#11 SMU (8-4, 0-2 ACC) vs. [RV] Georgia Tech (6-5, 1-1 ACC)
Friday, Oct. 3 • 7 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum • Dallas, Texas
ACCNX • Live Stats • Match Notes • SMU Mobile App
 
#11 SMU (8-4, 0-2 ACC) vs. Clemson (12-2, 0-2 ACC)
Sunday, Oct. 5 • 1 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum • Dallas, Texas
ACCNX • Live Stats • Match Notes • SMU Mobile App
 
 

SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU is primed for its first home ACC weekend with matches inside Moody Coliseum against [RV] Georgia Tech and Clemson on Friday and Sunday.
• The Mustangs look to earn their first ACC win of the 2025 season after falling to No. 5 Pitt in both matches to open league play.
• SMU swept both the clubs a season ago to open its first ACC season. Then No. 13 Georgia Tech was the first win for SMU in the ACC last season.
• One win this weekend for the Mustangs would give head Coach Sam Erger 50 conference wins at SMU. The Mustangs enter the weekend 49-12 in conference games with Coach Erger at the helm.
• Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX. Chris Mycoskie (pxp) and Shanel Bramschreiber (analyst) will have the call in Dallas.

QUICK HITS
• SMU's Favor Anyanwu and Jadyn Livings have been added to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, announced by the association on Thursday. Anyanwu and Livings are two of the 17 players added to the preseason list, which featured fellow Mustang Malaya Jones. With three athletes represented, the only team to have more than SMU is No. 1 Nebraska who has four of their athletes listed.
• The Mustangs enter the week No. 9 in the NCAA RPI and have the second strongest strength of schedule in the country up to this point. SMU's opponents to this point have an .739 winning percentage.
• Malaya Jones and Livings are one of the best pin-hitter duos in the country. Jones and Livings are both ranked top 10 in the ACC in kills per set and are one of two ACC tandems, and six duos in the country to be ranked in the top 150 in the nation in that category.
• Jones had another productive week, leading the Mustangs offensively with 4.11 kills per set while hitting at a .313 clip. The graduate opposite went off for a match-high 23 kills, hitting .422 with seven digs Wednesday match against the Panthers. She also added 1.44 digs, 0.89 blocks per set and three aces in the two matches.
• Averi Carlson continues to have a stellar season, proving why she is one of the best setters not only in the ACC in the country. She enters the week first in the ACC and fourth in the country in assists per set with 11.29. She is also first in the ACC and fourth in the country in total assists at 542.
• With 99 career aces, Carlson needs one more to reach 100 for her career. Carlson has 12 aces this season.
• Freshman Maggie Croft has had an ace in four straight matches. Croft has 13 aces on the season, third highest on the team.
• Sunday's showing was Jones' ninth time in double figures this season. Jadyn Livings extended her streak of double-digit kills to eight straight Sunday.
• With two aces against the Panthers on Sunday, Casey Batenhorst has multiple aces in four matches on the year and 24 now for her career.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• SMU is 3-2 all-time against Georgia Tech. The Mustangs have won two straight, both sweeps in 2014 and 2024.
• The Mustangs are 2-3 against Clemson and have won the last two meetings. Both matches were straight set wins in 2015 and 2024.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
• Georgia Tech brings a 6-5 overall record and a 1-1 conference record into the weekend.
• After starting the season 4-0, the Yellow Jackets have lost four of their last six. Last time out, the Yellow Jackets got back on track, sweeping Florida State in Atlanta on Sunday. 
• After finishing seventh in the ACC in 2024 (21-10, 12-8 ACC), Georgia Tech was picked to finish sixth in the 2025 Preseason Poll. Junior right side Larissa Mendes represented the Yellow Jackets on the All-ACC Preseason Team in July.
 
The Clemson Tigers
• Clemson started the season 12-0, but dropped its opening two ACC matches to Florida State (3-1) and Miami (3-0) and are now 12-2 entering the weekend.
• The Tigers already have more wins (11) than a year ago. Clemson finished the 2024 season 11-20, 3-17 in the ACC.

