The SMU volleyball team plays at No. 22 Wichita State Friday night as the only two unbeaten teams in the American Athletic Conference face off at 7 p.m. The match features The American's two-time defending champion in the Mustangs, while the Shockers won the last two Missouri Valley Conference championships before joining The American. SMU will also play at Memphis Sunday in the second match of a four-match road swing.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 6-0 in The American, matching the 2003 squad for the best conference start in program history, and have a 12-5 record overall, winning nine of their last 11 matches.
Lauren Mills leads the team and ranks sixth in the league with 3.64 kills per set, and the senior is averaging 3.79 kills since the start of conference play.
Brittany Adams is also averaging 3.00 kills per set this season.
Katie Hegarty has 68 kills in league matches, averaging 2.83 kills per set since returning from injury.
Defensively, SMU leads the league in conference matches with 2.62 blocks per set, and the Mustangs lead The American with 17.31 digs per set overall. In league play,
Kelly Brunstein averages 1.28 blocks per set, second in the conference, while
Meryn Kennedy is third, averaging 1.23. Since the start of league matches, SMU has three players in the top 20 in digs per set with
Montana Watts averaging 4.25,
Brittany Adams accounting for 3.33 and
Lauren Mills recording 3.00.
SCOUTING No. 22 WICHITA STATE
The Shockers are 14-3 overall, with two losses against top-20 opponents, and 6-0 in The American with just two conference sets lost. Abbie Lehman leads the team and is second in the league with a .367 attack percentage, scoring 3.14 kills per set, and Tabitha Brown scores a team-high 3.88 kills per set. Giorgia Civita records 5.42 digs per set, and Wichita State averages 2.51 blocks per set. As a team, the Shockers are hitting .277 with 14.22 kills per set, while holding opponents to a .173 attack percentage.
Series History: SMU is 1-2 all-time against Wichita State, winning the first match, 3-1, on Aug. 31, 1996. The Shockers won, 3-0, in Dallas on Sept. 14, 2010, and at home on Sept. 6, 2012 (3-2).
SCOUTING MEMPHIS
The Tigers are 7-10 overall, winning their last four non-conference matches before going 0-5 to start the conference slate. Hannah Flowers leads the team with 168 kills, averaging 2.62 kills per set with a .213 attack percentage. As a team, Memphis is scoring 12.53 kills per set with a .182 attack percentage, while opponents are hitting .196 with 12.52 kills per set.
Series History: SMU is 13-5 all-time against Memphis in a series that started in 2005, with the two teams playing at least once every season since. The Mustangs won the last five straight and 12 of the last 14 after starting 1-3 in the series. SMU won the first match, 3-0, in Dallas on Oct. 23, 2005. The Mustangs are 3-4 all-time in Memphis, winning the last two road matches.
RALLY FOR HURRICANE RELIEF
The SMU volleyball program is asking fans to bring items to donate to victims of Hurricane Harvey to each of its next four home matches. The Mustangs will donate the items to a distribution center in Houston prior to SMU's match at Houston Nov. 3. Requested items include, but are not limited to, new clothes, baby diapers and formula, toiletries, water and non-perishable food items.
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
SMU successfully defended its American Athletic Conference championship, going 18-2 against league opponents. After going 17-3 in 2015 for the program's first title, the Mustangs won 11 of their first 12 conference matches in 2016 and never dropped below at least tied for first all season. For the second straight season, SMU clinched sole possession of the championship with a win at Connecticut (3-1), this time in the last match of the regular season.
AMERICAN SUCCESS
SMU is 70-14 in American Athletic Conference matches since the league's inception four seasons ago. The Mustangs finished runner-up behind champions Louisville and UCF in the first two years before winning back-to-back championships. SMU players have earned 19 all-conference awards, one conference Player of the Year award, one Freshman of the Year award and five yearly awards for position.
Lisa Seifert was also named conference Coach of the Year in 2015. With 18 conference wins in 2016, SMU matched the conference record for league wins.
NCAA VICTORY
The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Tournament, playing in the first round at Texas for the second straight year. SMU swept Texas A&M (25-23, 25-23, 25-18) for its first NCAA victory in the program's first match against the Aggies.
Katie Hegarty scored a match-high 14 kills, and
Kendall Patterson posted her 12th double-double of the season with 36 assists and 10 digs. The SMU defense held Texas A&M to a .177 attack percentage, recording 10 blocks and 51 digs. SMU was eliminated in the second round by national runner-up No. 4 Texas.
