SMU (7-3) at Houston (5-7)
Sept. 27, 2019 – 7 p.m.
Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center
Cougars All-Access | Live Stats

SMU at Tulane (10-3)
Sept. 29, 2019 – 1 p.m.
New Orleans, La. | Fogleman Arena
Tulane All-Access | Live Stats

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SMU starts the American Athletic Conference schedule Friday night at Houston at 7 p.m. The Mustangs then play at Tulane Sunday at 1 p.m. SMU hosts Tulsa Friday, Oct. 4 in the first home conference match of the season. 

FAMILIAR FACES
• The Mustangs return four of six starters and the libero from last season. Montana Watts became just the second player in program history with at least 600 digs in multiple seasons. Meryn Kennedy led the team with 111 blocks, and setters Lily Heim and Kendall Patterson combined for 12.27 assists per set.

ANOTHER MILESTONE
• Head coach Lisa Seifert earned her 400th win at SMU when the Mustangs defeated Oral Roberts, 3-2, on Sept. 5, 2019. She is just the third SMU head coach to amass 400 wins on the Hilltop, following long-time women's basketball head coach Rhonda Rompola and men's tennis head coach Carl Neufeld, both of whom have since retired. 

GAINING MOMENTUM
• In the past 10 seasons, Seifert's teams have won 204 matches, including the program's first NCAA Tournament victory with a 3-0 win against Texas A&M in 2016. The decade includes six 20-win seasons, including a program-record 27 wins in 2015. SMU won back-to-back conference championships in 2015 and 2016, and made three straight postseason appearances.

SMU IN 2019
• SMU is 7-2 overall after defeating TCU in straight sets at home Wednesday. The Mustangs outscored the Horned Frogs 46-28 on the attack in the win. Rachel Woulfe scored a match-high 14 kills, and Hannah Jacobs reached double figures for the ninth straight match with 12.

CONFERENCE RANKINGS
• Averaging 14.79 kills per set, SMU leads the American Athletic Conference going into the first weekend of conference play Sept. 27 at Houston and Sept. 29 at Tulane.
• The Mustangs lead the conference with a .283 attack percentage. 
• SMU leads the league in assists with 13.44 per set. Sophomore Lily Heim is averaging a league-best 11.64 in her first season running the 5-1 at SMU. 
• SMU leads the league in digs, led by Montana Watts. The senior is fourth individually with 4.88 of the team's 17.67 digs per set. 

RECOGNITIONS
• Montana Watts has been named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll twice this season.
• Watts was named Best Libero at the SMU DoubleTree Invitational to start the season.
• Lily Heim was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after leading SMU to a 3-0 win against TCU.
• Rachel Woulfe and Hannah Jacobs were named to the MSU Fall Inviational All-Tournament team after scoring 39 and 40 kills, respectively. Woulfe hit .411, while Jacobs had a .312 attack percentage.
• The pair of sophomores was also named to the SMU DoubleTree Invitational All-Tournament team on opening weekend. 

ALL-TIME SERIES
HOUSTON
• SMU is 20-13 against Houston.
• SMU is 8-8 at Houston.
• Last Meeting - Nov. 21, 2018
   SMU lost 3-1 at Houston in the final match of the 2018 season.
TULANE
• SMU is 13-15 against Tulane. 
• SMU is 6-7 at Tulane.
• Last Meeting - Nov. 4, 2018
   SMU lost 3-0 at home last season. 

HANNAH JACOBS | SOPHOMORE
Hannah Jacobs leads the team and is fourth in The American with 3.91 kills per set. She has scored at least 10 kills in every match this season, with a season-high 16 in three sets against Bradley. Jacobs also scored 16 against Stephen F. Austin and at Missouri State. She is hitting .275, 16th in the league, with a team-best 129 kills. She hit a career-high .600 with 16 kills and only one errors in 25 attempts during a 3-0 win at Missouri State. Jacobs was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Preseason team prior to the season.

RACHEL WOULFE | SOPHOMORE
Rachel Woulfe is third on the team with 3.34 kills per set, ranking 14th in The American. She leads the Mustangs with a .324 attack percentage, sixth in the league. She has scored at least 10 kills six times this season, including a season-high 18 against Stephen F. Austin. She has eclipsed 10 kills in each of the last four matches, all three-set contests. Woulfe hit .500 with 15 kills in a 3-0 win against Dayton, receiving votes at the time. She also has 12 blocks, recording five in a 3-0 win against UTSA. She missed the Oklahoma match due to injury.

