Saturday, November 23
Orlando, Fla.
12 p.m.
SMU
vs
UCF
Photo by: Sharon Ellman
No. 2 SMU Plays No. 3 UCF Saturday In The American Semifinals
Nov 22 | Volleyball
No. 2 SMU (18-8, 11-5 AAC) vs. No. 3 UCF (22-7, 14-2 AAC)
Nov. 23, 2019 – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT
Orlando, Fla. | The Venue at UCF
American Digital Network | Live Stats
SMU Social Apps
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App
Apple | Google Play
No. 2-seed SMU plays No. 3-seed UCF Saturday in the semifinals of the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. The Mustangs earned the No. 2 seed by winning the west division, while UCF posted the league's second best conference record at 14-2, with two losses against regular-season Cincinnati. The Knights are playing the championship on their home floor, earning hosting rights with the 2018 championship.
LAST MEETING
UCF defeated SMU, 3-1, in Dallas in a tightly contested match on Nov. 3. Rachel Woulfe led SMU with 17 kills and Jadyn Bauss scored 16 for the Mustangs. McKenna Melville scored a match-high 23 kills to lead the Knights. SMU finished with more digs, while UCF won the blocks battle.Â
SMU IN 2019
• SMU is 18-8 overall, 11-5 in The American, and claimed the No. 2 seed in The American Championship by winning the west division. The Mustangs enter the tournament second in the league with 14.27 kills per set. SMU  is the top defense, statistically, ranking first in digs, 17.86, second in opponents' hitting percentage, .182, and third in blocks, 2.20. Â
ANOTHER MILESTONE
• Head coach Lisa Seifert became the third SMU head coach with 400 wins at SMU when the Mustangs defeated Oral Roberts, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2019.Â
FILLING THE TROPHY CASE
• Over the past five seasons, SMU has added three major team trophies to the case, along with six individual top league awards. SMU won The American championship in 2015 and 2016, and the west division crown in 2019. Avery Acker was named Setter of the Year in 2013. She added Player of the Year and another Setter of the Year in 2015. 2019 senior Kendall Patterson was Freshman of the Year in 2016, when Morgan Heise earned her second Libero of the Year honor. Lily Heim was named Setter of the Year this season.Â
NATIONALLY RANKED
• Lily Heim is sixth in the NCAA with 11.72 assists per set. Heim is 11th in the nation with 1,160 total assists.Â
• SMU is 10th as a team with 13.46 assists per set.Â
• SMU ranks 18th with 14.27 kills per set.Â
• The Mustangs are 11th in the NCAA with 17.86 digs per set.
• Montana Watts ranks 39th with 4.97 digs per set.Â
TOP OF THE CLASS
• Since the inception of the American Athletic Conference, SMU has more league wins than any other member, 99.
• SMU is 99-33 in seven seasons of The American, posting a conference best .750 win percentage.Â
• Of the 12 current members, SMU is the only program without a losing record in league matches during at least one season.Â
• 10 programs have had multiple seasons with conference records less than .500, while UCF is the only other program with fewer than two losing seasons in The American.Â
• The Mustangs and the Knights are also the only two programs with multiple conference titles. (SMU-2015, 2016; UCF-2014, 2018)
POSTSEASON AWARDS
• Lily Heim was named American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year and earned first-team accolades. Rachel Woulfe was also named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference, while Hannah Jacobs was voted to the second team. This marks the first time in program history that SMU has placed multiple sophomores on the all-conference first team.
WEEKLY AWARDS
• Montana Watts earned the league's final Defensive Player of the Week award after a career-high 39 digs against Tulane and 23 digs in three sets against Houston. She averaged 7.75 digs in the two matches.
• Watts was named to the Weekly Honor Roll three times this season.
• Lily Heim also earned three Honor Roll selections. Most recently, she earned a mention after averaging 12.00 assists in home sweeps against Temple and UConn. She guided the Mustangs to a .318 attack percentage in the wins.
• Freshman Alex Glover was named to the league's Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 14 after scoring 23 kills with seven blocks in two home conference wins.
