#12 SMU (14-5, 6-2 ACC) vs. Notre Dame (9-8, 2-6 ACC)
Friday, October 25, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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#12 SMU (14-5, 6-2 ACC) vs. #4 Louisville (16-2, 8-0 ACC)
Sunday, October 27, 2024 – 12 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 12 SMU Volleyball is set to begin another week of home ACC Volleyball as they host Notre Dame and No. 4 Louisville this weekend. The matchup with the Cardinals will mark the fourth Top 5 opponent in the last six matches for the Mustangs.
• The Mustangs enter Sunday's match with a 6-2 record in the ACC and tied for fourth in the standings.
• The NCAA DI women's volleyball committee announced its in-season top 16 rankings during the Pitt vs. Stanford match on Sunday, Oct. 20, and SMU Volleyball was ranked No. 7. The Mustangs are one of four teams representing the ACC in the in-season rankings.
• Friday's match will air on the ACCNX, and Chris Mycoskie and Alex Glover will be on the call.
• Sunday's match will be SMU Volleyball's first time playing on ESPN, and Courtney Lyle and Holly McPeak will be on the call.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• No. 12 SMU volleyball closed the week with a four-set victory over Cal (10-10, 2-6 ACC) Sunday afternoon at Moody Coliseum.
• After falling in the first set, SMU took the next three with scores of 22-25, 25-17, 25-17, and 25-23.
• Maya Tabron led the Mustangs with 18 kills, hitting .316 for the match while adding ten digs. Tabron notched her sixth double-double, 13 double-digit kills, and seventh double-digit dig outings of the season.
• Jamison Wheeler followed Tabron against the Bears with 14 kills, hitting .333 with 11 digs. Wheeler logged her seventh double-digit dig outing of the season and fifth double-double of the year.
• Shime went for 10+ kills for the 14th time this season and for the third straight match.
• Celia Cullen paced the Mustang offense that hit .292 for the match, with a season-best 49 assists and added nine digs. Cullen became the seventh player in program history to earn 3,000 assists at SMU.
• Brooke Frazier led the Ponies defensively with 13 digs against the Bears, her season high.

AMONG THE NATIONS BEST
• Graduate students Celia Cullen and Naya Shime have been added to the 2024 Division I AVCA Player of the Year Award Watch List, announced by the association on Friday. Cullen and Shime have been instrumental to the Mustangs' historic success this season.
• Last month, the AVCA created a Watch List for its 2024 Division I Player of the Year Award, presented by Nike Volleyball. Friday, the association added 16 players to the original list of 36, with Cullen and Shime being two of the 16.
• The 2024 Watch List will be narrowed down in early November, and then the names of the finalists will be released before the AVCA Convention in mid-December. The 2024 AVCA Player of the Year will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20, in Louisville, Ky., during the AVCA Convention.
 
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS:
• The Fighting Irish bring a 9-8 overall record and a 2-6 mark in ACC play into the weekend.
• Notre Dame has lost four straight and five of its last six matches.
• Last season, the Fighting Irish went 11-15 and 5-13 in the ACC.
• No. 4 Louisville enters the weekend 16-2 overall and unbeaten in the conference, holding the top spot in the ACC standings.
• The Cardinals have won eight straight matches, falling last to then No. 5 Nebraska in straight set to close out non-conference action.
• Last season, Louisville posted a 27-5 record and a 15-3 mark in the ACC. Their season ended in the elite eight, falling to Pitt in five sets.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES:
• Notre Dame will meet for the first time on Friday night.
• The Mustangs are 0-2 against Louisville, with both losses coming during the 2013 season.
 
PONIES IN THE RANKINGS
• SMU remains No. 12 in the newest edition of the AVCA/TARAFLEX Poll.
• The Ponies are the third highest-ranked team in the ACC and are one of seven teams representing the conference in the top 25.
• The Mustangs are 4-3 against teams currently in the rankings.
• 12th in the highest rankings in program history.
 
GAME CHANGER
• Natalie Foster has been a game changer for the Mustangs at the service line.
• Foster leads the team in aces with 42 and is ten away from becoming the program single-season leader, passing Caroline Young, who had 51 back in 2013.
 
CROWN THE QUEEN
• SMU middle blocker Nnedi Okammor has been one of the most dominant middles in the ACC, ranking fourth in total blocks (85) and eighth in blocks per set (1.24) in the conference.
• Okammor set a career-high in blocks Saturday against Pitt, finishing the match with 12. She has eight 5+ block outings this season to lead the team.
• She has been one of the most dominant middles in the ACC, ranking fourth in total blocks (75) and seventh in blocks per set (1.23) in the conference. Twelve blocks are tied for the sixth most in program history for a single match.
• Okammor has been one of the most dominant middles in the ACC, ranking fourth in total blocks (75) and seventh in blocks per set (1.23) in the conference.
 
NCAA RPI
• SMU is ranked 10th in this week's RPI rankings, fourth highest in the ACC.
• The Mustangs are 6-4 against opponents currently in the top 50.
 
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.
 
ATTENDANCE RECORDS
• SMU has set the three highest match attendance records in program history this season. SMU had 6,673 people in attendance in their win over No. 2 Nebraska, 2,317 in their five-set win over No. 1 Pitt, and 1,883 in their 3-1 victory over Houston.
• With an attendance of 2,317 against No. 1 Pitt, SMU Volleyball broke the previous single-season record set in 2019 (10,890 in 13 home games).
 
MUSTANGS CHASING MILESTONES
• Jamison Wheeler needs 27 digs to reach 1,000 digs for her career.
• Graduate Setter Celia Cullen needs 113 digs to reach the 1,000 career digs.
• With 38 more digs, Ellie Bolton will join the 1,000-career dig club.
• Maya Tabron looks to collect 59 more digs by the end of the year to reach the 1,000-dig mark in her career.
• Celia Cullen needs 76 assists to take sole possession of 6th place in the SMU career record books for assists.
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS
• The Mustangs are ranked in the top 50 in six categories entering the weekend.
• SMU ranks 18th in the country in hitting percentage (.276), 24th in blocks per set (2.67), 37th in total blocks (184), 44th in aces per set (1.78), 49th W-L percentage (.737), and 49th in opponent hitting percentage (.174).
• Individually, Natalie Foster has been a weapon at the service line, ranking 10th in the country and first in the ACC in aces with 42 this season. Her 0.61 aces per set is good for ninth best in the nation and sits second among conference players.
• Celia Cullen currently ranks first in the conference in total assists with 677 and third in assists per set this season at 9.81.