#10 SMU (24-6, 16-3 ACC) vs. NC State (15-12, 10-9 ACC)
Saturday, November 30, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 10 SMU Volleyball will host NC State on Saturday in their final regular season matchup of the season at 7 p.m. CT on ACCNX. SMU will recognize nine seniors as part of the games' pregame festivities.
• The Mustangs defeated NC State last Friday 3-2 in Raleigh in the first meeting this season between the two programs.
• SMU brings a nine-game winning streak into the matchup with the Wolfpack, their longest winning streak of the season.
• The Mustangs enter the weekend with a 16-3 record in the ACC and tied for third place in the conference standings with Stanford.
• SMU Volleyball collected their seventh ranked win, and a program record 12th road win Wednesday in their 3-0 win over No. 21 Florida State in Tallahassee.
• Naya Shime, Natalie Foster, and Maya Tabron were drafted in this year's Pro Volleyball Federation Draft on Monday.,
MOST ROAD WINS IN A SEASON
1. 12 – 2024
2. 11 – 2023
T-3. 10 - 2010
T-3. 10 – 2015
T-3. 10 – 2016
OH, HOW SWEEP IT IS
• The Mustangs have swept 15 opponents this season, ten over ACC teams and five over ranked opponents.
• 15 sweeps this season is the fourth most in program history.
• Last season, SMU set the program record for sweeps in a single season, with 19 in their last season in the American.
MOST SWEEPS IN A SEASON
1. 19 – 2023
T-2. 16 – 2015
T-2. 16 – 2016
4. 15 - 2024
5. 14 – 2022
PERFECT IN NOVEMBER
• SMU is a perfect 9-0 in the month of November this season with Saturday's season finale still left to play.
• If the Mustangs were to win Saturday, it would mark back-to-back seasons where the Mustangs have gone perfect in the month of November.
MUSTANGS GOING PRO
• Three SMU Volleyball players have been drafted in the 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation Draft, announced by the league on Monday.
• SMU volleyball is one of five programs with three selections in the draft, joining Nebraska, Louisville, Penn State, and Wisconsin.
• Opposite hitter Naya Shime was the first Mustang off the board, picked by the Grand Rapids Rise as the No. 13 overall pick (Round 2, Pick 5).
• Middle blocker Natalie Foster was the second Mustang selected in this year's draft, picked right after Shime by the Orlando Valkyries at No.14 (Round 2, Pick 6).
• Maya Tabron was the final SMU player selected in the 2024 draft, going to the San Diego Mojo at No. 23 overall (Round 3, Pick 7).
• Four Mustangs have been drafted at SMU under Coach Erger. Shime, Foster, and Tabron join middle blocker Emma Clothier, who was drafted by the Grand Rapids Rise last season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLES MACHINE
• Maya Tabron logged her team-leading 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season in the Mustang's wins over NC State and Florida State during their most recent road trip.
• Tabron went for 15 kills and 10 digs in the Mustangs' five-set win over NC State on Friday, and the collected 14 kills and 16 digs in the sweep of No. 21 Florida State on Wednesday.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE WOLFPACK
• The Mustangs were led by Maya Tabron, who went for a team-high of 15 kills and 10 digs in their first win over NC State.
• Natalie Foster notched her highest kill outing of the season with 14 against NC State in the five-set win. Foster did so while hitting .500 with six blocks and an ace. It was the second double-digit kill performance for the standout middle this season.'
• SMU hit .193 in the match but held NC State to .156 for the match.
• The victory was the Mustangs' third five-set victory of the year. They improved to 3-2 in those meetings, with all three of the wins coming against ACC teams.
YOU GET 1,000… YOU GET 1,000
• Ellie Bolton is the latest SMU player to reach a milestone this season, collecting her 1,000th dig in the 3-0 victory at Wake Forest.
• Bolton is the fourth Mustangs who have reached 1,000 digs and/or kills this season, joining Naya Shime, Jamison Wheeler, and Maya Tabron.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
• The Mustangs are ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven categories entering the weekend.
