Friday, October 5
Dallas, Texas
7 p.m.
SMU
vs
Houston
Oct 3 | Volleyball
SMU vs. Houston
Oct. 5 – 7 p.m.
Video: PonyUp TV | Live Stats
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
SMU Notes
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Â
Oct. 5 – 7 p.m.
Video: PonyUp TV | Live Stats
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
SMU Notes
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App
Apple Store
Google Play (For Android)
The Mustangs host Houston Friday night at 7 p.m. in Moody Coliseum. The program, in coordination with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the American Athletic Conference, will promote mental health awareness by wearing green shoelaces. The #POW6RFULMINDS campaign is in its second year.Â
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 5-9 overall and 2-2 in The American. Brittany Adams leads the team with 161 kills, averaging 3.1 per set, seventh in The American, and freshman Rachel Woulfe is second on the squad with 98 kills, hitting .203.Â
Defensively, SMU is third in the conference in both blocks, 2.16 per set, and digs, 16.30 per set. Lexi Nordmann is seventh with 1.04 blocks per set, and Meryn Kennedy is ninth with 1.02 per set. Montana Watts is third individually with 5.17 digs per set, one of just three players in the conference with at least five digs per set.Â
In conference matches, the Mustangs are hitting .236 as a team, with Nordmann hitting a team-high .423 with 2.57 kills per set.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
The Cougars are 13-6 overall, but have lost the last five matches, including all four league matches. Megan Duncan leads the team with 2.94 kills, hitting .134. Kendall Haywood is hitting a team-best .371, scoring 1.77 kills per set with 1.08 blocks per set.Â
SERIES HISTORY
SMU is 19-12 all-time against Houston, winning the last five straight and 10 of the last 11. The Mustangs are 11-4 at home against the Cougars, winning the last 10 played in Dallas.Â
#POW6RFULMINDS
The SMU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is partnering with The American SAAC in its Pow6rfulMinds mental health campaign for the second straight year.
Â
With the help of each institutional SAAC, The American SAAC began the #POW6RFULMINDS mental health campaign last year. Green games, presentations, panels and events were executed to promote mental health awareness and resources on campuses of the American Athletic Conference. The hashtag received national exposure, including support from certain professional athletes willing to promote a healthy and positive message.Â
CHASING A MILESTONE
In 23 seasons as the only head coach in program history, Lisa Seifert has amassed 390 wins, including 122 over the past five seasons. Seifert earned her first win on Aug. 31, 1996, with a 3-1 victory against Wichita State at Nevada. The match was the third of SMU's inaugural season. Her 100th win came on Sept. 12, 2003, in a 3-1 victory against Stephen F. Austin. It was the fourth of 23 wins that season. A sweep against North Dakota on Sept. 12, 2009, became the program's 200th win, and Seifert got her 300th victory against on Oct. 12, 2014, with a 3-2 win against Tulane. The season started with a record 11-match win streak after an opening loss, propelling the Mustangs to a 26-6 record. She would become the third coach with 400 wins at SMU.
WINÂ Â Â DATEÂ Â Â OPPONENTÂ Â Â SCORE
1      8/31/96   Wichita State   3-1
100   9/12/03   Stephen F. Austin   3-1
200   9/12/09   North Dakota   3-0
300   10/12/14   Tulane   3-2
2017 ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
Four Mustangs earned all-conference accolades in 2017, including setter Kendall Patterson, a second straight second-team honor, while Brittany Adams was also named to the second team. Katie Hegarty and Lauren Mills were tabbed for the first team as seniors. Throughout the program's history, 31 players have been honored with 52 all-conference selections, including 25 first-team awards. Through five seasons in the American Athletic Conference, 11 players have earned 23 all-conference selections.Â
2018 PRESEASON AWARDS
Brittany Adams and Kendall Patterson were named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason Team. The duo earned all-conference accolades at the end of the 2017 season after leading the Mustangs to a third straight postseason appearance.
