Friday, October 20
Storrs, Conn.
6 p.m.
SMU
at
Connecticut
SMU Plays At UConn And Temple To End First Half Of AAC Schedule
Oct 18 | Volleyball
| SMU (13-6, 7-1 The American) at Connecticut (10-10, 3-5 The American) | |
| Date & Time | Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT |
| Location | Guyer Gym – Storrs, Conn. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Live Video | Husky Vision |
| Match Info | Match Notes (.pdf) |
| SMU at Temple (10-6, 6-2 The American) | |
| Date & Time | Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT |
| Location | McGonigle Hall – Philadelphia, Pa. |
| Live Stats | Sidearm Stats |
| Live Video | Owls TV |
| SMU Volleyball on Social Media | |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUVolleyball | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUVolleyball | |
| /SMUVolleyball | |
The SMU volleyball team concludes the first half of the conference schedule this weekend, playing at Connecticut Friday night and at Temple Sunday. The matches are part of four straight on the road after the Mustangs played at No. 22 Wichita State, where they suffered their first conference loss, and at Memphis.
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference, one match behind first-place Wichita State, and 13-6 overall. Lauren Mills leads the team with 3.54 kills per set, ranking sixth in the conference. Brittany Adams is scoring 2.97 kills per set, and Meryn Kennedy adds 2.17 with a .274 attack percentage. SMU is second in the league, scoring 13.51 kills per set.
Defensively, SMU is first in the league with 17.58 digs per set and third with 2.38 blocks per set. Freshman Lexi Nordmann is second in The American with 1.23 blocks per set, posting 59 on the season. Kennedy has 60 during her first season, ranking 12th in the league with 1.00 per set. Kelly Brunstein has a team-high 64 blocks, and is 13th with 0.97 per set.
Sophomore Montana Watts anchors the back row, and is sixth in The American with with 4.68 digs per set. Mills is second on the team and 12th in the league with 3.41 digs per set, and leads the conference with 12 double-doubles, including five in eight conference matches.
SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
The Huskies are 10-10 overall with a 3-5 record in The American, and have just three wins at home. Kayla Williams leads the team with 3.91 kills per set, and Kenya Cason is scoring 2.89 per set. As a team, Connecticut is averaging 13.13 kills with a .203 attack percentage while holding opponents to a .190 attack percentage with 11.11 kills. Kennedy Arundel leads the team with 3.74 digs per set, but the Huskies are last in the league with 1.62 blocks per set.
Series History: SMU is 9-0 all-time against Connecticut. The Mustangs won the only non-conference match, 3-1, on Sept. 25, 1999, in Storrs, Conn. SMU has won each of the eight American Athletic Conference matches over the past four seasons. SMU clinched sole possession of the conference championship with wins in the past two matches at Connecticut.
SCOUTING TEMPLE
The Owls start the weekend 10-6 overall, 6-2 in The American. Izzy Rapacz leads the team with 3.40 kills per set, but is one of just two players averaging more than 2.0 kills. As a team, Temple is averaging 13.45 kills per set with a .241 attack percentage, second in the conference. Defensively, Mia Heirakuji leads the team with 3.83 digs per set, and the Owls are second in the league with 2.42 blocks per set.
Series History: SMU is 4-5 all-time against Temple, picking up their first win in Philadelphia with a 3-1 victory last season to secure a second straight conference championship. The Owls won the first meeting, 3-2, on Sept. 21, 2002, in Albuquerque, N.M. The two teams split the season series each of the last four seasons in The American, with 2016 being the first time neither team won at home.
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 averages 3.11 kills per set, and was scoring 2.83 per set against conference opponents before missing the Wichita State and Memphis matches, her second stint of missed time due to injury.
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 third in the conference with 9.80 assists per set. She has eight double-doubles, including four in conference matches. Against league opponents this season, Patterson is fifth with 10.52 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 3.54 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 12 double-doubles this season, and is averaging 3.41 digs per set, 12th 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 3.52 kills per set.
BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams is second on the team with 190 kills, ranking 11th in the conference with 2.97 per set. She earned all-tournament honors 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
ABOVE THE NET
The Mustangs are third in the American Athletic Conference with 2.38 blocks per set. SMU set a conference record with 23 blocks at Cincinnati, and three players rank in the top 15 in the league in blocks per set. Freshman Lexi Nordmann is second with 1.23 per set, while redshirt freshman Meryn Kennedy is 12th, averaging 1.00. Junior Kelly Brunstein, who has played middle blocker and right-side hitter this season, leads the team with 64 blocks, ranking 13th in the league with 0.97 per set. SMU has blocked at least 10 attacks six times this season, including a three-set match at Arkansas State.
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
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Middle Blocker
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Middle Blocker
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Opposite Hitter
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Libero
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Middle Blocker
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Outside Hitter
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Middle Blocker
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Setter
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Middle Blocker
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Libero
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