SMU (16-12, 12-6 AAC) at Wichita State (18-9, 12-6 AAC)
Wichita, Kansas| Charles Koch Arena  
Wednesday, November 24, 2021 – 7:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats
 
SMU (16-12, 12-6 AAC) at Tulsa (14-13, 9-9 AAC)
Tulsa, Oklahoma| Reynolds Center
Friday, November 26, 2021 – 12:00 p.m. CT
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats
SMU NOTES (PDF)
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PREVIEW
SMU will hit the road for two matches to wrap up the regular season. The Mustangs begin the road trip by taking on Wichita State on Wednesday, November 24 at 7:00 p.m. On Friday, November 26, SMU will take on Tulsa at 12:00 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

SMU NOTES
The Mustangs are coming off a 2-0 American Athletic Conference home weekend after taking care of Tulane 3-0 before taking down Houston 3-1 on Sunday.

Bria' Merchant joined an exclusive club notching 1,000 career digs on November 19 vs. Tulane. Merchant had an outstanding weekend defensively and was awarded with the AAC Defensive Player of the Week accolade.

Merchant was a standout on the defensive end for 2-0 SMU, whose week was highlighted by ending Houston's seven-match winning streak. Merchant ranked second in The American for the week with 6.57 digs per set and logged 1.29 assists per frame. Merchant fashioned 20 digs and four assists in a home sweep of Tulane on Nov. 19 before posting 26 digs and five helpers in a four-set win over Houston on Nov. 21.

Hannah Jacobs and Lily Heim hit major milestones on October 31 vs. ECU. Jacobs joined the 1,000 kills club, while Heim secured her 3,000^th career assist.
 
Rachel Woulfe leads the Mustangs with 315 kills. Jacobs ranks second on the team with 312 kills.] Heim leads the team with 699 assists. Merchant and Makayla Miller rank first and second in digs with 408 and 273, respectively.

Woulfe was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 15. She hit. 407 with 4.57 points and 1.00 blocks per set in a 1-1 SMU week; exploded with a .541 hitting percentage, 20 kills and seven blocks (one solo) against South Florida (Nov. 11).

Kaylyn Winkler earned consecutive weekly awards (Nov. 1, Nov. 8) after a big home weekend against Cincinnati and ECU, before continuing to be a force up front against Memphis and Temple. Winkler ranked second in The American with 1.50 blocks per set and led the league with 12 total blocks during a 1-1 SMU road swing; turned in six block assists at Memphis (Nov. 3) before finishing the week with seven kills, two digs and six blocks (one solo) in a win at Temple (Nov. 7).

SMU currently sits in a tie for third place with Wichita State and Cincinnati in the AAC with an 12-6 league record. The Mustangs only trail Houston (14-4) and the regular season champion UCF (17-1).

Merchant was selected to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 25. Merchant finished third in The American with 4.43 digs for 1-1 SMU; tallied 14 digs and three assists in three sets against UCF (Oct. 22) and contributed 17 digs, two aces and four assists in a four-set win over South Florida (Oct. 24).

Outside hitter Woulfe turned in a signature performance and was named AAC Offensive Player of the Week in a 2-0 in Week 8. Woulfe hit .464 with 15 kills in a win at Houston on Oct. 15 and added 22 kills on .413 hitting in five sets at Tulane on Oct. 17 to earn conference offensive player of the week honors.

Alex Glover ranks first in the league with a .385 hitting percentage. Winkler has the third best hitting percentage (.377) in the league. Merchant has the second-best league mark with 4.62 digs/set. SMU ranks first in kills (14.38), second in assists (12.96), hitting percentage (.312), and digs (17.15) in the AAC.

Glover earned the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Week 6). Glover continued a recent run of good form for a 1-1 weekend, leading The American with 1.71 blocks per set and finishing second with a .481 hitting percentage among all conference players. Glover hit an impressive .667 with eight kills and five total blocks (one solo) in a sweep of East Carolina on Oct. 1. Glover turned in seven kills and a .333 hitting percentage with three digs and seven block assists in four sets at Cincinnati on Oct. 3.

Heim was named to the AAC Weekly honor roll (Week 6). Heim played a key role for SMU in leading the conference in team hitting percentage (.279) and was the league leader in assists per set with 12.43; registered 39 assists and seven digs in a sweep at East Carolina (Oct. 1) and logged 48 assists and 11 digs in four sets at Cincinnati (Oct. 3).

The Mustangs were picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll.

Jacobs was named to the AAC Week 1 Honor Roll after posting the second-most points per set (4.35) in the conference during a 2-1 SMU weekend; hit .611 with 13 kills in a sweep of Pacific (Aug. 27) and added 11 kills on .400 hitting later in the day against Stephen F. Austin (Aug. 27).

Jacobs and Lily Heim were named to the All-Tournament team after a stellar opening weekend. Lily Heim was later named to the Bluejay Invitational All-Tournament team.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Wichita State (6-6) 
SMU fell to Wichita State in five sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 22-25, 15-8) on October 10 in Dallas.  Jamison Wheeler led the Mustangs with a personal-best 16 kills on 36 attacks. Brylee Kelly was tough for Wichita State (9-6, 3-3 AAC) as she had a game-high 29 kills, while Natalie Foster added 17 more. The Shockers had 26 block assists and hit. 301 in the match.