MONTANA WATTS | SENIOR
Montana Watts is fourth in The American with 4.88 digs per set. She recorded a season-high 31 digs against Stephen F. Austin, eclipsing 30 for the fifth time in her career. She had 20 in three sets against Bradley, and 19 in a three-set win against [RV] Dayton. Watts has been named to the conference Weekly Honor Roll twice this season, and was honored as the Best Libero at the SMU DoubleTree Invitational after leading the field with 5.36 digs per set. She has at least 10 digs in each of the last eight matches, including 11 against TCU and 19 at Oklahoma.

MAKING HISTORY
Montana Watts finished with 604 digs last season, joining all-time record holder Morgan Heise as the only two players in program history with more that 600 digs in multiple seasons. Heise set the single-season record with 721 in 2015, and holds the top three spots with 626 in 2014 and again in 2016. In four seasons, Heise recorded 2,379 digs. Watts has 1,520 digs through three-plus seasons, ranking fifth at SMU. 

LILY HEIM | SOPHOMORE
Lily Heim leads the conference with 11.64 assists per set. After running a 6-2 during her freshman campaign, Heim is guiding the Mustangs to a .283 hitting percentage in the 5-1 offense. She recorded a career-high 55 assists against Stephan F. Austin, and had 50 assists at Oral Roberts. In three sets against Dayton, Heim had 40 assists on 46 kills by the Mustangs. She also has six double-doubles, averaging 3.36 digs per set. She was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll Monday after recording 38 assists in a three-set win against TCU. She then had 47 assists with 16 digs in four sets at Oklahoma.

MEKENZI HECKMANN | FRESHMAN
Mekenzi Heckmann scored 18 kills in three sets against Incarnate Word, and finished with a season-high 19 at Oral Roberts. She has scored at least 10 six times, and is second on the team with 3.50 kills per set. Ranking 10th in The American, the freshman gives SMU three attackers in the league's top 10. Against TCU, she served three aces and finished with eight kills, and scored a team-best 17 kills at Oklahoma. 

MERYN KENNEDY | JUNIOR
Meryn Kennedy is in the top 10 in the conference in blocks per set. In her fourth season on the Hilltop after redshirting as a freshman, Kennedy has 29 blocks, including eight in three sets against UTSA. She had five blocks against Stephen F. Austin and again vs Dayton. She scored a season-high nine kills against Bradley, hitting .444, and posted a .583 attack percentage with seven kills and no errors against Incarnate Word. She also ranks second on the team with eight service aces and has 24 digs.

KENDALL PATTERSON | SENIOR
Kendall Patterson is serving as a team captain in her final season on the Hilltop. Named conference Freshman of the Year in 2016 after leading SMU to the league championship, Patterson has been one of the league's top setters since arriving at SMU. After splitting time with Lily Heim last season, the Mustangs have transitioned back to a 5-1 offense. However, Patterson is still a key piece to the gameplan. She has at least 10 digs in three matches, including a team-high 15 in a sweep against TCU. She also gives SMU a dynamic setting option when Heim is targeted in serve receive or on the attack. 

KAYLYN WINKLER | SOPHOMORE
Kaylyn Winkler has has started nine of 10 matches this season after transferring from Northeastern. She has 26 blocks, including a season-high five at Oral Roberts and again against Incarnate Word. She had solo blocks against [RV] Dayton. She has 40 kills with a season-high 12 at Oral Roberts. Winkler is hitting .238, and eclipsed a .500 attack percentage in three matches this season. She also has nine digs and three assists.

ALEX GLOVER | FRESHMAN
Alex Glover has started each of the past two matches, scoring six kills with six blocks as SMU swept TCU. She also scored four kills with five blocks at Oklahoma. The daughter of former NFL tight end Andrew Glover, Alex has 16 kills, 10 in the last two matches, with 13 blocks and three digs on the season.

JADYN BAUSS | FRESHMAN
Jadyn Bauss has 14 kills in 22 sets played this season. She hit .400 against Weber State and .500 as SMU upset [RV] Dayton. Bauss has 28 digs, three assists, three aces and a block. 

MAKAYLA MILLER | FRESHMAN
Makayla Miller leads the team and ranks in the top 15 in The American with 13 service aces this season. Averaging 0.39 per set, she is sixth in the conference. She has 75 digs, with a season-high 14 in three sets against Bradley and again against Stephen F. Austin. Miller had two of her five kills against UTSA, and also has nine assists.