Tickets
Admission is free for UNC vs. SMU only. Tickets to all other matches are $10 for adults, $5 for youth and $3 for groups of 20 or more. To purchase, call 1-817-257-FROG or click here.
Parking
Parking for Friday's match will be available on a first come first serve basis in all visitor lots. Fans are encouraged to use Lot 8 or Lot 7 for the closest parking (Campus Map). Please be advised that these lots must be cleared by 8 p.m. due to home football on Saturday.
Parking will be extremely limited on Saturday due to TCU home football. Free parking on Saturday will be available at McKinney Bible Church (4805 Arborlawn Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76109) with a free shuttle to campus running every 15 minutes until 1 hour after the football game ends (11 AM start). Fans should get off the shuttle at the Brown-Lupton University Union (BLUU) stop. Regular visitor parking will be free after football parking is cleared and should become available before UNC's match vs. TCU.
Clear Bag Policy
TCU has a clear bag policy for all sporting events. The only bags that will be allowed into the University Recreation Center are bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and not exceeding 14 in by 14 in. Small clutch bags may be taken into the venue with a clear plastic bag. For the full list of prohibited items, click here.
ABOUT SMU
After picking up a tournament win at the NC State Invitational, the SMU volleyball team will wrap up the non-conference schedule Friday and Saturday at the TCU Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. The Mustangs will face arguably the toughest field to date, competing against No. 8 North Carolina, a TCU team that was receiving votes in last week's top-25 poll, and Sam Houston State.
SMU is 5-4 on the year, led by junior Katie Hegarty, who is hitting .299 with 124 kills. All five SMU attackers have at least 50 kills, but the Mustangs are hitting just .190 as a team. Morgan Heise is 11th in the NCAA and first in the American Athletic Conference with 5.48 digs per set, anchoring a defense that is holding opponents to a .152 attack percentage.
THE OPPONENTS
SAM HOUSTON STATE
The Mustangs' first match is Friday at 11 a.m. against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats are 6-4 this season, losing a pair of 5-set matches to start the year before going 6-2 with losses to then-No. 24 USC and at Texas State. Brooke White leads the team with 143 kills, and Jordyn Vaughn has 141 kills, but both players are hitting less than .200. The duo combines for 877 of Sam Houston State's 1,563 total attacks, and the Bearkats are hitting .187 as a team. The Mustangs are 4-0 all-time against the Bearkats, but this is the first neutral-site contest, and just the second not played in Moody Coliesum. SMU swept the Bearkats in each of the last two meetings, at home in Nov. 2004 and Sept. 2013.
TCU
TCU (5-2) fell out of the receiving votes ranks after losing its second straight match, a 3-0 loss at [RV] Creighton. The Horned Frogs only other loss is a 3-0 loss at then-No. 12 North Carolina. TCU is 3-0 at home this season, and has a balanced offensive attack. Sarita Mikals has a team-high 65 kills, and leads a group of five players with at least 50. Natalie Gower, who has 40 kills, is hitting a team-best .371. SMU is 12-5 all-time against TCU, and 4-3 in Fort Worth. SMU was swept in 2012, the last time the two teams played at TCU, but SMU won the last meeting in the series, a 5-set thriller in Moody Coliseum on Sept. 18, 2015. The two rivals played 12 times from 1996-2001, but have played just five times since 2009.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina is the first ranked opponent SMU has faced this season. The Mustangs toppled a top-25 foe each of the last two seasons. The Tar Heels are 6-1 this season, losing their last match in four sets to then-No. 5 Minnesota. North Carolina is 2-1 against top-10 opponents this season, winning 5-set matches at then No. 9 Penn State and at home against then-No. 2 Wisconsin. Julia Scoles is one of three players with more than 50 kills and a +.200 attack percentage, leading the team with 84 while hitting .266. The Tar Heels are hitting .245 as a team, while holding opponents to a .174 attack percentage. This is the first meeting between the two programs.
SMU NOTES
TEAM CAPTAINS
Janelle Giordano was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, after leading the Mustangs to the championship with a 2-1 record with a five-set loss at NC State. Giordano became just the third player in program history and the first in The American history with 500 career blocks. The senior has 501, needing just 79 to break the school record, set by Courtney Manning with 579 blocks from 2009-12. She had 20 blocks in the three matches, including eight blocks each in 3-0 wins against Delaware and High Point. Eight blocks are the third highest recorded and tied for seventh in the 3-set match at SMU.
NATIONAL LEADERS
Morgan Heise and Janelle Giordano are both among the active career leaders in digs and blocks, respectively. Heise is second in the NCAA with 1,923 digs after setting a conference and SMU record with 721 digs as a junior, finishing second in the NCAA last year behind North Dakota's McKenzie Hart, who recorded 787 digs. Heise was third in the NCAA last season, setting an SMU and conference record with 6.06 digs per set. In her career, she is fifth among active players with a 5.01 average. Kent State's Challen Geraghty holds the active career lead with 5.16 digs per set. Heise has 170 digs this year, leading the league with 5.40 per set.