SMU split its two matches with the Shockers last spring in Wichita. The Mustangs salvaged a 3-2 win after falling the day before 1-3. In the victory SMU overcame a 0-2 hole and came all the way back to stun Wichita State. 

Tulsa (30-19)
SMU fell to Tulsa in three sets (27-25, 25-19, 25-20) in AAC competition on October 8 in Dallas.  The Mustangs notched eight more kills and six more digs than their opponent, but committed 22 errors in the match. The match consisted of 29 tie scores and 12 lead changes.

Prior to last meeting, SMU had one six-straight matches. The Mustangs gathered two straight-set sweeps over Tulsa in Dallas last spring. Jacobs was an offensive force in both matches versus Tulsa, helping SMU take down the Golden Hurricane in straight sets.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
Wichita State
Brylee Kelly secured a spot on this week's conference honor roll. Kelly scored 5.50 points per set to rank second in The American in a 1-1 Wichita State showing; hit .344 with 29 kills, three service aces and five kills in a four-set win at East Carolina (Nov. 21).

Wichita State has won four of its past five matches, with a five-set loss at Cincinnati as the only defeat. The Shockers are 7-4 at home this season.

Wichita State is fifth in the AAC in hitting percentage and sits third in the conference behind Tulsa and Memphis in digs per set. Natalie Foster (.322) is seventh in the AAC in hitting percentage, while Kayce Litzau (10.05) is second in the American in assists-per-set.

Tulsa
Maggie Hembree was named to the AAC weekly honor roll. Hembree placed third in The American with a .500 hitting percentage and scored 3.50 points per set for 1-1 Tulsa; hit .586 with 18 kills and six total blocks (one solo) in a five-set win at East Carolina (Nov. 19).

Tulsa ranks ninth in the NCAA with 17.81 digs per set.

The Golden Hurricane split last weekend's road matches, downing East Carolina before dropping a hard-fought match at Cincinnati. Tulsa currently sits at 14-13, and 9-9 in American Athletic Conference play. Tulsa currently is in seventh place in the American.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Heim | 37 assists, 12 digs vs. North Carolina
Heim | 46 assists, 12 digs at Rice
Bauss | 12 kills, 14 digs at TCU
Bauss | 11 kills, 11 digs vs. Memphis
Heim | 29 assists, 10 digs vs. Memphis
Bauss | 11 kills, 11 digs vs. Temple
Heim | 43 assists, 14 digs. vs. Temple
Bauss | 10 kills, 4 digs at ECU
Heim | 48 assists, 11 digs at Cincinnati
Heim | 40 assists, 14 digs vs. Tulsa
Wheeler |16 kills, 10 digs vs. Wichita State
Hemsley | 41 assists, 16 digs vs. Houston
Hemsley | 51 assists, 17 digs vs. Tulane
Hemsley | 41 assists, 21 digs vs. USF
Bauss | 12 kills, 10 digs vs. Cincinnati
Bauss | 10 kills, 18 digs vs. ECU
Bauss | 11 kills, 18 digs vs. Memphis
Hemsley | 47 assists, 15 digs vs. Memphis
Bauss | 12 kills, 14 digs vs. Temple
Hemsley | 23 assists, 10 digs vs. Temple
Hemsley | 45 assists, 19 digs vs. USF
Bauss | 12 kills, 12 digs vs. Tulane
Hemsley |17 assists, 10 digs vs. Tulane
Hemsley |21 assists, 10 digs vs. Houston
 
BOLD: Big Opportunities Live in Dallas
As part of its goal of Shaping Champions and preparing students for life, SMU Athletics proudly announces the addition of its BOLD (Big Opportunities Live in Dallas) Program to its suite of student-athlete development tools, with the goal of helping student-athletes navigate and capitalize on new Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) legislation. BOLD will provide SMU student-athletes with the means to navigate the evolving NIL landscape. The BOLD program will incorporate INFLCR, a comprehensive NIL education and compliance solution, and campus resources from the Cox School of Business, the Dedman School of Law, and the Meadows School of the Arts.

ANOTHER MILESTONE
With the victory over Houston on November 21, 2021, Head Coach Lisa Seifert moved up the rankings and is now tied first all-time - across all sports - in wins at SMU.
1. Rhonda Rompola (Women's Basketball) 439
2 Lisa Seifert (Volleyball) 439
3. Carl Neufeld (Men's Tennis) 420

26TH SEASON
SMU is in its 26th season of NCAA competition. The SMU volleyball program was started in 1995 by current head coach Lisa Seifert. The Mustangs went 7-24 in 1996, its inaugural season. In 1999, SMU celebrated its first winning season with a 20-13 record. The Mustangs have played in the Western Athletic Conference, Conference USA and the American Athletic Conference.

Of the 11 current members, SMU is the only program without a losing record in league matches during at least one season. The Mustangs and UCF are the only two programs with multiple conference titles. (SMU-2015, 2016; UCF-2014, 2018, 2019, 2020).

FILLING THE TROPHY CASE
Over the past seven seasons, SMU has added four team trophies to the case, along with seven 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. 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 in 2019.