Mustangs Face Purdue Thursday In NCAA First Round In Austin

Dec. 1, 2015

[RV] SMU (27-5) vs. Purdue (22-9, 13-7)
Date & Time	Thursday, Dec. 3 at 4:30 p.m.
Location	Gregory Gymnasium -- Austin, Texas
Tournament Info	Championship Central
TV/Web	Longhorn Network \| Channel Finder
Live Video	WatchESPN.com
Live Stats	Live Stats
Match Info	SMU Notes (.pdf)
Opponent Info	Purdue Notes (.pdf)
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUVolleyball
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUVolleyball
Instagram	/SMUVolleyball

The Mustangs face Purdue in the NCAA Championship first round Thursday in Austin, Texas, at 4:30 p.m. The match can be viewed live on the Longhorn Network and online at ESPN3 and with the WatchESPN app. SMU finished the regular season with a program-record 27 wins, including a 16-match win streak in conference play to win the American Athletic Conference championship with a 17-3 record in the league. Five Mustangs earned all-conference honors, and Lisa Seifert was named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

In all, the Mustangs broke eight SMU team and individual single-season records, including a .247 team attack percentage. Janelle Giordano is hitting a school-record .394 with 293 kills. The junior middle blocker is averaging 1.61 blocks per set with 185 total blocks and 161 block assists, all program highs. Morgan Heise broke her own school record with 706 digs, becoming the first SMU player to average more than six per set, 6.14. Avery Acker has 1,441 assists, needing five to break the school record, and leads the NCAA with 12.53 per set.

In its first NCAA postseason appearance, SMU faces a Purdue team making its 17th appearance in the NCAA Championship after going 22-9 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten. Annie Drews leads the team with 486 kills, hitting .257. Faye Adelaja is second with 241 kills. As a team, Purdue is hitting .264 with 13.88 kills per set. The Boilermakers faced 10 top-25 opponents, including nine in conference play, going 3-7 against ranked teams.

This is the first meeting between SMU and Purdue in program history. The winner advances to play either Texas or Fairfield in the second round Friday at 6 p.m.

Avery Acker
The senior setter was named American Athletic Conference Player and Setter of the Year after leading the NCAA with 12.53 assists per set during the regular season. She has 4,280 assists in her career, ranking third all-time at SMU, and has 1,441 assists this season.

SMU CAREER ASSISTS LEADERS1.     Leslie Olson (1996-99)    4,8622.    Avery Acker (2012-Present)    4,2803.    Kelli Becerra (2008-11)    4,191

SMU SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS LEADERS1.     Leslie Olson (1997)    1,4452.    Jessica Mihm (2003)    1,4443.    Avery Acker (2015)    1,441

Abbey Bybel
A senior outside hitter, Bybel leads the team with 346 kills, and ranks 10th in the league with 3.01 per set, earning second-team all-conference honors. The six-rotation player is hitting .215, and is third on the team with 301 digs. She has 10 double-doubles this season. Bybel recorded her 1,000th career kill against Temple Oct. 9.

Cailin Bula
Bula, a senior outside hitter, was named to the all-conference second team and is second on the team with 298 kills and is hitting .269. She scored a career-high 20 kills at Tulsa, and has 994 kills, needing six to become the 13th player in program history with 1,000 career kills.

Janelle Giordano
A junior middle blocker, Giordano is second in the country with school and conference single-season record 185 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 an SMU-record .394 attack percentage, and has 293 kills. She was named to the all-conference first team.

Kristen Stehling
A junior middle blocker, Stehling tied the conference record with 13 blocks at New Mexico. She has 99 blocks this season, needing one to eclipse 100 in back-to-back seasons. Stehling has 259 kills and is hitting .310, second on the team.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Morgan Heise, a junior libero, led The American and is second in the NCAA, averaging 6.14 digs per set. No SMU player has ever finished the season averaging six digs per set. She was named conference Defensive Player of the Week seven times this season, including four straight weeks. Heise matched her career-high with 38 digs at Temple, and had 36 digs against Arizona. As a team, SMU led the conference and is 11th in the nation with 17.57 digs per set.