NCAA Active Career Digs Leaders
| 1 |
Alex Beecher, Georgia Southern |
1,954 |
| 2 |
Morgan Heise, SMU |
1,923 |
| 3 |
Brooke Berryhill, Tulsa |
1,919 |
| 4 |
Allie Yamashiro, Manhattan |
1,903 |
| 5 |
Markie Schaedig, Arkansas State |
1,756 |
| 5 |
Morgan Longoria, Valparaiso |
1,756 |
NCAA Active Career Digs Per Set
| 1 |
Challen Geraghty , Kent St. |
5.16 |
| 2 |
Jessie Thornton , Wright St. |
5.13 |
| 3 |
Kate Klepetka , A&M-Corpus Christi |
5.06 |
| 4 |
Payton Harris , Mississippi St. |
5.04 |
| 5 |
Morgan Heise , SMU |
5.01 |
Janelle Giordano was third in the NCAA with 188 total blocks last season, an SMU and conference record, and fifth in blocks per set, averaging 1.58, also a school and league record. In her career, Giordano has 501 total blocks, tied for second among active career leaders. Giordano has 62 kills as a senior, hitting .312, with 40 blocks, and is second in the conference with 1.29 per set.
NCAA Active Career Blocks Leaders
| 1 |
Whitney Young Howard, BYU |
527 |
| 2 |
Janelle Giordano, SMU |
501 |
| 3 |
Haleigh Nelson, Wisconsin |
494 |
| 4 |
Carolee Dillard, Little Rock |
493 |
| 5 |
Chidima Osuchukwu, GWU |
487 |
NCAA Active Career Blocks Per Set
| 1 |
Whitney Young Howard , BYU |
1.51 |
| 2 |
Amy Boswell , BYU |
1.45 |
| 3 |
Chidima Osuchukwu , GWU |
1.33 |
| 4 |
Janelle Giordano , SMU |
1.31 |
| 5 |
Carolee Dillard , Little Rock |
1.27 |
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.
PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE
Janelle Giordano and
Morgan Heise were each named to the American Athletic Conference All-Preseason team after earning first-team all-conference honors last season. Both seniors, Giordano and Heise are closing in on all-time records at SMU. Giordano has 481 total blocks, needing 119 to pass Courtney Manning, who blocked 579 attacks from 2009-12. Heise has 1,861 digs, needing 358 to pass Sidney Stewart, who had 2,218 digs from 2008-11.
SMU Career Blocks
| 1 |
Courtney Manning, 2009-12 |
579 |
| 2 |
Kendra Kahanek, 2006-09 |
530 |
| 3 |
Janelle Giordano, 2013-Present |
501 |
| 4 |
Natalie Peters, 2005-08 |
484 |
| 5 |
Melissa Godwin, 1997-2000 |
443 |
SMU Career Digs
| 1 |
Sideny Stewart, 2008-11 |
2,218 |
| 2 |
Morgan Heise, 2013-Present |
1,923 |
| 3 |
Dana Powell, 2008-11 |
1,641 |
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 91-22 on the Hilltop during the stretch. Since joining the American Athletic Conference in 2013, SMU is 25-4 at home in conference matches.
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 and
Morgan Heise each have two player of the year awards at their positions.
COLLEGIATE DEBUTS
Freshman setter
Kendall Patterson started all three matches and played all 10 sets, recording 122 assists on SMU's 136 kills. Averaging 12.2 assists per set, Patterson was ninth in the NCAA in assists per set, with Wisconsin's Lauren Carlini leading the country with 13.3 assists per set, after the first weekend of matches.
Avery Acker, a three-time All-America Honorable Mention award winner at SMU and the 2015 conference Player of the Year, posted 99 assists in eight sets in her first three starts in 2012, averaging 12.38 assists per set. Patterson recorded her first double-double with 46 assists and 10 digs against UTSA, and had 40 assists in three sets against Little Rock. Patterson is averaging 9.90 assists per set, fifth in the conference, and has 83 digs and 15 blocks.
KRISTEN STEHLING
Splitting time at middle blocker with All-American
Janelle Giordano, senior team captain
Kristen Stehling finished with 100 blocks as a junior, reaching the century mark for the second straight season, and scored 264 kills with a .302 attack percentage, second on the team in 2015. She has 253 total blocks in her career, needing 16 to climb into the top 10 all-time at SMU. Stehling has 64 kills this season, second on the team, with 24 blocks and seven service aces.
KATIE HEGARTY
Katie Hegarty scored at least 10 kills in eight of the first nine matches, finishing with nine against [RV] Arizona, and has led the Mustangs in scoring each of the last eight matches. The junior is tied for third in the conference, averaging 4.00 kills per set, and is second on the team with a .299 attack percentage. She recorded a career-high 23 kills against Little Rock, and has 124 kills this season. Hegarty was named MVP at the NC State Invitational, scoring 47 kills in the three matches, averaging 4.27 per set, and had 18 in a 3-0 win against High Point, hitting .351. Hegarty is third in The American this season with 4.00 kills per set.
LAUREN MILLS
Lauren Mills has 62 kills, averaging 2.0 per set. She scored a career-high 10 kills in the final match at the Arizona Invitational with 14 digs for her first career double-double, earning all-tournament honors. The junior recorded a career-high 20 digs against UTSA at home earlier this season. She is second on the team with 90 digs, averaging 2.90 per set, and also has a team-high eight service aces.
