SMU (1-2, 0-0 The American) vs. Ole Miss (3-1, 0-0 SEC)
Date & Time	Friday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m.
Location	Convocation Center – Jonesboro, Ark.
Live Stats	Stat Broadcast
Live Video	Arkansas State Live Stream
Tournament Info	Tournament Notes (.pdf)
SMU at Arkansas State (1-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
Date & Time	Saturday, Sept. 2 at 11 a.m.
Location	Convocation Center – Jonesboro, Ark.
Live Stats	Stat Broadcast
Live Video	Arkansas State Live Stream
SMU vs. Virginia Tech (3-0, 0-0 ACC)
Date & Time	Saturday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m.
Location	Convocation Center – Jonesboro, Ark.
Live Stats	Stat Broadcast
Live Video	Arkansas State Live Stream
SMU Volleyball on Social Media
Facebook	/SMUMustangs   |   /SMUVolleyball
Twitter	@SMUMustangs   |   @SMUVolleyball
Instagram	/SMUVolleyball

The SMU volleyball team plays at the Arkansas State Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark., Friday and Saturday. The Mustangs face Ole Miss Friday at 4 p.m. to start the tournament, and take on Arkansas State and Virginia Tech Saturday in the second week of the season.

ABOUT SMU
SMU went 1-2 at home to start the season, picking up a 3-0 victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Katie Hegarty led the team with 44 kills, including 21 against Mississippi State. Lauren Mills was named to the all-tournament team and the American Athletic Conference weekly honor roll after scoring 43 kills with 42 digs. The senior had a career-high 21 kills against MSU. 

SMU took the Bulldogs to five sets, but lost 27-25 in the fifth set of the season opener. The Mustangs also lost the second set by two, 25-23. Kendall Patterson is eighth in the NCAA in assists per set, averaging a league-high 12.33 assists per set. As a team, SMU leads The American with 14.42 kills per set, hitting .254, third in the conference.

ABOUT OLE MISS
The Rebels are 3-1 with home wins against Louisiana Tech (3-2), Chattanooga (3-0) and Florida A&M (3-0). The lone loss was a 17-15, fifth-set defeat against North Dakota. Kate Gibson leads the team with 55 kills, averaging 3.44 per set, and Lexi Thompson has 50 kills. Lauren Bars averages 7.19 assists per set, while Jordan Fate accounts for 3.94 assists per set. As a team, Ole Miss is hitting just .182, but holds opponents to a .125 attack percentage and 10.12 kills per set.

Series History: SMU is 1-2 all-time against Ole Miss, winning 3-2 at home in the first meeting on Sept. 12, 1998. The Rebels picked up wins in 2007 and 2008. This is the first neutral-site match of the series.
 
ABOUT ARKANSAS STATE
The Red Wolves are 1-2, losing a pair of three-set matches to No. 14 Kentucky and No. 23 Utah with a 3-1 win against Cincinnati. Carlisa May leads the team with 45 kills, averaging 4.5 per set. Drew Jones is scoring 3.4 kills per set, and Ellie Watkins averages 11.10 assists per set. As a team, Arkansas State is hitting .239 with 14.10 kills per set.

Series History: SMU won the only matchup between the two teams 3-0 on Sept. 19, 1998, in a neutral-site match in Lexington, Kentucky. 

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH
The Hokies are 3-0 this season, winning five-set matches against Idaho State and Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a sweep against South Dakota State. Kaity Smith leads the team with 61 kills, and Ester Talamazzi is second with 31 kills. Virginia Tech is hitting .353 as a team, with all six starting attackers hitting above .260. Opponents are averaging 11.00 kills per set, while Virginia Tech is scoring 14.38 kills per set.

Series History: The Mustangs won the only match in the series 3-0 on Sept. 5, 1998, in San Marcos, Texas. 

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 64-14 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.

RECEIVING VOTES
SMU received votes in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Preseason Poll for the first time in program history. The Mustangs first received votes in the top-25 poll on Aug. 30, 2010, and this is the fourth straight season SMU has earned votes in at least one weekly poll. 

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 183-98 all-time in home matches and 173-96 in matches played at Moody Coliseum. Since the renovation to Moody Coliseum in 2014, SMU is 41-7 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, has has a team-high 44, averaging 3.67 per set. 

SMU SINGLE-SEASON KILLS
1.    Rachel Giubilato (2006 - 122 sets)    568
2.    Erin Pryor (1997 - 126 sets)    473
3.    Kelly Klecka (2000 - 108 sets)    469
4.    Erin Pryor (1999 - 120 sets)    466
5.    Katie Hegarty (2016 - 121 sets)    461
6.    Beth Karasek (2004 - 98 sets)    453

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. The league's Freshman of the Year recorded 12 double-doubles, including a career-high 26 digs and 49 assists against Tulane. She finished the year with 308 digs and 42 blocks. Patterson recorded a career-high 54 assists against Cincinnati, and eclipsed 50 three times. She also led the team with 38 service aces. Patterson posted her first double-double of the 2017 campaign with 46 assists and 10 digs in a 3-0 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, and had 58 assists in a five-set loss against Mississippi State.

SMU SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS
1.    Avery Acker (2015 - 119 sets)    1,482
2.    Leslie Olson (1997 - 126 sets)    1,445
3.    Jessica Mihm (2003 - 114 sets)    1,444
4.    Avery Acker (2014 - 121 sets)    1,413
5.    Tara Hatfield (2000 - 103 sets)    1,411
6.     Jessica Mihm (2002 - 108 sets)    1,326
T-7.    Kelli Becerra (2010 - 124 sets)    1,325
T-7.    Kendall Patterson (2016 - 121 sets)    1,325
T-9.    Leslie Olson (1999 - 100 sets)    1,258

LAUREN MILLS
Lauren Mills had 11 double-doubles last season, scoring 304 kills, second on the team in 2016. The senior is the leading returner in digs with 354 a year ago. She scored a career-high 19 kills in a four-set win at USF, and reached double figures 14 times. Mills had at least 10 digs 20 times, including six straight matches to finish the season, and recorded a career-high 20 digs against UTSA. Mills has 43 kills this season, scoring a career-high 22 against Mississippi State. She also has 42 digs, posting a double-double with 13 digs against the Bulldogs. 

BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams scored 203 kills as a sophomore in 2016, including a career-high 18 kills in a four-set win at Temple. She posted a double-double with 17 kills and 12 digs at home against Temple. Admas had at least 10 kills four times and recorded 12 digs twice, also reaching double figures against Montana. She accounted for at least 10 points six times, finishing the year with 49 blocks and three service aces. Adams scored 31 kills on opening weekend, hitting .273. 

BUILDING BLOCKS
SMU features new faces in the middle of the net after the graduation of all-conference middle blockers Janelle Giordano and Kristen Stehling. Giordano finished her career as the all-time leader at SMU with 623 blocks, and Stehling had 89 during her senior season. Junior Kelly Brunstein played in nine sets last year with four blocks. Freshmen Meryn Kennedy and Lexi Nordmann will also compete for playing time. Kennedy was redshirted last season after scoring 194 kills with 135 blocks as a senior at Allen High School. Nordmann was an Under Armour All-America second-team selection as a senior at Dewitt High School in Dewitt, Mich. The Mustangs posted 16 blocks, including six solo blocks, in 12 sets to start the season, with Brunstein accounting for six total blocks.