After the first round of American Athletic Conference matches, the SMU volleyball team is in first place with a 9-1 conference record, 16-6 overall. The Mustangs start the second round at home after three road matches, hosting Houston Friday at 7 p.m. and Tulane Sunday at 1 p.m.
Freshman setter
Kendall Patterson leads the conference, averaging 10.75 assists per set overall, and has the Mustangs hitting .228 in league matches. She earned her first Offensive Player of the Week award after leading SMU to a pair of road wins while averaging 12.0 assists per set.
Katie Hegarty leads the team and is fourth in the conference, averaging 3.81 kills per set with 309 kills, hitting .244.
Morgan Heise and
Janelle Giordano lead a defense that is holding conference opponents to a league-best .163 attack percentage. Heise is seventh in the nation with 5.32 digs per set, while Giordano leads the conference with 1.28 blocks per set.
Houston is 5-16 overall, losing its last 12 matches, including 10 conference matches. The Cougars have only won five sets during the losing streak, getting swept eight times, including a home match against SMU Oct. 2. Sarah Afflerbaugh leads the team with 205 kills, averaging 2.73 per set, and Brianna Lynch has 203 kills, averaging 2.60 per set. Houston is hitting .181 as a team, while opponents are hitting .245. SMU is 16-12 overall against the Cougars, winning seven of the last eight matches. The Mustangs are 9-4 against Houston at home, winning eight straight in Dallas. SMU hasn't lost at home to Houston since Oct. 7, 2007, the Cougars' eighth victory in the first 10 matches of the series, which began Sept. 23, 1998.
Tulane enters the weekend with a 13-9 record, 5-5 in The American, but the Green Wave have won just one of the last four matches. Sarah Ray leads the team with 3.71 kills per set, and Tea Juric is scoring 2.80 kills per set. Tulane is tied with SMU, hitting .228 in conference matches, while conference opponents have a .202 attack percentage. Dayna Kern and Sarah Strasner are each averaging 0.89 blocks per set, combining for 145 total blocks. SMU is 10-13 all-time against Tulane, and the Mustangs have won eight of the last 10 matches. The series started Sept. 7, 2001, with Tulane winning 3-0. SMU won the first two conference matches in the series in 2005 when the two programs were in Conference USA. SMU has won all five AAC matches.
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 2,184 career digs, leading current Division I liberos. The senior captain needs 35 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 431 this season, averaging a league-high 5.32 per set, and has been named The American Defensive Player of the Week four of the last five weeks.
Giordano set a program and conference record with 188 blocks last season, third in the NCAA. She has 565 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 104 blocks this season, best in The American. A three-time all-conference selection, Giordano needs just 15 blocks to break the record set by Courtney Manning with 579 blocks from 2009-12.
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 Oct. 7, 2016.
FAST START
The Mustangs won their first five conference matches before falling in five sets against Temple, and SMU is in sole possession of first place in the conference at 9-1. 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 19 of 22 matches this season, including nine of 10 conference matches, and has led the Mustangs in scoring 16 times. The junior is fourth in the conference, averaging 3.81 kills per set, and is third on the team with a .244 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 four 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 10.75 assists per set, leading The American and ranking 34th in the NCAA. 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 11 matches with at least 40 assists, including 40 in a 3-0 win against Little Rock. In conference matches, Patterson is averaging 11.10 assists per set, second in the league, and has the Mustangs hitting .228, fourth in the league, with 13.60 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 288 blocks in her career, ranking ninth in program history. Stehling has 59 blocks this season, and is one of five attackers with at least 100 kills, scoring 173 with a .269 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 204 kills this season, second on the team. She scored a career-high 15 kills against East Carolina before recording 19 kills at USF. The junior has reached double figures in kills 10 times, including seven conference matches, and has nine double-doubles. Mills recorded a career-high 20 digs against UTSA at home earlier this season, and posted at least 10 digs in 12 matches this year, including seven conference matches. She is second on the team with 238 digs, averaging 2.94 per set, and also has 12 service aces.
BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams has 127 kills, averaging just under two per set, and the sophomore is averaging 2.33 kills per set in conference matches. Adams is one of five SMU attackers to score at least 100 kills this season. She also has 82 digs and 34 blocks. Adams scored a career-high 17 kills against Temple, and has reached double figures in kills three times 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.
