SMU Concludes Regular Season At Temple Wednesday And At Connecticut Friday With Conference Title On The Line

Wednesday, November 23

Philadelphia, PA

1 p.m.

SMU

Temple

SMU Concludes Regular Season At Temple Wednesday And At Connecticut Friday With Conference Title On The Line

Nov 21 | Volleyball

Match Notes

SMU (23-7, 16-2 The American) at Temple (21-7, 14-4 The American)
Date & Time	Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT
Location	McGonigle Hall – Philadelphia, Pa.
Live Stats	SIDEARM Stats
Live Video	American Digital Network
Match Info	Match Notes (.pdf)
SMU at Connecticut (16-13, 7-11 The American)
Date & Time	Friday, Nov. 25 at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
Location	Gampel Pavilion – Storrs, Conn.
Live Stats	GameTracker
Live Video	HuskyVision
SMU Volleyball on Social Media
Facebook	/SMUMustangs \| /SMUVolleyball
Twitter	@SMUMustangs \| @SMUVolleyball
Instagram	/SMUVolleyball

The SMU volleyball team plays at Temple and at Connecticut in the final week of the regular season. The Mustangs have a one-match lead in the American Athletic Conference with two matches remaining, taking on Temple Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT and the Huskies Friday at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT. The SMU-Temple match can be watched online on the American Digital Network.

SMU is 23-7 overall, winning at least 20 matches for the fourth straight season, and 16-2 in the American Athletic Conference. Cincinnati is in second place with a 15-3 record, while Temple is currently third with a 14-4 mark in the league.

Katie Hegarty leads the Mustangs with 406 kills, becoming the first SMU player since Dana Powell in 2010 to eclipse 400 in a season, and ranks fourth in the American Athletic Conference with 3.79 kills per set. Freshman Kendall Patterson leads the league with 10.86 assists per set, and has the Mustangs hitting .240 in conference matches, ranking third. Janelle Giordano leads the league with 148 blocks, and Morgan Heise has a conference-high 554 digs, anchoring a defense that is holding opponents to a conference-best .162 attack percentage.

Temple is 21-7 overall, 14-4 in The American, and boasts the league's most efficient offense with a .247 attack percentage. The Owls are averaging 13.65 kills per set, led by Irem Asci with 482 kills. Izzy Rapacz has 320 kills, and Tyler Davis has scored 209 on the season. Temple is holding opponents to a .195 attack percentage, led by Kristen Overton's 108 blocks. The Mustangs are 3-5 all-time against the Owls, losing all three matches played in Philadelphia. The last two matches have each gone five sets, with Temple winning both, including an Oct. 9 meeting earlier this season. The two teams first met on Sept. 21, 2002, with Temple winning, 3-2, on a neutral court, before becoming conference opponents in 2013.

Connecticut enters the week 16-13 overall, 7-11 in The American, losing three straight and nine of its last 12 matches. Kayla Williams leads the team with 369 kills, and is one of seven players with at least 100 kills. The Huskies are hitting .230 as a team, but opponents are hitting .215, ranking 10th in the league in opponent hitting percentage. The Huskies have just 142 blocks as a team, while opponents have 250 blocks against UConn attackers. The Mustangs are 8-0 against the Huskies, winning all seven American Athletic Conference matches. The two teams first met on Sept. 25, 1999, with the Mustangs winning 3-1 on the road.

NATIONAL LEADERS BREAKING RECORDS
Janelle Giordano and Morgan Heise rank among the active career leaders in their respective stat categories, while shattering career records at SMU. Heise broke her own single-season record with 721 digs last season, and has 2,307 career digs, ranking third among active Division I liberos. The senior passed Sidney Stewart, who set the SMU record 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 554 digs this season, averaging a league-high 5.18 per set, 18th in the NCAA, and has been named The American Defensive Player of the Week four times this season.

Giordano set a program and conference record with 188 blocks last season, third in the NCAA, and passed Courtney Manning to set an SMU career record with 609 blocks. Manning had 579 blocks from 2009-12. Giordano is second among active players behind BYU's Whitney Young Howard, who has 612 blocks. The senior had a season-high 11 blocks against Tulane, and has 148 blocks this season, best in The American and 18th in the NCAA.

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 177-99 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 94-22 on the Hilltop during the stretch. Since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, SMU is 31-5 at home in conference matches. The Mustangs are 11-2 at home this season, 9-1 in league play.

RECENT SUCCESS
SMU is 23-7 this season, winning at least 20 wins for the fourth straight season. SMU is 98-28 since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, winning a program-record 27 matches in 2015. The Mustangs were the conference runner-up in 2013 and 2014 before winning the program's first conference championship with a 17-3 league record in 2015. SMU is 62-14 in The American matches, and Avery Acker earned the program's first conference Player of the Year award last season. Acker (setter) and Morgan Heise (libero) each won two player of the year awards at their positions. Four players earned six All-America Honorable Mention awards during the stretch. Mustangs have also claimed 14 all-conference awards in the past three seasons.

KATIE HEGARTY
Katie Hegarty scored at least 10 kills in 24 matches this season, including 14 of 18 conference matches, and has led the Mustangs in scoring 20 times. The junior is fourth in the conference, averaging 3.79 kills per set. She recorded a career-high 23 kills against Little Rock, and has 406 kills this season. She scored 20 kills against TCU and 14 against then-No. 8 North Carolina. Hegarty eclipsed 20 kills for the fourth time this season with 22 against Tulane. Hegarty also has four double-doubles, and posted the first triple-double in American Athletic Conference history and sixth in program history with 22 kills, 12 digs and a career-high 10 blocks against the Green Wave.

KENDALL PATTERSON
Freshman setter Kendall Patterson is averaging a league-best 10.86 assists per set, ranking 36th 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 13 matches with at least 40 assists, including 43 in a 3-0 win at East Carolina. In conference matches, Patterson is averaging 11.14 assists per set, second in the league, and has the Mustangs hitting .240, third in the league, with 13.70 kills per set. She earned her second conference Offensive Player of the Week award after averaging 13.00 assists per set in wins against UCF and USF, guiding four attackers to at least 3.0 kills per set in the two sweeps.

KRISTEN STEHLING
Kristen Stehling has 308 blocks in her career, ranking ninth in program history. She has 79 blocks this season, and is one of four attackers with at least 200 kills, scoring 228 with a .268 attack percentage. 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 264 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 21 times, including nine 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 311 digs, averaging 2.91 per set, and also has 17 service aces.

BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams has 172 kills, averaging just under two per set, and the sophomore is averaging 2.07 kills per set in conference matches. Adams is one of five SMU attackers to score at least 150 kills this season. She also has 89 digs and 46 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 49 kills in 31 sets this season, scoring 22 in 11 sets at the Horned Frogs Classic. She also has nine blocks, 12 digs and an assist.