No. 15 Mustangs Set For ACC Home Opener Versus No. 1 Pitt

#15 SMU (12-4, 4-1 ACC) vs. #1 Pitt (15-0, 5-0 ACC)
Saturday, October 12, 2024 – 1 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 15 SMU Volleyball looks to rebound after suffering their first ACC loss to No. 1 Pitt Wednesday night.
• The Mustangs host the same Pitt squad at Moody Coliseum on Saturday for their first ACC home match.
• SMU has won seven of their last eight matches and are 4-1 in their first season in the ACC.
• The Mustangs aim to take down their fourth-ranked opponent this season and second on their home court.
• After Saturday's matchup, the Ponies will have hosted the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country at Moody Coliseum this season.

PONIES ON THE RISE
• SMU moved up two spots in this week's AVCA Poll to No. 15 after being ranked No. 17 last week.
• SMU jumped six spots to No. 17 in last week's rankings with two sweeps to start ACC play.
• For the first time in program history, SMU Volleyball was ranked by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), coming in at No. 22 on the Sept. 16th edition of the poll.

ACC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• SMU graduate opposite hitter Naya Shime was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week for her performances against Syracuse and Boston College.
• Shime made a significant impact for the Mustangs defensively with a team-high seven blocks as an opposite, averaging .88 blocks per set.
• She also logged 1.75 digs per set against Boston College and Syracuse this week.

NCAA RPI
• The NCAA released its first RPI rankings of the 2024 season on Monday, and the Mustangs are ranked No. 11.
• SMU is 2-2 against opponents with a top-25 RPI and is 5-4 versus teams in the top 50.
• It's the program's highest RPI ranking, beating the previous high of No. 24 in last season's final RPI ranking.

ROAD WARRIORS
• SMU lost for just the second time on the road this season against Pitt on Wednesday.
• The Mustangs entered the weekend, tied with the Panthers for the most road wins in the nation.
• SMU has won their last seven road matches after starting the season with a road loss to Hawaii in five sets.
• The Mustangs have knocked off two ranked teams in those road games, including then No. 18 Baylor and No. 13 Georgia Tech.

EXPERIENCE GROUP
• SMU has won one of the country's oldest, most experienced rosters this season.
• The Mustangs have seven graduate students, two seniors, two juniors, and just three freshmen.
• The only other school with nine graduate students/seniors is the College of Charleston, which has four seniors and five graduates.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT:
Pittsburgh
• No. 1 Pittsburgh brings a perfect 15-0 record into the second meeting between the two teams.
• The Panthers have only dropped three sets all year.
• Last season, Pitt reached the final four after a 29-5 record and a 16-2 mark in the ACC.
• Pitt has been to two straight final fours and has been picked to win the ACC this season.

ALL-TIME SERIES:
Pittsburgh
• Wednesday's matchup was the first meeting between the two programs.

BY THE NUMBERS
• The Mustangs are ranked in the top-50 in seven categories entering Saturday's showdown.
• SMU ranks 17th in the country in hitting percentage (.283), 22nd in aces per set (1.93), 28th in opponent hitting percentage (.162), 37th in team service aces (110), 38th in W-L percentage (.750), 39th in blocks per set (2.60), are also 21st in aces per set (1.93), and 28th team total blocks (148).
• Individually, Natalie Foster has been a weapon at the service line, ranking 8th in the country and first in the ACC in aces with 35 this season. Her 0.65 aces per set is good for 8th best in the nation and sits second among conference players.
• Celia Cullen currently ranks first in the conference in total assists with 539 and fourth in assists per set this season at 9.82.

MUSTANGS CHASING MILESTONES
• Jamison Wheeler needs 40 digs to reach 1,000 digs for her career.
• Graduate Setter Celia Cullen needs 138 digs to reach the 1,000 career digs.
• With 49 more digs, Ellie Bolton will join the 1,000-career dig club.
• Maya Tabron looks to collect 86 more digs by the end of the year to reach the 1,000-dig mark in her career.

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Players Mentioned

Ellie Bolton

Celia Cullen

Natalie Foster

Naya Shime

Maya Tabron

Jamison Wheeler

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