[RV] SMU (0-0; 0-0 ACC) vs. [RV] Hawai'i (0-0, 0-0 Big West)
Friday, Aug. 30 | 11:59 PM CT
Stan Sheriff Center – Honolulu, Hawaii
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[RV] SMU (0-0; 0-0 ACC) vs. [RV] San Diego (0-0. 0-0 WCC)
Friday, Aug. 31 I 11:59 PM CT
Stan Sheriff Center – Honolulu, Hawaii
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SETTING THE SCENE

The Mustangs enter their first season in the ACC following a 26-7 campaign that included winning the American Athletic Conference and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENT

Hawaii

• Hawaii went 24-9 overall and 14-4 in conference play last season, winning the Big West Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Championship.
• Hawaii has won 20+ games in each of the last four seasons.
• The program has been to the NCAA Tournament every season since 1993 and has 11 Big West Titles.
• The Rainbow Warriors were picked to finish second in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with three first-place votes. Two players, Outside Hitter Caylen Alexander and Setter Kate Lang, represented Hawaii on the Preseason All-Big West Team.

San Diego

• San Diego finished the 2023 season with a 16-10 record, going 12-4 in the West Coast Conference (WCC) after ranking 13th in the AVCA Preseason Poll prior to the season getting underway.
• Toreros finished third in the WCC standings. In 2022, San Diego lost just two games, going 31-2, and reached the National Championship Semifinal but fell to No. 1 Texas in Omaha, Nebraska. The program has reached the NCAA Championship in 25 of the last 28 seasons.
• This year, they were picked to finish second in the conference behind Pepperdine, who also picked up two first-place votes. Two players, Outside Hitter Nemo Beach and Middle Block Haylee Stoner, earned WCC Preseason Team Honors.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Hawaii Leads Overall Series 10-0

• Friday's matchup to open the 2023 campaign will be the 11th meeting between Hawaii and SMU.
• The two programs will meet for the first time since 2004, back when both programs were in the Western Athletics Conference (WAC). The Rainbow Warriors have won 33 of the 35 sets played between the two programs.

San Diego and SMU Have Each Won One Matchup

• This matchup between the Mustangs and the Toreros will be the third time the two programs will face off, with the all-time series tied at 1-1.
• San Diego won the last meeting in 2022, sweeping the Mustangs in California, while the Mustangs defeated the Toreros in Santa Barbara for the first matchup 3-1.

2023 RECAP

• SMU claimed its third conference title and first since the 2016 season. With its win over North Texas on Nov. 18 in Moody Coliseum, it secured the AAC's automatic NCAA Championship bid. The Mustangs won their first match in the NCAA Championship, sweeping Texas State in Austin.
• Five members of the SMU volleyball team were named to the All-American Athletic Conference teams. Emma Clothier was named the Player of the Year, Celia Cullen was crowned the Setter of the Year, and Sina Uluave was named the Libero of the Year. Jamison Wheeler was tabbed as an All-AAC First-Team Selection, Natalie Perdue earned a spot on the Second Team, and Head Coach Sam Erger was announced as the AAC Coach of the Year.
• SMU swept 10 straight opponents before the second-round matchup with #2 Texas and held a 16-match win streak during the season. SMU picked up 19 sweeps in 2023 and 14 in AAC play. SMU entered the NCAA Tournament match after nine consecutive sweeps. SMU finished league play with an 18-1 record, marking the best conference winning percentage in program history (.947), and won the program's first league title since 2016. 

PRESEASON POLLS

• SMU has been picked to finish sixth in the ACC by the league's coaches in the 2024 Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Mustangs garnered 199 points, trailing Pitt, Stanford, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and Florida State in the poll, who all made the NCAA Championship a season ago.
• The SMU volleyball team has received 76 votes in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Preseason Division I Women's Volleyball Poll, announced by the organization Monday.
• The Mustangs, one of seven teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to earn a spot on the poll or receive votes, finished the 2023 season receiving 46 votes in the year's final poll.
• SMU is slated to face nine teams this season who appear in the preseason poll in No. 2 Nebraska (Sept. 3 - TICKETS), No. 4 Pittsburgh, No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Louisville, No. 8 Purdue, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 20 Florida State, No. 23 Baylor, as well as six teams that received votes in TCU, Houston, Hawaii, San Diego, Miami, and LMU. The Mustangs will host 10 of these 15 teams at Moody Coliseum this season.