• SMU ranks 16th in blocks per set (2.69), 22nd in hitting percentage (.274), 26th in winning percentage (.793), 30th in aces per set (1.81), 31st in total team blocks (279.5), 48th in team service aces (188), and 49th in opponents hitting percentage (.177)
• Individually, Natalie Foster ranks seventh in the country and second in the ACC in aces per set at .61. Her 63 aces are first in the conference and seventh in the country. She is also third in the conference and 39th in the nation in hitting percentage (.379).
• Celia Cullen currently ranks first in the conference in total assists with 1,026 and third in the ACC in assists per set this season at 9.87.
• Nnedi Okammor is fifth in the conference in total blocks with 126 this season and sixth in blocks per set at 1.22.
GIVE CULLEN HER CREDIT
• The Mustangs are one of the country's most efficient hitting teams, largely due to their stud setter, Celia Cullen. The Mustangs are in the top 25 in hitting percentage this season.
• Cullen leads the ACC in total assists and is third in assists per set this season.
• Cullen is fifth all-time in assists at SMU in just three seasons on the Hilltop.
• The Brighton, Michigan, native has won ACC Setter of the Week twice this season.
WHEELER JOINS ELITE COMPANY
• Senior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler reached 1,000 digs in the win over No. 25 North Carolina.
• Wheeler surpassed 1,000 career kills earlier in the season against Clemson.
• She is just the seventh SMU player to log 1,000 career digs and kills.
1. Erin Pryer (1789 K/1238 D) – 1996-99
2. Klecka (1311 K/1097 D) – 1997-2000
3. Beth Karasek (1450 K/1416 D) – 2001-04
4. Rachel Giubilato (1310 K/1155 D) – 2004-07
5. Kathryn Wilkerson (1445 K/1588 D) – 2007-10
6. Dana Powell (1539 K/1641 D) – 2008-11
7. Jamison Wheeler (1137 K/1029 D) – 2021-24
ACE QUEENS
• The Mustangs have 190 service aces this season and need two more to set a new program record for aces in a season (191 - 1997).
• Natalie Foster has been a game-changer for the Mustangs at the service line, breaking the previous single-season ace record of 51 (Caroline Young – 2013) earlier in the year against North Carolina. She has extended that record to 63.
TOP 5 SINGLE-SEASON ACE LEADERS
1. 63 – Natalie Foster - 2024
2. 51 - Caroline Young -2013
3. 48 - Jamison Wheeler - 2022
4. 47 - Caroline Young - 2014
T-5. 46 - Melissa Godwin - 1999
T-5. 46 - Melissa Godwin – 1997
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• The Wolfpack bring a 15-12 record into the weekend and a 10-9 mark in the ACC.
• NC State won their first matchup of the week, defeating Miami 3-1 on Wednesday.
• Last season, the Wolfpack went 22-7 overall and 12-6 in ACC play. They ended the season last year winning their last four matches.
ALL-TIME SERIES
• The series is tied 2-2 between the two programs. Prior to the Mustangs' win earlier in the season, NC State had won two straight.
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
• Naya Shime (13th) and Maya Tabron (20th) lead the Mustangs and are both top 20 in the ACC in kills per set entering the week.
• The tandem has a combined 41 double-digit kill performances this season.
PONIES IN THE RANKINGS
• SMU held the No. 10 spot in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Poll.
• 10th is the highest ranking in program history, a spot they've held for four consecutive weeks.
• The Ponies are the fourth highest-ranked team in the ACC and are one of seven teams representing the conference in the top 25.
• The Mustangs are 7-4 against ranked teams this season.
RPI & KPI
• SMU is ranked 8th in this week's RPI rankings, fourth highest in the ACC.
• The Mustangs are 11-6 against opponents currently in the top 50 and 12-6 against teams in the top 100.
• In KPI, the Mustangs are 8th entering the NC State matchup, fourth highest in the ACC.
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.
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.
ATTENDANCE RECORDS
• SMU has set the four highest single-match attendance records in program history this season. SMU had 6,673 people in attendance in their win over No. 2 Nebraska, 3,015 in the four-set loss to No. 4 Louisville, 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 AND SEASON RECORDS
• Celia Cullen needs 48 digs to reach the 1,000 career digs.
• Jamison Wheeler needs 435 kills to move up to ninth in the SMU record books.
• Nnedi Okammor needs three blocks to crack the top 10 in single-season blocks at SMU.