Adams, a senior outside hitter, was second on the team with 354 kills as a junior, ranking ninth in The American with 3.19 per set. She also had 311 digs, recording 13 double-doubles. She scored at least 10 kills 21 times, including a career-high 23 kills at Houston. Patterson had 1,216 assists as a sophomore, and was third in the league with 10.05 per set. She posted 14 double-doubles, averaging 2.47 digs per set. She finished with a career-high 60 assists against Temple, and eclipsed 50 assists five times.Â
LARGEST CLASS IN HISTORY
Head coach Lisa Seifert signed the programs largest freshman class, adding seven first-year players to the roster. The Mustangs return four starters and the libero from a 21-win squad in 2017, including all-conference award winners Brittany Adams, a senior outside hitter, and Kendall Patterson, a junior setter who was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2016.
No.   NAME   POSITION   HEIGHT
   3   Maddie Pernecky   DS   5-9
   5   Sydney Lobato   S   5-10
   7   Lily Heim   S   6-0
   10   Hannah Jacobs   OH   6-2
   14   Bria' Merchant   DS   5-8
   15   Ryan Palmieri   OH   6-1
   18   Rachel Woulfe   OH   6-2
20-WIN SEASONS
SMU has won at least 20 matches in a season eight times, including each of the last five seasons. The Mustangs won a program-best 27 matches in 2015.
   YEAR   RECORD
   1999   20-13
   2003   23-7
   2010   25-6
   2013   22-9
   2014   26-6
   2015   27-6
   2016   26-8
   2017   21-11
AMERICAN SUCCESS
SMU is 81-21 in American Athletic Conference matches since the league's inception five seasons ago. The Mustangs finished runner-up behind champions Louisville and UCF in the first two years before winning back-to-back championships. The Mustangs have finished in the top two of The American all five seasons.
MOODY MAGIC
The Mustangs are 192-105 all-time in home matches and 179-101 in matches played at Moody Coliseum. Since the renovation to Moody Coliseum in 2014, SMU is 48-17 in home matches over five 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
Kendall Patterson and Kelly Brunstein were selected as team captains for the 2018 season. Team captains are elected by the players. Patterson was a team captain last season, and has earned all-conference honors each of her first two seasons. Brunstein was third on the team in kills with 106 as a junior, and second with 104 blocks.Â
AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
The SMU volleyball team earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the sixth time in seven years, helping the organization to another record high. SMU is one of 164 Division I women's programs to achieve the honor, and 973 programs overall, increasing from 835 last year. The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
SETTING THE SCENE
Lily Heim and two-time all-conference selection Kendall Patterson split the setting duties for the SMU offense in the 6-2 system. Patterson leads the way with 310 assists, ranking ninth in The American with 5.85 per set, while Heim, a freshman, has 255 assists, averaging 4.81 per set. In 2017, Patterson was third in The American with 10.05 assists. She led the league as a freshman with 10.95 assists, and now has 2,759 assists for her career, seventh all-time at SMU.Â
ON THE ATTACK
Senior Brittany Adams leads the Mustangs with 161 kills, ranking seventh in The American with 3.10 per set. Freshman Rachel Woulfe has 98 kills, averaging 2.00 per set. One of three seniors on the roster, Adams leads the team with 380 sets played. Â Â
MONTANA WATTS
Montana Watts was named to the all-tournament team at Lipscomb and earned the Best Libero award at the DoubleTree Classic and the DoubleTree Invitational. She is third in The American with 5.17 digs per set. She ranked fourth in The American with 5.03 digs per set last season. As a team, SMU led the league in 2017 with 17.93 digs per set and limited opponents to a .190 attack percentage.Â
ABOVE THE NET
In 2017, three Mustangs ranked in the top 15 of the conference in blocks, including freshmen Meryn Kennedy and Lexi Nordmann. Nordmann led the team and was third in the league with 1.15 per set, posting 85 in 74 sets as a true freshman. Redshirt-freshman Meryn Kennedy led the team with 112 blocks, averaging 1.08 to rank ninth in the league. Kelly Brunstein was 13th, averaging 0.94 with 104 blocks at middle blocker and on the right side. The trio has SMU third in the league with 2.16 blocks per set this season. Nordmann is seventh in the conference with 1.04 per set, while Kennedy is ninth, averaging 1.02 per set.