Â
Nov. 23, 2019 – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT
Orlando, Fla. | The Venue at UCF
American Digital Network | Live Stats
SMU Social Apps
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
SMU Mobile App
Apple | Google Play
No. 2-seed SMU plays No. 3-seed UCF Saturday in the semifinals of the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT. The Mustangs earned the No. 2 seed by winning the west division, while UCF posted the league's second best conference record at 14-2, with two losses against regular-season Cincinnati. The Knights are playing the championship on their home floor, earning hosting rights with the 2018 championship.
LAST MEETING
UCF defeated SMU, 3-1, in Dallas in a tightly contested match on Nov. 3. Rachel Woulfe led SMU with 17 kills and Jadyn Bauss scored 16 for the Mustangs. McKenna Melville scored a match-high 23 kills to lead the Knights. SMU finished with more digs, while UCF won the blocks battle.Â
SMU IN 2019
• SMU is 18-8 overall, 11-5 in The American, and claimed the No. 2 seed in The American Championship by winning the west division. The Mustangs enter the tournament second in the league with 14.27 kills per set. SMU  is the top defense, statistically, ranking first in digs, 17.86, second in opponents' hitting percentage, .182, and third in blocks, 2.20. Â
ANOTHER MILESTONE
• Head coach Lisa Seifert became the third SMU head coach with 400 wins at SMU when the Mustangs defeated Oral Roberts, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2019.Â
FILLING THE TROPHY CASE
• Over the past five seasons, SMU has added three major team trophies to the case, along with six individual top league awards. SMU won The American championship in 2015 and 2016, and the west division crown in 2019. Avery Acker was named Setter of the Year in 2013. She added Player of the Year and another Setter of the Year in 2015. 2019 senior Kendall Patterson was Freshman of the Year in 2016, when Morgan Heise earned her second Libero of the Year honor. Lily Heim was named Setter of the Year this season.Â
NATIONALLY RANKED
• Lily Heim is sixth in the NCAA with 11.72 assists per set. Heim is 11th in the nation with 1,160 total assists.Â
• SMU is 10th as a team with 13.46 assists per set.Â
• SMU ranks 18th with 14.27 kills per set.Â
• The Mustangs are 11th in the NCAA with 17.86 digs per set.
• Montana Watts ranks 39th with 4.97 digs per set.Â
TOP OF THE CLASS
• Since the inception of the American Athletic Conference, SMU has more league wins than any other member, 99.
• SMU is 99-33 in seven seasons of The American, posting a conference best .750 win percentage.Â
• Of the 12 current members, SMU is the only program without a losing record in league matches during at least one season.Â
• 10 programs have had multiple seasons with conference records less than .500, while UCF is the only other program with fewer than two losing seasons in The American.Â
• The Mustangs and the Knights are also the only two programs with multiple conference titles. (SMU-2015, 2016; UCF-2014, 2018)
POSTSEASON AWARDS
• Lily Heim was named American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year and earned first-team accolades. Rachel Woulfe was also named First-Team All-American Athletic Conference, while Hannah Jacobs was voted to the second team. This marks the first time in program history that SMU has placed multiple sophomores on the all-conference first team.
WEEKLY AWARDS
• Montana Watts earned the league's final Defensive Player of the Week award after a career-high 39 digs against Tulane and 23 digs in three sets against Houston. She averaged 7.75 digs in the two matches.
• Watts was named to the Weekly Honor Roll three times this season.
• Lily Heim also earned three Honor Roll selections. Most recently, she earned a mention after averaging 12.00 assists in home sweeps against Temple and UConn. She guided the Mustangs to a .318 attack percentage in the wins.
• Freshman Alex Glover was named to the league's Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 14 after scoring 23 kills with seven blocks in two home conference wins.
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Players Mentioned
Outside Hitter
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Middle Blocker
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Setter
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Outside Hitter
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Setter
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Libero
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Outside Hitter
/ VolleyballWednesday, October 07
Tuesday, October 06
Tuesday, October 06
Tuesday, October 06