POSTSEASON AWARDS
Five Mustangs earned All-American Athletic Conference honors, with
Katie Hegarty,
Janelle Giordano and
Morgan Heise named to the first team, while
Kendall Patterson and
Kristen Stehling earned second-team accolades. Heise earned her third straight conference Libero of the Year award and a selection on the AVCA All-America Honorable Mention list for the second straight season. Hegarty, Heise and Giordano also earned selections to the AVCA All-Region team. Patterson was tabbed as The American's Freshman of the Year.
MOODY MAGIC
The Mustangs are 188-102 all-time in home matches and 176-100 in matches played at Moody Coliseum. Since the renovation to Moody Coliseum in 2014, SMU is 42-11 in home matches over four seasons, including a program-best 15-1 record in Moody in 2014. SMU clinched what at the time was at least a share of its first conference championship with a 3-1 win against Houston in front of its home fans on Nov. 15, 2015. SMU won 12 straight home matches during the 2015 season
TEAM CAPTAINS
Katie Hegarty and
Kendall Patterson were selected as team captains for the 2017 season. Team captains are elected by the players. Both players earned all-conference accolades in 2016, and led the team in their respective stat category (kills and assists).
KATIE HEGARTY
Katie Hegarty scored 461 kills last season, the most by an SMU player since Rachel Giubilato finished with a program-record 568 during the 2006 season. Hegarty's 461 kills ranked fifth in the conference last season and is fifth in a season all-time at SMU. She posted the league's first triple-double and the sixth in program history with 22 kills, 12 digs and a career-high 10 blocks against Tulane. The Aztec, N.M., native had four other double-doubles, finishing the season with 197 digs and 97 blocks. The senior started the 2017 season with 21 kills against Mississippi State, and was averaging 3.67 per set before suffering an injury. She returned to score 19 kills against Tulane with a .351 attack percentage. Through six conference matches, Hegarty has 68 kills, averaging 2.83 per set.
KENDALL PATTERSON
Kendall Patterson led the American Athletic Conference with 1,325 assists, averaging 10.95 per set, during her first season on the Hilltop, earning the league's Freshman of the Year Award. As a sophomore, Patterson is second in the conference with 9.99 assists per set. She has seven double-doubles, including three in conference matches. Against league opponents this season, Patterson is third with 11.25 assists per set, and recorded a season-high 59 assists at East Carolina.
LAUREN MILLS
Lauren Mills leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 3.64 kills per set this season. The senior scored a career-high 27 kills in a 3-1 win against UTSA, matching the SMU single-match record for a four-set match. Her 27 kills is tied for fifth all-time in a match at SMU, and the record is 33, set by Rachel Giubilato on Oct. 3, 2006 against Stephen F. Austin. Mills has a league-best 11 double-doubles this season, and is averaging 3.27 digs per set, 13th in the league. She earned her second conference Offensive Player of the Week award of the season after leading The American with 34 kills in the first two league matches, recording double-doubles against Tulane and Houston. In conference play, Mills is scoring 3.79 kills per set with a .236 attack percentage.
BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams is second on the team with 171 kills, ranking 11th in the conference with 3.14 per set. She earned her first all-tournament honor at Texas State, matching her then-career high with 18 kills against Texas State. She also had 17 digs in one of two double-doubles at the tournament. Adams has six double-doubles this season, and has scored at least 10 kills 10 times, including four conference matches. She recorded a new career high with 19 kills at ECU, and a season-high 18 digs at Cincinnati.
RECORD-SETTING DAY
SMU set a conference and program record with 23.0 total blocks in a five-set win at Cincinnati Sunday. Freshman
Meryn Kennedy led the defense with 12 blocks (1 BS, 11 BA), and junior
Kelly Brunstein posted 10 (5 BS, 5 BA), both career highs. Kennedy is tied for sixth in a match at SMU with the fourth highest block total recorded by a Mustang, while Bruntein's five solo blocks is tied for second. She is just the third Mustang with five solo blocks in a match.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Meryn Kennedy was named The American Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 2. The redshirt freshman recorded 12 blocks against Cincinnati to help the Mustangs set a conference and program record with 23.0 total blocks. Kennedy scored a career-high 20 kills to lead the Mustangs at East Carolina. She also had 11 digs in the two matches, and averaged 1.50 blocks per set on the weekend.
SMU PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Lauren Mills Offensive Sept. 11
Lauren Mills Offensive Sept. 25
Meryn Kennedy Defensive Oct. 2