RECORD-SETTING DAY
SMU set a conference and program record with 23.0 total blocks in a five-set win at Cincinnati. 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.Â
ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs are 5-9 overall and 2-2 in The American. Brittany Adams leads the team with 161 kills, averaging 3.1 per set, seventh in The American, and freshman Rachel Woulfe is second on the squad with 98 kills, hitting .203.Â
Defensively, SMU is third in the conference in both blocks, 2.16 per set, and digs, 16.30 per set. Lexi Nordmann is seventh with 1.04 blocks per set, and Meryn Kennedy is ninth with 1.02 per set. Montana Watts is third individually with 5.17 digs per set, one of just three players in the conference with at least five digs per set.Â
In conference matches, the Mustangs are hitting .236 as a team, with Nordmann hitting a team-high .423 with 2.57 kills per set.
SCOUTING HOUSTON
The Cougars are 13-6 overall, but have lost the last five matches, including all four league matches. Megan Duncan leads the team with 2.94 kills, hitting .134. Kendall Haywood is hitting a team-best .371, scoring 1.77 kills per set with 1.08 blocks per set.Â
SERIES HISTORY
SMU is 19-12 all-time against Houston, winning the last five straight and 10 of the last 11. The Mustangs are 11-4 at home against the Cougars, winning the last 10 played in Dallas.Â
#POW6RFULMINDS
The SMU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) is partnering with The American SAAC in its Pow6rfulMinds mental health campaign for the second straight year.
Â
With the help of each institutional SAAC, The American SAAC began the #POW6RFULMINDS mental health campaign last year. Green games, presentations, panels and events were executed to promote mental health awareness and resources on campuses of the American Athletic Conference. The hashtag received national exposure, including support from certain professional athletes willing to promote a healthy and positive message.Â
CHASING A MILESTONE
In 23 seasons as the only head coach in program history, Lisa Seifert has amassed 390 wins, including 122 over the past five seasons. Seifert earned her first win on Aug. 31, 1996, with a 3-1 victory against Wichita State at Nevada. The match was the third of SMU's inaugural season. Her 100th win came on Sept. 12, 2003, in a 3-1 victory against Stephen F. Austin. It was the fourth of 23 wins that season. A sweep against North Dakota on Sept. 12, 2009, became the program's 200th win, and Seifert got her 300th victory against on Oct. 12, 2014, with a 3-2 win against Tulane. The season started with a record 11-match win streak after an opening loss, propelling the Mustangs to a 26-6 record. She would become the third coach with 400 wins at SMU.
WINÂ Â Â DATEÂ Â Â OPPONENTÂ Â Â SCORE
1      8/31/96   Wichita State   3-1
100   9/12/03   Stephen F. Austin   3-1
200   9/12/09   North Dakota   3-0
300   10/12/14   Tulane   3-2
2017 ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
Four Mustangs earned all-conference accolades in 2017, including setter Kendall Patterson, a second straight second-team honor, while Brittany Adams was also named to the second team. Katie Hegarty and Lauren Mills were tabbed for the first team as seniors. Throughout the program's history, 31 players have been honored with 52 all-conference selections, including 25 first-team awards. Through five seasons in the American Athletic Conference, 11 players have earned 23 all-conference selections.Â
2018 PRESEASON AWARDS
Brittany Adams and Kendall Patterson were named to the American Athletic Conference Preseason Team. The duo earned all-conference accolades at the end of the 2017 season after leading the Mustangs to a third straight postseason appearance.
Adams, a senior outside hitter, was second on the team with 354 kills as a junior, ranking ninth in The American with 3.19 per set. She also had 311 digs, recording 13 double-doubles. She scored at least 10 kills 21 times, including a career-high 23 kills at Houston. Patterson had 1,216 assists as a sophomore, and was third in the league with 10.05 per set. She posted 14 double-doubles, averaging 2.47 digs per set. She finished with a career-high 60 assists against Temple, and eclipsed 50 assists five times.Â
LARGEST CLASS IN HISTORY
Head coach Lisa Seifert signed the programs largest freshman class, adding seven first-year players to the roster. The Mustangs return four starters and the libero from a 21-win squad in 2017, including all-conference award winners Brittany Adams, a senior outside hitter, and Kendall Patterson, a junior setter who was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2016.
