Mustangs Face Tough Road Tests At USF And UCF

Friday, October 21

Tampa, Fla.

6 p.m.

SMU

South Florida

Mustangs Face Tough Road Tests At USF And UCF

Oct 19 | Volleyball

Match Notes

SMU (14-6, 7-1 The American) at USF (14-6, 5-3 The American)
Date & Time	Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
Location	The Corral – Tampa, Fla.
Live Stats	Live Stats
Live Video	Bulls Vision
Match Info	Match Notes (.pdf)
SMU at UCF (16-5, 6-2 The American)
Date & Time	Sunday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT
Location	The Venue at UCF – Orlando, Fla.
Live Stats	SIDEARM Stats
Live Video	UCFKnights.TV
SMU Volleyball on Social Media
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUVolleyball
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUVolleyball
Instagram	/SMUVolleyball

The SMU volleyball team plays the last two-thirds of a three-match road swing at USF Friday at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT and at UCF Sunday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. The Mustangs are 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference, tied at the top with Cincinnati, and have a 14-6 record overall. SMU is 8-4 away from Moody Coliseum this season, including a 3-0 mark in conference road matches.

SMU is led by its defense, anchored by two-time defending conference Libero of the Year Morgan Heise. The senior leads the league, averaging 5.28 digs per set overall, and is the only player averaging more than five digs per set in conference matches with an average of 5.09. Janelle Giordano leads the league in blocks, posting 1.31 per set overall and is averaging 1.36 against league opponents. Against conference opponents, SMU trails only UCF with 17.33 digs per set while the Knights average 17.61 per set. SMU is tied for the league lead with ECU, averaging 2.33 blocks per set.

Katie Hegarty leads the offense, ranking fourth in the league with 3.86 kills per set, scoring a team-high 286 this season. She is one of five Mustangs with more than 100 kills. Freshman setter Kendall Patterson is second in the league, averaging 10.91 assists per set against conference opponents, and has 787 assists this season. SMU is hitting .208 as a team, while holding opponents to a .163 attack percentage, tied for second in The American.

USF is 14-6 overall, 5-3 in The American, winning its last three matches after a 2-3 start to the conference season. Dakota Hampton leads the team with 242 kills, averaging 3.41 per set, and is one of five attackers with at least 109 kills. Alex Mendoza averages 10.60 assists per set, and Amy Van Sant is averaging a team-best 4.19 digs per set. The Bulls are tied with SMU, holding opponents to a .163 attack percentage, while hitting .241 as a team. Clara Payne leads the team, hitting .325 with 139 kills. SMU is 4-3 all-time against USF, losing 3-1 in Tampa on Sept. 7, 2002 before going 4-2 against the Bulls in American Athletic Conference matches. The Mustangs are 3-1 in Tampa, winning all three conference road matches, but USF won the last match in the series, 3-1 in Dallas Nov. 25, 2015.

UCF is a match behind SMU and Cincinnati in the league standings with a 6-2 conference record, and the Knights have a conference-best 16-5 record overall. Jale Hervey is third in the league with 302 kills, averaging 4.19 per set with a .255 attack percentage. Kia Bright also has 207 kills for the Knights, who are second in the league with a .246 attack percentage as a team. UCF is averaging 2.32 blocks per set against league opponents, led by Jeanne Westney who has 86 blocks, second in the conference. Running a 6-2 system, UCF is second in the league in assists, 13.18 per set, and kills, 14.09 per set, trailing only Connecticut in both categories. SMU is 11-5 all-time against the Knights and 7-2 all-time in Orlando. Three of the last four matches between the two teams went to five sets, with UCF winning both five-set matches in 2014 en route to the conference championship.

