DALLAS (SMU)-- One of freshman middle blocker Hannah Whittingstall's favorite things about SMU volleyball is being surrounded by great talent, but not just at the net or behind the 10-foot line. 

Senior setter Celia Cullen can talk with her mouth closed, while senior outside hitter Natalie Perdue can out-dance head coach Sam Erger. Whittingstall can do the worm, though she admits that she needs to work on her technique. Even athletic trainer Tasha Koontz oozes talent: aside from providing healthcare to athletes, she could probably embarrass anyone in a cup stacking competition. 

The Mustangs' secret talents were revealed during their team retreat, where the athletes and staff took turns cooking for one another, participated in a mini-olympics and whipped around in go karts as a means of team bonding (according to assistant coach Trent Sorensen, Whittingstall did not hit the brakes once.) While building trust and culture is important for any team, it was a primary goal for SMU in 2023: eight of the total fourteen players on the roster are new to the Hilltop, six of which are from other collegiate volleyball programs.

Despite new Mustangs representing four different time zones (junior opposite hitter Anllelivis Fernandez is transferring from Miami Dade College, but hails from Cuba and went to high school in Spain), graduate transfer middle blocker Emma Clothier said her team and coaches already feel like family. 

When Clothier put her name into the transfer portal, she didn't have any expectation on where she would land, but wanted to attend a school reasonably close to her parents in Carrollton, Texas with a good public health graduate program. SMU checked those two boxes; the Cox Business School is world renowned and she would only have to drive thirty minutes up Dallas North Tollway for a home-cooked meal.

Clothier also remembered being recruited by Sorensen in high school while he was an assistant at Kansas State, and when she reconnected with him through her club coach, all the pieces fell into place. 

A fiery middle blocker that Sorensen describes as "rangy" with an elite attack off one foot, Clothier is a player that is easily coached and can instantly make a squad more competitive. Sorensen caught glimpses of her when she was playing club volleyball while he was coaching at Tejas Volleyball Club in Grapevine, Texas. He regretted failing to bring her to Manhattan, Kansas three years prior when Florida State swept the Wildcats in the 2021 NCAA regional at the University of Nebraska, where she led the Seminoles in kills.

When Clothier announced she wouldn't be spending her final year of eligibility in Tallahassee, he took no time crafting a sales pitch for SMU volleyball, whom he refers to as a "sleeping giant."

"When she came onto the transfer portal, the first conversation we had (I said), 'Hey Emma, you already told me no once. You can't do it again.'"

Fortunately for Sorensen, she committed to playing for the Mustangs and instantly connected with Erger.

"I was talking to Sam and I got along with her really well," Clothier said. "I think her coaching approach is perfect and exactly what it should be."

Erger is renowned by other Division I volleyball coaches for being passionate about her players. Equipped with an unparalleled work ethic and a bubbly personality, Whittingstall said that her and the rest of the coaching staff's youth makes practices joyous. When someone gets caught on the wrong end of an attack or trips over their own feet, the gym explodes into a unified laughter, coaches included. And dance parties? Totally welcome. 

While Erger's staff is still plenty particular about maintaining a clean serve-and-pass game and practicing good technique, the coaches make an effort to intentionally build relationships with their athletes. Sorenson noted that the staff sets up individual "Dream Meetings" with the athletes to discuss their aspirations outside of the sport and how the staff can help them get there.

"We're looking to have fun, but we're looking to get to know each other and we're looking to win," Sorensen said. "We're all in it to win it, to compete and to perform the best that we can, but at the end of the day, volleyball is not the most important thing in any of our lives."

Back in May, the Mustangs had the opportunity to do just that when they took a ten day trip to Greece and Italy to compete in three exhibition games. In between matches, the team was stuffed to the brim with Greek food and taken on sightseeing adventures to the Acropolis of Athens and the Vatican, among others.

Clothier loved exploring Europe with her newfound teammates, but also felt reassured in her decision to transfer from Florida State when she talked freely with the entire coaching staff like old friends or family while exploring the Colosseum and traveling between tour stops.

"(Erger) wants that technique to be correct, but when practice is over, I can go up to her and talk about my day," Clothier said. "It's really cool how (the staff) instills those values within a volleyball program even though our girls are from across the country."

While the Mustangs rave about their coaches, Whittingstall also loves spending time with her teammates and is looking forward to competing with them in the fall. Anchored by veteran leaders like graduate middle blocker Alex Glover and energized by Perdue and junior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler (whom Whittingstall said you can always trust with the AUX), the team has an infectious energy that makes you want to play for it.

"I don't think there's one person that is not super friendly and genuinely kind hearted," Whittingstall said. "Everyone wants to be best friends. They want to get to know you. That's going to come into our favor really big when we're up against hard opponents because we have that trust with each other to be able to get through the hard times in a game."

While SMU is optimistic about the coming season, having exceeded expectations last year with a 15-5 conference record, Clothier is also excited to end her college career surrounded by both her parents and her newfound family at SMU, regardless of how the season shakes out.

"The people that you're with every day are the ones that are going to make or break the experience," Sorensen said. "It's not about all the other stuff, it's about who you're doing it with."