SMU Faces Iowa Saturday At Lipscomb

Friday, August 24

Nashville, Tenn.

6 p.m.

SMU

Lipscomb

SMU Faces Iowa Saturday At Lipscomb

Aug 22 | Volleyball

SMU at Lipscomb
Aug. 24, 2018 – 6 p.m.
Video: WatchESPN | Live Stats
SMU vs. Iowa
Aug. 25, 2018 – 12 p.m.
Live Stats
Allen Arena – Nashville, Tenn.
SMU Notes
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The SMU volleyball team starts the 2018 season Friday night against Lipscomb at 6 p.m. at the LUV Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. The Mustangs also face Iowa Saturday at 12 p.m. This is the first time SMU has opened a season on the road since 2014, winning two of three matches in San Francisco.

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ABOUT SMU
The Mustangs went 21-11 last season, marking the fifth straight year with at least 20 wins. SMU advanced to the NIVC for a third consecutive postseason appearance. With a 15-5 record in the American Athletic Conference, SMU finished tied for second in the league. The Mustangs have been in the top two in each of the five seasons with two championships.

Four starters and the libero return from last season's squad, including all-conference award winners Brittany Adams and Kendall Patterson. The Mustangs added seven freshmen to the roster, the largest incoming class in program history.

SCOUTING LIPSCOMB
The Bisons went 16-13 overall last season, finishing fourth with an 8-6 record in the Atlantic Sun. Lipscomb returns five starters, including conference Preseason Player of the Year Carlyle Nusbaum. The senior averaged 5.22 kills per set en route to a second straight conference Player of the Year award. Lipscomb lost just one starting attacker and the libero from last season, and return both setters from the 6-2 system.

This is the first meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING IOWA
The Hawkeyes went 18-15 overall last season, with 10 losses against top-25 opponents, and went 7-13 in the Big Ten. Iowa knocked off then-No. 22 Michigan at home, splitting a pair of matches with the Wolverines. Iowa lost three starters and the libero, but returns its top attacker in Taylor Louis, who averaged 3.39 kills per set with a .248 attack percentage. Setter Gabrielle Orr averaged 10.44 assists with 1,201 in a 5-1 system as a freshman.

This is the first meeting between the two programs.

UP NEXT
The Mustangs host two of the next three tournaments, playing six of nine matches in Moody Coliseum. SMU take on N.C. State, Arkansas State and Creighton at home on Labor Day weekend in the SMU DoubleTree Classic. TCU hosts the Fight in the Fort Sept. 6-8 where the Mustangs will take on the Horned Frogs, Montana State and Louisiana in Fort Worth. The final weekend before conference play starts has SMU hosting the DoubleTree Invitational against Abilene Christian, Liberty and LSU Sept. 14-15.

CHASING A MILESTONE
In 22 seasons as the only head coach in program history, Lisa Seifert has amassed 385 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.

WIN   DATE   OPPONENT   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.

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.

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

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
SMU successfully defended its American Athletic Conference championship in 2016, 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 79-19 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.

NCAA VICTORY
The Mustangs advanced to the NCAA Tournament, playing in the first round at Texas for the second straight year in 2016. 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.

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
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.

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.

KENDALL PATTERSON
Kendall Patterson was third in The American with 10.05 assists last season. She led the league as a freshman with 10.95 assists, and now has 2,541 assists for her career, eighth all-time at SMU.

BRITTANY ADAMS
Brittany Adams was one of two Mustangs in the top 10 of the conference in kills, scoring 3.19 to rank ninth in The American. One of three seniors on the roster, Adams leads the team with 334 sets played, and is the only player on the roster with more than 300 sets played.

MONTANA WATTS
Montana Watts ranked fourth in The American with 5.03 digs per set last season. As a team, SMU led the league with 17.93 digs per set and limited opponents to a .190 attack percentage.

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.

RECORD-SETTING DAY
SMU set a conference and program record with 23.0 total blocks in a five-set win at Cincinnati in 2017. Meryn Kennedy led the defense with 12 blocks (1 BS, 11 BA), and 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.