#10 SMU (24-7, 16-4 ACC) vs. Wichita State (18-13, 10-6 AAC)
Thursday, December 5, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum – Dallas, Texas
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SETTING THE SCENE
• No. 10 SMU Volleyball has been selected as a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and will host Wichita State in the first round of the tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. CT.
• SMU will host the first two rounds of the tournament for the first time in program history as they welcome Wichita State, Missouri, and Texas State to Dallas. The winner of the Missouri versus Texas State matchup will play the winner of the SMU versus Wichita State game on Friday at 7 p.m. CT
• The Mustangs finished fourth in their inaugural ACC season with a 24-7 record overall and a 16-4 mark against conference opponents. SMU closed the season by winning nine out of their last ten games.
• Four Mustangs were selected to All-ACC teams on Monday, as Celia Cullen and Naya Shime were named All-ACC First Team members, while Natalie Foster and Maya Tabron were selected as All-ACC Second Team performers.
• SMU Volleyball collected seven ranked win, and a program record 12th road win this season
• Naya Shime, Natalie Foster, and Maya Tabron were drafted in this year's Pro Volleyball Federation Draft on Monday.
 
IT'S TOURNEY TIME
• The Mustangs, making their second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in program history, will open the tournament on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. against Wichita State (18-13), the American Conference (AAC) champions.
• The 4:00 p.m. match will feature Missouri (20-8) of the Southeastern Conference and Texas State (22-8) of the Sun Belt Conference. Friday's winners will meet in the second round on Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.
• SMU received a No. 2 seed in the tournament for the first time in program history, the program's highest seed. The Mustangs are the second seed of the Upper Left Regional behind the No. 1 overall seed Pitt. SMU is the only team to beat the Panthers this season, doing so at Moody Coliseum on Oct. 12.
• The national seeds in the same region as SMU are No. 1 Pittsburgh, No. 9 Kentucky, and No. 16 Oregon.  
• SMU is one of nine ACC teams that made the tournament this season, tied with the SEC and the Big Ten for the most by any conference.
 
POSTSEASON ACCOLADES
• Four members of the SMU volleyball team received ACC Volleyball Postseason Honors, which were announced on Monday after a vote by the league's head coaches. 
• Setter Celia Cullen and opposite hitter Naya Shime were selected to the 15-player All-ACC First Team. Middle blocker Natalie Foster and outside hitter Maya Tabron were named to the All-ACC Second Team.
• Cullen, who averages 9.84 assists, ranking third in the conference, paces a Mustang attack that ranks 28th in the nation in hitting percentage. The graduate from Brighton, Michigan, also leads the league in total assists with 1,102 while adding 1.87 digs per set, which is second on the team. She was named ACC Setter of the Week twice and was added to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watchlist midway through the season. She is currently fifth all-time at SMU in assists, with 3,457 in just three years on the Hilltop.
• Shime, who was the first Mustang taken off the board in last week's 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) draft by the Grand Rapids Rise, is putting up a team-leading 3.36 kills per set on .272 hitting and 4.03 blocks per set this season. She also has collected 23 double-digit kill outings this season, which leads SMU. The Casper, Wyoming native was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week once this season and was added to the mid-season AVCA Player of the Year Watch list. She has three double-doubles and two games with 20 kills this season.
• Foster, a graduate blocker from Mattawan, Michigan, has been one of the most efficient middles in the ACC, leading the team and fifth in the conference in hitting percentage, swinging at a .359 percent clip. Foster finished the regular season second in the league in both total aces, 64, and aces per set at .57, each ranking in the top 10 in the country. She also averages 1.72 kills per set and 1.06 blocks per set this season. Foster broke the program's single-season ACC record and was named ACC Defensive Player once in her lone year in Dallas. Foster was the second Mustang selected in the PVF draft last week, going to the Orlando Valkyries as the No. 14 overall pick.
• Tabron, a graduate outside hitter from Gilroy, California, ranks second on the Mustangs in kills with 2.97 per set and adds a team-best 2.59 digs per set in her final collegiate season. Tabron leads the Ponies with 12 double-doubles and 16 matches with double-digit digs this season. She also has 19 matches with ten or more kills and is second on the team in service aces with 32, the most of any season in her five-year collegiate career. Tabron was the final Mustangs drafted in the PVF draft this season, selected by the San Diego Mojo at No. 23 overall.
 