FINAL 2023 AVCA POLL

• The Mustangs finished the season receiving 46 votes to be ranked in the final AVCA Poll of 2023, the most of any team receiving votes. In 2024, SMU will face 12 teams that were either ranked or received votes in the final 2023 poll on their schedule.

RETURNING EXPERIENCE

• The Mustangs return seven players, nine to the program, from their championship team; six played 100 or more sets for Coach Erger and company in 2023.

- SHIMEING STAR

• SMU transfer oppposite Naya Shime put together an impressive season in her first season on the Hilltop. After spending three seasons at Wyoming, she had a career-best 300 kills in her first year with the Mustangs (fourth-most on the team), including 16 double-digit kill outings. Shime dug 215 balls and turned in 155 kills with 110 digs and 51 blocks coming in conference play. Shime turned in a career-high .889 hitting while adding six blocks and two digs in SMU's sweep of South Florida.

- CULLEN SETTING THE MUSTANGS UP

• Cullen was named the American Athletic Conference Setter of the Year after finishing the season, ranking third in the league in assists (1,207) and first in assists per set (10.59). Cullen led the Mustangs in assists in all 33 matches and turned in six double-doubles, including a season-high 58 assists against Florida Atlantic on Oct. 8, 2023. Last season marked Cullen's second on the Hilltop after she spent two seasons at Michigan State. In just two seasons with the Mustangs, Cullen is already in the top 10 in the SMU record books in assists and is poised to climb the rankings with another season leading the charge. Cullen tallied a career-high 19 digs against Baylor (9/06) and a career-high six blocks against Texas Tech (9/15).

- WHAT A YEAR FOR JAMS

• 2023 was undoubtedly an excellent year for Jamison Wheeler, and she certainly lived up to the preseason hype. After being voted Preseason AAC Player of the Year and a Unanimous Preseason All-AAC Team selection, she proved the voters correct, earning First-Team All-AAC honors after the season. Wheeler led the Mustangs with 367 kills while hitting .249 on the year with a team-high seven double-doubles. She also collected 291 digs, 39 blocks, and 21 service aces, averaging 3.34 kills per set and 2.65 digs per set. She was crowned the AAC Offensive Player of the Week three straight times (Oct. 9, Oct. 16, and Oct. 23) after tallying 243 kills and 179 digs in conference action. Wheeler logged a career-high 26 digs against Texas Tech (9/15) and a career-high five blocks against North Texas (11/17).

FOUR IMPACT TRANSFERS

The Mustangs added four transfers for their inaugural ACC season, adding to an experienced returning group:

• Nnedi Okammor, a middle blocker, transferred to the Hilltop from Florida. In her last season in Gainesville, Okammor logged 108 kills and 120 total blocks in 93 sets played. She put down a career-high 12 kills against Tennessee last season and a career-best 10.0 blocks against Georgia.
• Natalie Foster is the second transfer to the Hilltop, coming from Wichita State. While with the Shockers, Foster was a two-time All-AAC selection in 2022 and 2023 and a two-time AVCA All-Region North Selection during those same years. She was also named Second-Team All-AAC in 2021. Throughout her career at Wichita State, Foster logged over 1,000 kills (1,079), including 2.73 per set, while hitting .375. At the net defensively, she finished with 322 total blocks.
• Ellie Bolton comes to SMU from Creighton, where she spent four seasons. While in Nebraska, she collected over 800 digs, 2.40 digs per set. She finished with a career-high 295 digs in 2023, playing in a career-high 82 sets with the Bluejays.
• Maya Tabron is the fourth and final transfer added to the Mustangs' 2024 roster. Tabron comes to Dallas after four seasons at Colorado. During her time with the Buffs, she was named All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention in 2021, as well as a 2x Pac-12 All-Academic Team selection. While in Boulder, Tabron accumulated over 1,000 career kills, nearly 800 digs, and just under 200 total blocks. In 2023, she played in 30 matches, making 111 set appearances, finishing the season with 331 kills, 263 digs, 55 total blocks, and 28 service aces. She logged eight double-doubles while also reaching career-highs in kills (26 vs. Arizona 11/10) and digs (19 vs. Arizona State (11/9).