NATIONAL LEADERS CHASING RECORDS
Janelle Giordano and Morgan Heise rank among the active career leaders in their respective stat categories, while chasing career records at SMU. Heise broke her own single-season record with 721 digs last season, and has 2,144 career digs, second among current Division I liberos, trailing only Tulsa's Brooke Berryhill, who has 2,151 digs in her career and 406 this season. The senior captain needs 75 digs to break Sidney Stewart's SMU career record, set with 2,218 digs from 2008-11. Heise had 625 digs as a sophomore, and was named conference Libero of the Year each of the last two seasons. She has 391 this season, averaging a league-high 5.28 per set, and has been named The American Defensive Player of the Week three of the last four weeks.

NCAA Active Career Digs Leaders
1	Brooke Berryhill, Tulsa	2,151
2	Morgan Heise, SMU	2,144
3	Allie Yamashiro, Manhattan	2,131
4	Alex Beecher, Georgia Southern	2,114
5	Morganne Longoria, Valparaiso	2,003

NCAA Active Career Digs Per Set
1	Courtney Pence , Illinois St.	5.24
2	Challen Geraghty, Kent St.	5.19
3	Jessie Thornton, Wright St.	5.1
4	Kate Klepetka, A&M-Corpus Christi	5.09
5	Morgan Heise, SMU	5.02

SMU Career Digs
1	Sidney Stewart, 2008-11	2,218
2	Morgan Heise, 2013-Present	2,144
3	Dana Powell, 2008-11	1,641

Giordano set a program and conference record with 188 blocks last season, third in the NCAA. She has 558 blocks in her career, second among active leaders behind only BYU's Whitney Young Howard, who has 575 blocks. The senior had a season-high eight blocks against Temple, and has 97 blocks this season, best in The American. A three-time all-conference selection, Giordano needs just 22 blocks to break the record set by Courtney Manning with 579 blocks from 2009-12.

NCAA Active Career Blocks Leaders
1	Whitney Young Howard, BYU	575
2	Janelle Giordano, SMU	558
3	Carolee Dillard, Little Rock	537
4	Chidima Osuchukwu, GWU	534
5	Haleigh Nelson, Wisconsin	527

NCAA Active Career Blocks Per Set
1	Whitney Young Howard, BYU	1.49
2	Rhamat Alhassan, Florida	1.46
3	Amy Boswell, BYU	1.42
4	Chidima Osuchukwu, GWU	1.32
5	Janelle Giordano, SMU	1.31

SMU Career Blocks
1	Courtney Manning, 2009-12	579
2	Janelle Giordano, 2013-Present	558
3	Kendra Kahanek, 2006-09	530
4	Natalie Peters, 2005-08	484
5	Melissa Godwin, 1997-2000	443
6	Jessica Oliver, 2008-11	435
7	Janna Newsom, 1998-01	393
8	Ashley Nener, 2002-05	353
9	Kristen Stehling, 2013-Present	282

COACH OF THE YEAR
Lisa Seifert was named AVCA Region Coach of the Year and American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a 27-6 record, a 17-3 mark in The American, the program's first conference championship and an NCAA appearance. She guided five players to all-conference honors, including Player and Setter of the Year, Avery Acker, and back-to-back Libero of the Year, Morgan Heise. Three players were named to the all-region team, and Avery Acker earned her third All-America Honorable Mention award, as well as CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year accolades. Seifert was also named Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2003. Seifert earned her 350th career win with a 3-1 victory against Connecticut.

FAST START
The Mustangs won their first five conference matches before falling in five sets against Temple, and SMU remains in a two-way tie at the top of the conference with Cincinnati at 7-1. The five-match win streak to start the conference schedule was the best since SMU won its first six league matches in 2003, going 8-1 before its second loss. SMU lost its first match of the season last year before winning 16 straight, the longest win streak in program history. The Mustangs went on to finish 17-3 in The American to win the championship.

