittany Adams

Cailin Bula

Abbey Bybel

Janelle Giordano

Janelle Giordano

Katie Hegarty

Morgan Heise

Morgan Heise

Lauren Mills

Kristen Stehling

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SMU Concludes Regular Season At Home Against USF And UCF

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Players Mentioned

Avery Acker

Avery Acker

Brittany Adams

Cailin Bula

Abbey Bybel

Janelle Giordano

Janelle Giordano

Katie Hegarty

Morgan Heise

Morgan Heise

Lauren Mills

Kristen Stehling

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