REPLACING CLOTHIER, GLOVER, AND ULUAVE

Emma Clothier Goes Pro

• After four stellar seasons at Florida State, Emma Clothier, a middle blocker from Carrollton, Texas, returned home for her final collegiate season to play for SMU in 2023.
• Clothier was a highly decorated player at Florida State, earning ACC and AVCA honors each season in Tallahassee. At SMU, she continued her success, earning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors in 2023, recording 320 kills while hitting .384, which was second-best in the league, top-35 in the nation, and the second-highest single-season hitting percentage in program history.
• Clothier was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I National Player of the Week, the second Mustang to receive National Player of the Week honors in program history.
• Clothier was also named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and an AVCA All-Region First-Team selection. In December, she was selected to 25th in the Inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Draft by the Grand Rapids Rise.

Alex Glover

• Glover was a key contributor and leader for the Mustangs during her five seasons with the program.
• Glover played 126 matches for the Mustangs, tied for seventh most all-time.
• Glover was also named Second Team All-American Athletic Conference in her junior campaign.
• In her last season on the Hilltop (2023), Glover recorded 80 kills on .367, hitting with 93 blocks.
• She averaged 1.01 blocks per set, second most on the squad behind Clothier, and 1.41 points per set.

Coach Sina Uluave

• Uluave was named the American Athletic Conference Libero of the Year and First-Team All-AAC after leading the Mustangs with 448 digs, averaging 3.96 digs per set.
• Uluave passed out 87 assists and tallied double-digit digs in 26 matches, leading the Mustangs in digs in 21 out of the last 24 matches.
• She was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 9 and Nov. 6 of the 2023 season.
• Uluave played just one season with the Mustangs after stops at Toledo and Wichita State.
• She returns to the Mustangs in 2024 as a graduate assistant.

WHAT A YEAR FOR JAMS

• 2023 was undoubtedly an excellent year for Jamison Wheeler, and she certainly lived up to the preseason hype.
• After being voted Preseason AAC Player of the Year and a Unanimous Preseason All-AAC Team selection, she proved the voters correct, earning First-Team All-AAC honors after the season.
• Wheeler led the Mustangs with 367 kills while hitting .249 on the year with a team-high seven double-doubles.
• She also collected 291 digs, 39 blocks, and 21 service aces, averaging 3.34 kills per set and 2.65 digs per set.
• She was crowned the AAC Offensive Player of the Week three straight times (Oct. 9, Oct. 16, and Oct. 23) after tallying 243 kills and 179 digs in conference action.
• Wheeler logged a career-high 26 digs against Texas Tech (9/15) and a career-high five blocks against North Texas (11/17). 

BREAK OUT YEAR FOR PERDUE

• Natalie Perdue broke out for the Mustangs last season.
• Perdue was named a Second-Team All-AAC selection. She was named to the All-Tournament Team in back-to-back weeks to open the season at the Ameritas Players Challenge and the Stacey Clark Classic.
• Perdue ended the season third on the team in kills with 310 total and third on the team in kills per set (2.95). She also logged 186 digs and 56 blocks while averaging 2.95 kills and 1.77 digs per set.
• Perdue logged six double-doubles last season, including matches versus Auburn (15 kills, 12 digs), Baylor (16 kills, 13 digs), Houston (14 kills, 13 digs), Wichita State (14 kills, 11 digs), Florida Atlantic (16 kills, 18 digs), and Rice (18 kills, 16 digs).
• Perdue turned in 186 kills, 109 digs, and 33 blocks through 18 matches in conference play. She tied her career high in digs with 19 against Fla. Atlantic last season (10/08). Perdue logged five blocks in three matches last season.