GROW WITH THE NEW LOOK MUSTANGS
• Fans will get to grow with the new look Mustangs for years to come. 11 of the 17 players on SMU's 2025 roster are underclassmen and four of the seven starters are freshman or sophomores.
• SMU had to replace 95% of its point production from a season ago. With nine productive players graduating a season ago, Coach Erger and staff have reloaded their roster for the 2025 season, as they return no starters from the program's historic season.
• Production lost by the numbers: Set Played: 87%, Kills: 95%, Attacks: 96%, Assists: 99%, Digs: 95%.
• The highest returning points scorer is sophomore Natalia Newsome, who logged 56.5 points in her rookie season, with 44 kills and 21 blocks.
• SMU also brought in six transfers and seven players out of high school to go along with four returners.
• Each of the six transfers SMU brought have NCAA Tournament experience in their careers.

AVCA RANKINGS: WEEK 5
• SMU stayed put at No. 11 in the Sept. 29 edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Taraflex Coaches Poll.
• The Mustangs were ranked No. 10 in the 2025 preseason ranking, marking the first time that the program was ranked going into the season. No. 10 is the highest ranking for the Mustangs in program history.
• SMU is the fourth highest-ranked ACC squad, trailing No. 4 Stanford, No. 5 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Louisville. After the No. 11 Mustangs, Miami and North Carolina are also in the top 25 at No. 23 and No. 25, respectively.  
• The Mustangs cracked the top 25 for the first time in last year's historic season, reaching as high as No. 10 in the country. The Mustangs have been ranked in 18 straight polls. 
 
JONES MAKING NATIONAL NOISE
• SMU Volleyball transfer opposite hitter Malaya Jones was named to the AVCA Preseason Division I National Player of the Year Watch List, presented by Nike Volleyball, on Friday, July 23.
• The 6-0 graduate from El Dorado Hills, Calif., is the first player in program history to earn a spot on the association's preseason list.
• The 2025 Preseason Watch List includes 30 players from 20 different schools. More players can be added to the mid-season list in October, followed by a list of semifinalists in November, the announcement of the finalists in mid-December, and the reveal of the Player of the Year in Kansas City, Mo., at the AVCA Awards Banquet on Friday, December 19.
• Jones is one of seven players in the ACC who earned a spot on the list. Last season, Celia Cullen and Naya Shime were added to the mid-season list. 
 
ALL-ACC PRESEASON TEAM
• Malaya Jones, Averi Carlson and Favor Anyanwu were voted to the All-ACC Preseason team by the ACC coaches.
• The 2024 Preseason Volleyball All-ACC Team consisted of 18 players and was voted on by the league's head coaches.
• Pitt leads the way with the most players on this year's preseason team, with four representatives. SMU, Stanford, and Louisville follow, each having three players listed.
• The Mustangs are already living up to the preseason hype. Carlson has won three of the six ACC Setter of the Week awards, while Jones was named National Player of the Week and ACC Offensive Player of the Week after opening weekend.
 
ACC PRESEASON POLL
• SMU was chosen fourth in the ACC Preseason Poll by the league's head coaches.
• The Mustangs finished fourth in the ACC a season ago after being picked sixth in the 2024 preseason.
• SMU trails defending ACC Champion, Pitt, then Louisville and Stanford, while North Carolina rounded out the top five behind SMU.
 
YEAR FOUR FOR ERGER
• Head Coach Sam Erger is in year four as SMU's head volleyball coach. Erger looks to continue the success of the program with back-to-back NCAA tournament second-round appearances and three straight 20-win seasons, the second-longest streak in program history. That includes going 16-4 in the ACC last year. SMU has 11 total 20-win seasons, three of which are in the three seasons under Erger.
• Erger has already taken SMU Volleyball to new heights in just three full seasons. Before the Erger's tenure, SMU had only been to two NCAA Tournaments, in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. 
• Erger is 49-12 (80.3%) in conference matches on the Hilltop, winning 15+ in each of her full three seasons.
• Erger has 10 ranked wins under her belt at SMU, three over top 10 teams.