FRESHMAN CLASS
SMU added five freshmen to its 2016 roster. The signing class includes a player at every position, including 6-3 middle blocker Meryn Kennedy, who finished with 135 blocks and 194 kills while hitting .464 as a senior at Allen High School.
The Mustangs also signed Ashley Homan, a 6-0 outside hitter from Brenham High School, the same program which produced All-American Caroline Young. Ashtyn Richey, a 6-1 right side from Prosper High School, gives SMU a third 6-footer in the class, which also includes Kendall Patterson, a setter from Hebron High School in Carrollton, Texas, and Montana Watts, a libero from Boyd High School in McKinney, Texas.

MOODY MAGIC
SMU set a program record with 15 home wins and just one loss in 2014, and went 14-2 at home last season. The Mustangs are 174-99 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 six of the last eight seasons, going 91-22 on the Hilltop during the stretch. Since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, SMU is 28-5 at home in conference matches. The Mustangs are 5-2 at home this season, 3-1 in league play.

RECENT SUCCESS
Over the last seven seasons, SMU is 153-70 overall and 98-36 in conference matches, including a 46-12 record in three seasons in the American Athletic Conference. Five players have combined for eight 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 (setter) and Morgan Heise (libero) each have two player of the year awards at their positions.

KATIE HEGARTY
Katie Hegarty scored at least 10 kills in 17 of 20 matches this season, including seven of eight conference matches, and has led the Mustangs in scoring 15 times. The junior is fourth in the conference, averaging 3.86 kills per set, and is third on the team with a .258 attack percentage. She recorded a career-high 23 kills against Little Rock, and has 286 kills this season. She scored 20 kills against TCU and 14 against then-No. 8 North Carolina. Hegarty eclipsed 20 kills for the third time this season with 22 in four sets against Connecticut. Hegarty also has three double-doubles, all in conference matches, including a career-high 17-dig, 16-kill performance at Tulane.

KENDALL PATTERSON
Freshman setter Kendall Patterson is averaging 10.64 assists per set, ranking 42nd in the NCAA and second in The American. Facing a pair of top-40 teams, including then-No. 8 North Carolina, in two of three matches at the Horned Frogs Classic, Patterson averaged 12.00 assists. She had a season-high 54 assists in a 3-2 win against Cincinnati, and has 10 matches with at least 40 assists, including 40 in a 3-0 win against Little Rock. In conference matches, Patterson is averaging 10.91 assists per set, second in the league, and has the Mustangs hitting .224, fifth in the league, with 13.42 kills per set.

KRISTEN STEHLING
With five blocks against Connecticut, Kristen Stehling passed Dana Powell for 10th all-time at SMU in blocks. Stehling has 282 blocks in her career, ranking ninth in program history. Stehling has 53 blocks this season, and is one of five attackers with at least 100 kills, scoring 158 with a .274 attack percentage, second on the team. The middle blocker has scored at least 10 kills six times this season, including four times in conference matches. Stehling scored a season-high 13 kills against Montana and again against Cincinnati.

LAUREN MILLS
Lauren Mills has 176 kills this season, second on the team. She scored a career-high 15 kills against East Carolina. The junior has reached double figures in kills nine times, including all six conference matches, and has eight double-doubles. Mills recorded a career-high 20 digs against UTSA at home earlier this season, and posted at least 10 digs in 11 matches this year, including six conference matches. She is second on the team with 215 digs, averaging 2.91 per set, and also has 12 service aces.

BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams has 108 kills, averaging just under two per set, and the sophomore is averaging 2.23 kills per set in conference matches. Adams is one of five SMU attackers to score at least 100 kills this season. She also has 76 digs and 31 blocks. Adams scored a career-high 17 kills against Temple, and has reached double figures in kills twice this season. She also recorded a career-high 12 digs against the Owls for her first double-double.

ASHLEY HOMAN
Freshman Ashley Homan got her first start of the season against Sam Houston State and scored a team-high 11 kills with a .435 attack percentage. The outside hitter has 44 kills in 25 sets this season, scoring 22 in 11 sets at the Horned Frogs Classic. She also has seven blocks, 12 digs and an assist.