The SMU volleyball team plays on the road for the first time in conference play, taking on Tulane in New Orleans Friday at 7 p.m. before a Sunday matchup at Houston at 1 p.m. The Mustangs are one of three teams in the league to win both matches on opening weekend, ending ECU's 10-match win streak before taking a five-set victory against preseason-favorite Cincinnati.
Katie Hegarty leads the SMU offense and is fourth in the conference with 195 kills, averaging 3.90 per set, and
Janelle Giordano is 10th in the league with a .308 attack percentage with 111 kills and 61 blocks, second in the league with 1.22 per set.
Morgan Heise leads the defense with a conference-best 5.34 digs per set, and is only the second player in program history to record 2,000 career digs. SMU is 9-5 overall, winning four of its last five matches.
Tulane also enters the weekend with a 9-5 record, 1-1 in conference play after a win at Temple with a 22-20 victory in the fifth set. The Green Wave won just 10 matches last season, including four conference matches, but have picked up victories in six of the last eight matches. Sarah Ray leads the team with 3.35 kills per set, and Tulane leads the conference with 119.0 total blocks. Dayna Kern has 56 blocks, and is hitting .346 with 121 kills. SMU is 9-13 all-time against the Green Wave, but the Mustangs have won six of the last seven matches, including the last four straight. SMU is 3-1 in its last four trips to New Orleans, and won both road matches in American Athletic Conference play in straight sets.
Houston, the team that beat SMU at home in the first conference match of 2015, enters the weekend with a 5-8 record overall, losing its first two conference matches of 2016. The Cougars have lost six of their last seven matches, including each of the last four. Sarah Afflerbaugh leads the team with 149 kills, averaging 3.04 per set. As a team, the Cougars are hitting .192, while opponents are hitting .215, the second-highest opponent hitting percentage. SMU is 15-12 all-time against the Cougars, winning six of the last seven in the series. SMU is 6-7 all-time at Houston, sweeping back-to-back American Athletic Conference matches on the road before last season's upset.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Morgan Heise was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week Monday after leading the Mustangs to a pair of wins on the first weekend of conference matches, including a victory over preseason-favorite Cincinnati. Heise, a back-to-back conference Libero of the Year award winner, had 23 digs against ECU and 21 digs against Cincinnati. With her first dig against the Bearcats, the senior became just the second player in program history with 2,000 career digs. She needs 199 digs to break Sidney Stewart's school record of 2,218 digs set in 2011. Heise was also named to the weekly honor roll Sept. 5, and was named Defensive Player of the Week six times as a junior.
NATIONAL LEADERS
Morgan Heise and
Janelle Giordano are both among the active career leaders in digs and blocks, respectively. Heise is third in the NCAA with 2,020 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 fourth among active players with a 5.01 average. Heise has 267 digs this year, leading the league with 5.34 per set.
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 522 total blocks, second among active career leaders. Giordano has 111 kills as a senior, hitting .308, with 61 blocks, and is second in the conference with 1.22 per set.
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 522 total blocks, needing 58 to pass Courtney Manning, who blocked 579 attacks from 2009-12. Heise has 2,020 digs, needing 199 to pass Sidney Stewart, who had 2,218 digs from 2008-11.
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 173-98 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 27-4 at home in conference matches. The Mustangs are 4-1 at home this season.
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.
KATIE HEGARTY
Katie Hegarty scored at least 10 kills in 12 of 14 matches this season, finishing with nine against [RV] Arizona, and has led the Mustangs in scoring 11 times. The junior is fifth in the conference, averaging 3.90 kills per set, and is third on the team with a .270 attack percentage. She recorded a career-high 23 kills against Little Rock, and has 195 kills this season. Hegarty was named MVP at the NC State Invitational, and earned all-tournament honors at the TCU Horned Frogs Classic and the SMU DoubleTree Classic. She scored 20 kills against TCU and 14 against then-No. 8 North Carolina.
KENDALL PATTERSON
Freshman setter
Kendall Patterson is averaging 10.58 assists per set, ranking 44th 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 per set. She had a season-high 54 assists in a 3-2 win against Cincinnati, and has six matches with at least 40 assists, including 40 in a 3-0 win against Little Rock.
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 263 total blocks in her career, needing five to climb into the top 10 all-time at SMU. Stehling has 106 kills this season with 34 blocks and is tied for second on the team with 10 service aces.
LAUREN MILLS
Lauren Mills has 114 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 five times, recording a double-double in each match. Mills recorded a career-high 20 digs against UTSA at home earlier this season, and posted at least 10 digs in seven matches this year. She is second on the team with 154 digs, averaging 3.08 per set, and also has 10 service aces.
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 43 kills in 24 sets this season, scoring 22 in 11 sets at the Horned Frogs Classic. She also has seven blocks, 12 digs and an assist.