Katie Hegarty
A sophomore opposite hitter, Hegarty is one of five Mustangs with at least 250 kills, scoring 264 this season. She is hitting .227 with 82 blocks.

Lauren Mills
A sophomore outside hitter who takes most of her swings from the back row, Mills leads the Mustangs with 32 aces and has 213 digs. She has scored 59 kills this season.

Brittany Adams
A freshman opposite hitter, who also spends most of her time in the back row, Adams has 84 kills and 228 digs. She also has 11 aces.

RECORD-SETTING SEASON
The Mustangs set a new program record with 27 wins, eclipsing the mark of 26 set in 2014. With a win at Connecticut, SMU claimed 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.

BLOCK PARTY
Janelle Giordano is second in the NCAA with 185 blocks, setting new conference and school single-season record. She is also second in the country with 1.61 blocks per set. She set a school and league record for most blocks in a three-set match with 12 against Cincinnati, and tied the overall record with 13 against UCF. Kristen Stehling matched the conference record with a career-high 13 blocks in the win at New Mexico, and has 99 blocks this season. Katie Hegarty also has 82 blocks. As a team, SMU led the American Athletic Conference and is 29th in the NCAA with 2.64 blocks per set.

SMU SINGLE-SEAON BLOCKS LEADERS1.    Janelle Giordano (2015)    1852.     Courtney Manning (2011)    1843.    Courtney Manning (2010)    1624.    Janelle Giordano (2014)    160

SMU CAREER BLOCKS LEADERS1.     Courtney Manning (2009-2012)    5792.    Kendra Kahanek (2006-09)    5303.    Natalie Peters (2005-08)    4844.    Janelle Giordano (2013-Present)    458

A BROKEN RECORD
Morgan Heise broke her own SMU single-season record with 706 digs, second in the NCAA this year, earning her second straight conference Libero of the Year award. She is second all-time at SMU with 1,738 career digs. Sidney Stewart holds the record with 2,218 digs from 2008 to 2011.

SMU ALL-TIME DIGS LEADERS1.     Sideny Stewart (2008-11)    2,2182.    Morgan Heise (2013-Present)    1,7383.    Dana Powell (2008-11)    1,6414.    Kathryn Wilkerson (2007-10)    1,588

SMU SINGLE-SEASON DIGS LEADERS1.     Morgan Heise (2015)    7062.    Morgan Heise (2014)    6263.    Sidney Stewart (2011)    6254.    Candice Davis (2007)    611

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Avery Acker leads the NCAA with 12.53 assists per set, and is second on the team with 331 digs, recording 16 double-doubles this season. SMU is hitting .247 as a team, second in the conference, and all five attackers have at least 250 kills. Abbey Bybel leads the team with 346 kills, ranking 10th in the league with 3.01 per set. Cailin Bula is second on the team with 298 kills. She scored a career-high 20 kills against Tulsa Sept. 30.

EVEN DISTRIBUTION
Abbey Bybel leads the team with 346 kills, and is one of five Mustangs with at least 250 kills. Janelle Giordano has 293 kills with an SMU-record .394 attack percentage, second in The American. Cailin Bula is second on the team 298 kills, hitting .269. Katie Hegarty has 264 kills, while Kristen Stehling has 259 kills, and is hitting .310. 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 .247, a program record for a season.

SMU ATTACK PCT. SEASON RECORD1.     .247 (1658-559-4444)    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 159-95 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 five of the last seven seasons, going 77-20 on the Hilltop during the stretch. SMU went 14-2 at home this season.

RECENT SUCCESS
Over the last six seasons, SMU is 126-63 overall and 81-33 in conference matches, including a 46-12 record in three 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 three seasons, with Avery Acker earning the program's first conference Player of the Year award. Acker and Morgan Heise each have two player of the year awards at their positions.

Schedule

Mustangs Face Purdue Thursday In NCAA First Round In Austin

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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Mustangs Face Purdue Thursday In NCAA First Round In Austin

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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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