No.   NAME   POSITION   HEIGHT
   3   Maddie Pernecky   DS   5-9
   5   Sydney Lobato   S   5-10
   7   Lily Heim   S   6-0
   10   Hannah Jacobs   OH   6-2
   14   Bria' Merchant   DS   5-8
   15   Ryan Palmieri   OH   6-1
   18   Rachel Woulfe   OH   6-2
20-WIN SEASONS
SMU has won at least 20 matches in a season eight times, including each of the last five seasons. The Mustangs won a program-best 27 matches in 2015.
   YEAR   RECORD
   1999   20-13
   2003   23-7
   2010   25-6
   2013   22-9
   2014   26-6
   2015   27-6
   2016   26-8
   2017   21-11
AMERICAN SUCCESS
SMU is 81-21 in American Athletic Conference matches since the league's inception five seasons ago. The Mustangs finished runner-up behind champions Louisville and UCF in the first two years before winning back-to-back championships. The Mustangs have finished in the top two of The American all five seasons.
MOODY MAGIC
The Mustangs are 192-105 all-time in home matches and 179-101 in matches played at Moody Coliseum. Since the renovation to Moody Coliseum in 2014, SMU is 48-17 in home matches over five 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
Kendall Patterson and Kelly Brunstein were selected as team captains for the 2018 season. Team captains are elected by the players. Patterson was a team captain last season, and has earned all-conference honors each of her first two seasons. Brunstein was third on the team in kills with 106 as a junior, and second with 104 blocks.Â
AVCA TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD
The SMU volleyball team earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the sixth time in seven years, helping the organization to another record high. SMU is one of 164 Division I women's programs to achieve the honor, and 973 programs overall, increasing from 835 last year. The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
SETTING THE SCENE
Lily Heim and two-time all-conference selection Kendall Patterson split the setting duties for the SMU offense in the 6-2 system. Patterson leads the way with 310 assists, ranking ninth in The American with 5.85 per set, while Heim, a freshman, has 255 assists, averaging 4.81 per set. In 2017, Patterson was third in The American with 10.05 assists. She led the league as a freshman with 10.95 assists, and now has 2,759 assists for her career, seventh all-time at SMU.Â
ON THE ATTACK
Senior Brittany Adams leads the Mustangs with 161 kills, ranking seventh in The American with 3.10 per set. Freshman Rachel Woulfe has 98 kills, averaging 2.00 per set. One of three seniors on the roster, Adams leads the team with 380 sets played. Â Â
MONTANA WATTS
Montana Watts was named to the all-tournament team at Lipscomb and earned the Best Libero award at the DoubleTree Classic and the DoubleTree Invitational. She is third in The American with 5.17 digs per set. She ranked fourth in The American with 5.03 digs per set last season. As a team, SMU led the league in 2017 with 17.93 digs per set and limited opponents to a .190 attack percentage.Â
ABOVE THE NET
In 2017, three Mustangs ranked in the top 15 of the conference in blocks, including freshmen Meryn Kennedy and Lexi Nordmann. Nordmann led the team and was third in the league with 1.15 per set, posting 85 in 74 sets as a true freshman. Redshirt-freshman Meryn Kennedy led the team with 112 blocks, averaging 1.08 to rank ninth in the league. Kelly Brunstein was 13th, averaging 0.94 with 104 blocks at middle blocker and on the right side. The trio has SMU third in the league with 2.16 blocks per set this season. Nordmann is seventh in the conference with 1.04 per set, while Kennedy is ninth, averaging 1.02 per set.
RECORD-SETTING DAY
SMU set a conference and program record with 23.0 total blocks in a five-set win at Cincinnati. 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.Â
Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Opposite Hitter
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Middle Blocker
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ Volleyball
Setter
/ Volleyball
Defensive Specialist
/ Volleyball
Libero
/ Volleyball
Outside Hitter
/ VolleyballWednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 21
Tuesday, October 20
