#10 SMU (17-6, 9-3 ACC) vs. Duke (9-14, 5-7 ACC)
Friday, November 8, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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#10 SMU (17-6, 9-3 ACC) vs. #25 North Carolina (18-3, 10-2 ACC)
Sunday, November 10, 2024 – 1 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 10 SMU Volleyball is set to host Duke and No. 25 North Carolina on Friday and Sunday.
• The Mustangs enter the weekend with a 9-3 record in the ACC and a three-way tie for third place in the standings.
• SMU Volleyball climbed two spots, cracking the top 10 in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I Poll, coming in at No. 10 this week. No. 10 is the highest ranking in program history. SMU Volleyball's previous highest ranking was No. 12, a spot the Mustangs held for the last four weeks.
 
CO-SETTER OF THE WEEK
• SMU Setter Celia Cullen was named ACC Co-Setter of the Player of the Week, the league announced on Monday. The honor marks her second Setter of the Week recognition of the season.
• Cullen led the conference with 11.00 assists per set this weekend in the Mustangs' sweeps over Virginia Tech and Virginia.
• She totaled 66 assists while adding seven digs, two aces, and three blocks in the two matches while pacing a Mustangs unit that hit .353 in the two matches.
 
2-0 IN VIRGINIA
• The Mustangs swept Virginia Tech and Virginia on the road last weekend, collecting their tenth and eleventh sweeps of the season and sixth against an ACC team.
• Shime averaged 3.50 assists per set while hitting .366 this weekend in their two sweeps.
• Shime logged just six attack errors on 41 attempts this week. She added 12 digs and led the team with six blocks on the road against the Hokies and Cavaliers.
• As a team, SMU hit .353 in the two matches and averaged 1.83 blocks per set.
 
JOINING ELITE COMPANY
• Senior outside hitter Jamison Wheeler needs nine more digs to reach 1,000 for her career.
• Wheeler surpassed 1,000 career kills earlier in the season against Clemson.
• She is set to become just the sixth SMU player to log 1,000 career digs and kills.
 
FOSTERS' GAME-CHANGING ARM
• Natalie Foster has been a game-changer for the Mustangs at the service line.
• Foster leads the team and the ACC in aces 48 and is four away from becoming the program single-season leader, passing Caroline Young, who had 51 back in 2013.
• Foster is also second in the conference and 26th in the nation in hitting percentage, hitting .392 this season.
 
TOP 5 SINGLE-SEASON ACE LEADERS
1. 51 - Caroline Young -2013
T-2. 48 - Natalie Foster - 2024
T-2. 48 - Jamison Wheeler - 2022
4. 47 - Caroline Young - 2014
T-5. 46 - Melissa Godwin - 1999
T-5. 46 - Melisa Godwin - 1997
 
CULLEN THE TRAILBLAZER
• With 31 assists against the Cavaliers, Celia Cullen climbed to fifth on the all-time SMU leader board for career assists. 
• Cullen leads the league in total assists with 806 this season and is third in assists per set with 9.83 per set.
• Cullen was one of the first to commit to Coach Erger prior to her first season as the head coach on the Hilltop.
 
TOP 5 ALL-TIME ASSISTS
1. 4862 - Leslie Olson - 1996-99
2. 4321 - Avery Acker - 2012-15
3. 4191 - Kelli Becerra - 2008-11
4. 3866 - Jessica Mihm - 2002-04
5. 3161 - Celia Cullen - 2022-24
 
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
• Naya Shime (9th) and Maya Tabron (18th) lead the Mustangs and are both top 20 in the ACC in kills per set.
• Shime (9th) is also in the top 10 in the conference in points per set, averaging 4.12 points per set, which would be the fifth most in program history if the season ended today.
• The tandem has a combined 33 double-digit kill performances this season.
 
A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS
• Duke brings a 9-14 record into the weekend and 5-7 in the ACC.
• Last weekend, the Blue Devils lost in five sets to #16 Georgia Tech, and they beat Clemson in four sets.
• Last season, the Blue Devils went 19-10 overall and 10-8 in ACC play.
• North Carolina is 18-3 on the season entering the weekend and 10-2 in conference play.
• The Tar Heels went 1-1 last week, defeating Clemson 3-1 and falling to No. 16 Georgia Tech in five.
• Before losing to the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, the Tar Heels were on a six-game winning streak.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
• North Carolina leads the series over the Mustangs 2-0, winning matches in 2016 (0-3) and 2021 (1-3).
• Duke also leads the series 2-0 over SMU, winning matches in 2001 (0-3) and 2005 (2-3).
 
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.
 
PONIES IN THE RANKINGS
• SMU moved up two spots to No. 10 in the newest edition of the AVCA/TARAFLEX Poll.
• 10th is the highest ranking in program history.
• 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 4-4 against teams currently in the rankings.
 
NCAA RPI
• SMU is ranked 8th in this week's RPI rankings, fourth highest in the ACC, and highest in program history.
• The Mustangs are 7-6 against opponents currently in the top 50 and 11-6 against teams in the top 100.
 
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 four highest 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
• Jamison Wheeler needs nine digs to reach 1,000 digs for her career.
• Maya Tabron looks to collect ten more digs by the end of the year to reach the 1,000-dig mark in her career.
• With 22 more digs, Ellie Bolton will join the 1,000-career dig club.
• Graduate Setter Celia Cullen needs 92 digs to reach the 1,000 career digs.
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS
• The Mustangs are ranked in the top 50 nationally in six categories entering the weekend.
• SMU ranks 20th in hitting percentage (.272), 27th in blocks per set (2.60), 32nd in opponent hitting percentage (.169), 39th in aces per set (1.79), and 47th in total blocks (.213).
• Individually, Natalie Foster has been a weapon at the service line, ranking 11th in the country and first in the ACC in aces with 48 this season. Her 0.59 aces per set is good for ninth best in the nation and sits second among conference athletes.
• Celia Cullen currently ranks first in the conference in total assists with 806 and third in assists per set this season at 9.83.