No. 23 Mustangs Begins ACC Play At Georgia Tech, Clemson

#23 SMU (8-3, 0-0 ACC) vs. #13 Georgia Tech (8-1, 0-0 ACC)
Friday, September 27, 2024 – 6 p.m. CT
O'Keefe Gymnasium – Atlanta, Ga.
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#23 SMU (8-3, 0-0 ACC) vs. Clemson (8-3, 0-0 ACC)
Sunday, September 29, 2024 – 12 p.m. CT
Jervey Gym – Clemson, S.C.
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SETTING THE SCENE

No. 23 SMU Volleyball is set to begin their first road trip as a member of the ACC, traveling to face No. 13 Georgia Tech on Friday and then Clemson on Sunday.
The Mustangs went 8-3 in non-conference play with two ranked wins over No. 2 Nebraska and No. 18 Baylor and are coming off two road wins over UNI last weekend.

MUSTANGS IN THE TOP 25

For the first time in program history, SMU Volleyball was ranked by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), coming in at No. 22 on the Sept. 16th edition of the poll.
This week, the Mustangs come in at No. 23 after going 2-0 last week at Northern Iowa.

HAVE YOURSELF A DAY JAMS:

Jamison Wheeler had her best outing of the season against Northern Iowa last time out.
Wheeler logged a season-high 21 kills on 47 swings, hitting .383 against the Panthers. She also earned her third double-double of the year with 11 digs.

A LOOK AT THE OPPONENTS:
Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets bring an 8-1 non-conference record into the ACC opening weekend.
After falling in their first game to UCLA in five sets, they have won eight straight, including victories over No. 14 BYU and No. 14 Florida.
After finishing fourth last season, Georgia Tech was picked to finish fourth again this season.
The Yellow Jackets won their first two NCAA Tournament matches against South Alabama and Florida before falling to Nebraska in the third round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
Two Yellow Jackets earned Preseason All-ACC honors in Bianca Bertolino and Tamara Otene this season.

Clemson

The Tigers bring an 8-3 record into conference action, with their three losses coming to LMU, Georgia Southern, and South Carolina.
Last season, Clemson went 19-14 and 8-10 in ACC play. The Tigers secured a birth to the NIVC Tournament and won their first two matches against Eastern Kentucky and Ball State before falling to UTEP in the third round.
This season, the Tigers have been picked to finish 14th out of the 18 schools in the league.

ALL-TIME SERIES:
Georgia Tech

The Mustangs and Yellow Jackets have played four times in the last 29-years, with each team winning two matchups.
SMU swept Georgia Tech in their last meeting back in Dallas in 2014.
The Mustangs are 1-2 in Atlanta, with their only win coming in 2008.

Clemson

Clemson leads the series over SMU 3-1, winning the first three meetings but dropping the most recent to the Mustangs.
SMU won the last time the two programs faced off in 2015, sweeping Tigers in Moody.

LATEST AVCA POLL NOTES

In last week's poll, SMU joined the AVCA rankings for the first time in program history.
The Mustangs are one of seven teams in the ACC to be ranked in this week's edition of the poll.
Pitt leads the pack, holding the No. 1 spot, followed by No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Louisville, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State, and No. 25 Miami.

PRESEASON POLLS

SMU was 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.

TWO NON-CONFERENCE RANKED WINS

The Mustangs swept the Huskers in Moody Coliseum in front of a record crowd of 6,773 people, crushing the previous record of 1,819 against TCU in 2019.
The win over Nebraska was also the first time an unranked team has swept the powerhouse program in a decade.
The match was also the highest scan in Moody for any event in the last four years.
A week later, SMU knocked off their second-ranked opponent this season in a sweep of #18 Baylor Tuesday night in Waco with set scores of 25-21, 25-15, and 25-16
During the Sam Erger era, the Mustangs have yet to lose to the Bears.
The win marked just the second time SMU Volleyball has won in Waco in the program's 29-year history.
Coach Sam Erger has led the Mustangs to three of the program's five ranked wins in its history, two against Baylor in each of the last two seasons and the win over #2 Nebraska a week ago.

MUSTANGS CHASING MILESTONES

Jamison Wheeler needs 15 kills and 69 digs to reach 1,000 for her career in both categories.
Graduate Setter Celia Cullen needs 48 more assists to reach 4,000 for her career and 171 digs to reach 1,000 digs. Cullen is currently seventh all-time in career assists at SMU and needs 356 assists to pass Tara Hatfield (1999-2001) for sixth place.
With 72 more digs, Ellie Bolton will reach the 1,000-career dig club.
Maya Tabron looks to collect 120 digs by the end of the year to reach the 1,000-dig mark in her career.

NATIONAL NUMBERS

As a team, the Mustangs enter the weekend ranked 18th in the country in hitting percentage (.282), 14th in opponent hitting percentage (.146), and 18th in blocks per set (2.78).
Individually, Natalie Foster has been a weapon at the service line, ranking 35th in the country and second in the ACC in aces with 25 this season. Her 0.63 aces per set is good for 15th best in the nation.
Setter Celia Cullen leads the ACC in assists with 396 in non-conference.

ATTENDANCE RECORDS AT MOODY

SMU has set the two highest attendance records in program history this season. SMU had 6,673 people in attendance in their win over #2 Nebraska and 1,883 in their 3-1 victory over Houston a little over a week later.

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