A FAMILIAR FOE
• The Mustangs will be playing Wichita State for the 18th time. The programs split their two meetings last season in the regular season as both teams were members of the AAC.
• The Shockers are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the American Championship as the No. 4 seed. After finishing 10-6 in AAC play, Wichita State beat No. 5 seed Tulsa (3-0), upset No. 1 South Florida (3-0), and downed No. 6 Florida Atlantic to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.
• Middle blocker Natalie Foster transferred to SMU after three years at Wichita State, where she was an all-conference performer.
 
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
 
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.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• 2023 marked the Mustang's third all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament. 2024 will be the fourth appearance.  
• SMU fell to Purdue in four sets in 2015. SMU defeated Texas A&M in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament before getting swept by the national runner-up Texas.
• After sweeping Texas State in the opening round of the 2023 Tournament, SMU fell again to No. 1 seed Texas in the second round.
 
THE DALLAS BRACKET
• Missouri brings an 18-13 record into the weekend and a 10-6 mark in the SEC.
• The Tigers are 7-3 in their last ten games, winning their last regular season matchup against Auburn, 3-0.
• Last season, the Tigers went 18-13 overall and 9-9 in SEC play. They swept Delaware State in their first matchup of the NCAA Tournament before being swept by No. 1 seed Nebraska in the second round.
• Texas State brings a 22-8 record into the weekend and a 13-3 mark in the Sun Belt.
• The Bobcats bring an 11-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, including three sweeps in the Sun Belt tournament to win their league championship.
• Last season, the Bobcats went 22-10 overall and 12-4 in Sun Belt play. SMU swept Texas State in the first round of last year's tournament in Austin, Texas.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
• SMU leads the series over Wichita State 9-8. The Mustangs and Shockers split the two meetings last season.  SMU has won three of the last five and is 2-2 under Coach Erger.
• Missouri and SMU have never faced off in volleyball.
• SMU leads the series over Texas State 5-2 and has won the last three meetings.
 
NATIONAL NUMBERS
• The Mustangs are ranked in the top 50 nationally in five different categories entering the postseason.
• SMU ranks 18th in both blocks per set (1.71) and team blocks (302.5), 28th in hitting percentage (.265), 32nd in winning percentage (.774), and 46th in total aces (192).
• Individually, Natalie Foster ranks eighth in the country and second in the ACC in aces per set at .57. Her 64 aces are second in the conference and eighth in the country. She is also fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.359).
• Celia Cullen finished the regular season ranked first in the conference in total assists with 1,102 and third in the ACC in assists per set this season at 9.84.
• Nnedi Okammor is fourth in the conference in total blocks with 138 this season and fifth in blocks per set at 1.24.
 
TOUGH AT THE SERVICE LINE
• The Mustangs have 192 service aces as a team this season, the most in program history in a single season
• 192 is second most in the ACC, and the Mustangs' 1.71 aces per set is third best in the conference.
• 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 64.
• Foster finished the regular season second in both total aces (64) in aces per set (.57) in the ACC. Both are also top 10 in the nation.
• When the Mustangs out-serve their opponent season, they are 20-1 overall and 14-0 against ACC teams.
 
MOST TEAM ACES IN A SINGLE SEASON
1. 192 - 2024
2. 191 - 1997
3. 181 - 1999
4. 176 - 2022
5. 172 – 2014
 
TOP 5 SINGLE-SEASON ACE LEADERS
1. 64 – 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
 
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 six teams representing the conference in the top 25.
• The Mustangs are 7-4 against teams ranked or receiving votes by the AVCA.
 
RPI & KPI
• SMU finished the regular season ranked 7th in this week's RPI rankings, fourth highest in the ACC.
• The Mustangs are 11-7 against opponents currently in the top 50 and 14-7 against teams in the top 100.
• In KPI, the Mustangs finished 9th.
 
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).
• SMU has seen a 180 percent increase from last season to this season and finished with a regular season attendance of 27,108 over 16 home matches.
 
MUSTANGS CHASING MILESTONES AND SEASON RECORDS
• Celia Cullen needs 40 digs to reach the 1,000 career digs.
• Jamison Wheeler needs 32 kills to move up to ninth in the SMU record books.
• Nnedi Okammor needs 22 blocks to crack the top 5 in single-season blocks at SMU.
• Naya Shime needs 47.5 points to crack the top 5 in single season points at SMU.
 
HIGH FLYING FRESHMAN
• Freshman Natalia Newsome had her best outing of the season in the loss to NC State in the Mustangs' regular-season finale.
• Newsome went for a career-high seven kills on 12 swings against the Wolfpack, tied for second highest on the team.
• Among players with
• The rookie is the only freshman who has seen the court this season on a roster full of upperclassmen due partly to her athletic ability. Newsome touches 10'11 inches and has a 39-40 inch vertical.