SHIMEING STAR

• SMU transfer outside hitter Naya Shime put together an impressive season in her first season on the Hilltop.
• After spending three seasons at Wyoming, she had a career-best 300 kills in her first year with the Mustangs (fourth-most on the team), including 16 double-digit kill outings.
• Shime dug 215 balls and turned in 155 kills with 110 digs and 51 blocks coming in conference play.
• Shime turned in a career-high .889 hitting while adding six blocks and two digs in SMU's sweep of South Florida.

THE FRESHMAN ON THE HILLTOP

• SMU Volleyball also brought in three talented freshmen to the Hilltop, all from the state of Texas. Naala Kasunga, Mia Silva, and Natalia Newsome will enter their first season with the program after successful high school and prep volleyball careers.

NON-CONFERENCE SLATE

• The Mustang's 11-match non-conference gauntlet features eight teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2023, including six who won at least one tournament match and three who reached the Sweet 16.SMU will travel to Hawaii to participate in the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic, where they will battle Hawaii and San Diego.
• The Mustangs will then host 2023 NCAA Championship Runner-Up Nebraska at Moody Coliseum for their home opener on Sept. 3. That matchup will be followed by a slate of home outings against UW-Milwaukee, Weber State, and LMU that weekend. SMU will then travel to Waco for a meeting with Baylor. The Mustangs will then host Kentucky, Purdue, and Houston for the SMU Double Tree Invitational.
• Coach Erger and company will close out non-conference play with back-to-back road matches against Northern Iowa before starting ACC play on the road at Georgia Tech on Sept. 27.

HIGHEST NCAA RPI RANKING IN PROGRAM HISTORY

• SMU finished 22nd in the NCAA RPI Rankings, the highest finish in program history. The Mustangs earned five wins over Top 50 RPI teams in 2023, including No. 27 Baylor, No. 28 Florida State, No. 38 Wichita State, No. 44 Pepperdine, and No. 46 Texas State.

BUILDING SOMETHING SPECIAL

• Sam Erger was named just the second head coach in the program's history on Feb. 2, 2022, after spending the previous eight years at Baylor, including the last two as associate head coach. Erger took over for Lisa Seifert, who started the program and holds the SMU record for most coaching wins across all sports (441) and announced her retirement in January of 2022. Erger completed her first season (2022) as head coach on the Hilltop with a 22-10 overall record. Selected fifth in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, the Mustangs finished third with a 15-5 clip in league play. Marieke van der Mark and Jamison Wheeler earned All-AAC First Team honors, and Celia Cullen was named to the Second Team.
• It marked the first time since 2019 that two Mustangs earned first-team honors. SMU collected the third most selections in the conference under Erger. Her second season on the Hilltop was one for the record books. Erger was named the 2023 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after the Mustangs finished the season with a 26-7 overall record and won the AAC Championship.
• SMU finished league play with an 18-1 record, marking the best conference winning percentage in program history (.947), and won the program's first league title since 2016. The Mustangs rode a 15-match win streak into the NCAA Tournament and entered as a No. 7 seed after seven straight sweeps. SMU swept Texas State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to finish the month of November without dropping a set. The 2023 Mustangs finished their campaign with the best team season attacking percentage in program history (.257), tied for the fourth most aces per set (1.50) while recording the eighth most aces in program history with 166. SMU also finished in the top 10 in program history with 446 blocks and passed out the 15th most assists with 1466.

BEST VOLLEYBALL CONFERENCE IN THE NATION

• The ACC had six teams that finished in the Top 50 in NCAA RPI last season.
• Adding SMU and Stanford will give the ACC eight teams that finished that high to close out the season entering 2024.
• The ACC had five teams make the NCAA Championship last season, with Pittsburgh reaching the National Semifinals, and will now add Stanford along with the Mustangs, who each made the postseason a year ago. In the last three seasons, the ACC is the only conference to send at least one team and five teams overall to the Final Four.