For years the SMU volleyball team has been chasing the national spotlight. Now it is firmly fixed on the 12th-ranked Mustangs.

They are now 4-3 against ranked opponents, including the only losses No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Nebraska have suffered. That makes people notice, like the NCAA selection committed which put SMU at No. 7 in its in-season Top 16.

"I think we're just learning that we have a target on our backs now," SMU head coach Sam Erger said. "So, beginning of the year, we felt like we were overlooked at times. Although I'd like to think professionals always approach every game the same, but there's still just that human nature. It felt like we were overlooked at times, but no longer. We now have a target on our backs, and we are probably going to get people's best games, and that is something that we need to learn how to handle."

It didn't take long for that feeling to begin. Four days after beating No. 2 Nebraska in straight sets, SMU dropped the final match of its Doubletree Classic to Loyola Marymount. Their opponent's reaction to the five-set win was somewhat eye-opening for the Mustangs.

"I think we felt it when LMU did water showers after beating us," Erger said. "And they're a good team, so they should be proud of the win. I think it's cool when teams are celebrating after beating you, but that's probably when it started."

As the ranked wins continued, and SMU got into and moved up the rankings themselves, that became a more regular feeling. Teams were gearing up to play the Mustangs.

Now, they have to make the adjustment.

"I think we still need to figure that out," senior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler said. "As you might have seen the whole first set, we can't take any games or sets off in the ACC. And that's the difference from the American Conference. So we're still learning that."

SMU has become a team that opponents scheme up for ahead of time. There isn't that feeling out period as much as teams come in ready for what the Mustangs are going to do.

That was apparent early on in Sunday's 3-1 win against Cal.

"When teams are trying to figure you out, or don't quite know who you are yet or it's early in the season, you're going to see a lot of read blocking," Erger said. "And now it's like, man, they're scheming to Nat Foster. They have a clear plan, right? Clearly they've worked on something like that and maybe they're scheming to Naya (Shime)."

Shime still finished with 13 kills, joining Maya Tabron and Wheeler in double figures with 18 and 14, respectively. 

It was the Mustangs having to react to some of the things Cal was doing. They only led for a couple of points during the first set, 15-14, 16-15 and 17-15. Otherwise they either trailed or were tied.

After SMU tied it at 22-all, the Bears won three-straight points to take the opening set. After back-to-back games against Top 5 teams in a packed Moody, there was a little letup against an unranked team.

"I think that was definitely a different feeling that we had to manage," Tabron said. "And we obviously didn't manage that the best the first set. But I think that kind of just goes back to, we have really competitive practices and we have a lot of fun. One thing that Coach Sam said to us was, 'Let's just go have fun. It doesn't look like we're having fun today.' So I think that's just another thing of going into it, not caring who is on the other side of the net and not caring who's in the gym and just going out there and being competitive."

That will be a focus when Notre Dame comes to Moody on Friday night. 

While the Irish are not that far removed from making 15-straight NCAA tournament appearances, they are struggling this season. Notre Dame has lost four straight and five of its last six matches. The Mustangs want to prove they can come out and take care of business.

"We talk a lot about learning from other teams, no ego here, let's go learn from other people," Erger said. "I think Pitt does a great job with that, right? They take care of business and put teams away. ... For the most part, if they're better than a team, they're going to step on their throat, they're going to put them away and they're not going to play around. And I think we need to figure that out."

Then there is No. 4 Louisville, which will mark the fourth Top 5 opponent in the last six matches. It will also be the first-ever SMU volleyball match to be aired on ESPN at noon on Sunday.

It's another chance for this team, school and city to show off in front of a national audience.

"Dallas, we are the best location for volleyball, in my opinion, in the country," Erger said after beating No. 1 Pitt on Oct. 12. "... There's such an incredibly high IQ volleyball crowd here, and they come to the games and they know what they're doing. They're cheering for SMU. This can be the norm. We are tailor-made to be a volleyball powerhouse here. I love our freaking home court. I love when we bring big teams here. The volleyball community shows up and shows out, and it's very fun."