[2] SMU (27-5, 17-3 ACC) vs. [3] Purdue (26-6, 15-5 Big Ten)
Thursday, Dec. 11 • 8:30 p.m. CT (30 minutes after conclusion of 7 p.m. match)
Petersen Events Center • Pittsburgh, Pa.
SETTING THE SCENE
• After punching their ticket to the program's first Sweet Sixteen appearance, the No. 2-seeded SMU Volleyball team continues NCAA Tournament play on Thursday, Dec. 11, as it takes on No. 3 seed Purdue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Thursday night on ESPN2.
• The Mustangs defeated Central Arkansas and Florida in Dallas in the first two rounds of the NCAA Championships to advance to regional play this past weekend. It marked the second time and second straight season that SMU Volleyball hosted the first two rounds of the tournament in program history.
• It is the Mustangs' third time in the NCAA Tournament and their fifth in program history.
• SMU brings an 11-match winning streak into the second weekend and has won 19 of its last 20 matches.
• The matchup will be the second of the season between SMU and Purdue. The Boilermakers got the best of the Mustangs, 3-1, in the first meeting back on Sept. 14 in Lexington, Kentucky. SMU looks to earn its first win over Purdue in program history.
A HISTORIC FIRST WEEKEND
• Coach Erger earned her 100th career win as head coach at SMU. She is now 100-30 (.769) on the Hilltop.
• The Mustangs finished the 2025 season 15-1 at home, tied for the most home victories in program history (15-1 in 2014).
• In the opening round match against Central Arkansas, SMU Volleyball hit .618 as a team, breaking the NCAA Tournament record for a three-set match (minimum 15 attacks per set). As a team, SMU hit .475 in the first weekend, ranking first among teams in the field.
• SMU earned its 27th victory of the season, tying the program record for most wins in a season (27-6 in 2015).
AVCA ALL-REGION AWARDS
• Four SMU volleyball players were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in the All-Region Awards announced on Tuesday.
Additionally, head coach Sam Erger was named the Southwest Region Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
• Carlson and Jones earned the second All-Region First Team honors of their careers, while Anyanwu and Livings each picked up their first All-Region team selections. All four Mustangs earned All-ACC honors with Carlson and Jones making the First Team, and Anyanwu and Livings earning Second Team honors. Carlson was also named ACC Setter of the Year.
• AVCA All-America teams will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
QUICK HITS
• Averi Carlson enters the second weekend, ranked second nationally in assists per set (11.27) and third in total assists (1,341), leading the ACC in both categories.
• Favor Anyanwu has been one of the most dominant forces at the net defensively this season, ranking third in the country in total blocks with 175. Her 175 blocks this season are the second-most all-time in program history. She is 14 blocks away (188 by Janelle Giordano in 2015) from becoming SMU's single-season leader.
• SMU has made serving tough its identity over the last two seasons. The Mustangs set a program record with 200 aces last season and have already broken it, up to 207 this season. SMU has five players with 20 or more this season. Christa Wilburn leads the Mustangs with 47 aces, tied for fourth-most all-time at SMU.
• The Mustangs enter the second weekend third in the nation in hitting percentage, swinging at a .316 clip this season. SMU has hit over .300 in 19 matches and has hit over .400 five times on the year. SMU is set to shatter the previous season's hitting percentage of .267 from last season.
• Malaya Jones became the second player in program history to surpass 500 kills in a season in SMU's win over Florida in the second round. Jones' 503 terminations and 574.5 points on the year rank 14th most in Division I. Jones is doing so with a .378 hitting percentage, which ranks 44th in the country and is the fourth highest among non-middles in DI.
• In ACC play, Anyanwu (4th) and Jones (3rd) both ranked top 5 in hitting percentage. In the 20-match ACC slate, Anyanwu swung at a .407 clip, and Jones hit at a .408 clip.
• SMU is top 50 in the country in 11 categories: Hitting Percentage (3rd), Winning Percentage (10th), Team Assists (14th), Team Blocks (15th), Team Kills (17th), Team Service Aces (20th), Blocks Per Set (20th), Kills Per Set (21st), Team Service Aces (27th), Opponent Hitting Percentage (37th) and Aces Per Set (42nd).
• Thrusted into a starting role due to injuries, Maggie Croft has stepped up big for the Mustangs. Croft notched a career-high nine blocks in SMU's historic win over Florida in the second round.
• This season, SMU has won 13 ACC weekly awards, the most by any team in the league in 2025. During Head Coach Sam Erger's tenure, the Mustangs have earned 28 weekly conference honors. Averi Carlson has earned ACC-record seven Setter of the Week awards this season.
ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON BLOCKS
1. Janelle Giordano, 188 2015
ALL-TIME CAREER ACES
1. Melissa Godwin, 153 2015-18
2. Caroline Young, 132 2011-14
3. Kathryn Wilkerson, 115 2010-12
4. Leslie Olson, 106 2008-10
5. Jackie Erazmus, 104 2011-13
6. Beth Karasek, 103 2018-21
7. Erin Pryor, 100 2014-17
8. Rachel Giubilato, 95 2020-22
ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS
1. Avery Acker, 1482 2015
2. Leslie Olson, 1445 1997
3. Jssica Mihm, 1444 2003
4. Avery Acker, 1413 2014
5. Tara Hatfield, 1411 2000
RALLY-SCORING SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS
1. Avery Acker,1482 2015
2. Avery Acker, 1413 2014
RALLY-SCORING SINGLE SEASON ACES
2. Caroline Young, 51 2012
T-4. Caroline Young, 47 2014
ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON ACES
2. Caroline Young, 51 2013
TWO-TIME NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Graduate opposite Malaya Jones has been named AVCA Division I Player of the Week for the second time this season, announced by the organization on Tuesday. It's the second honor of the week for Jones as she was named to the All-ACC First Team on Monday.
• Jones averaged 5.56 kills per set, which ranked ninth in the country, and 6.61 points per set ranking fourth this week in SMU's two wins this week. She registered 50 kills and 59.5 points in the two matches, ranking third and second in the nation respectively. Jones put up these numbers while hitting .389 and notched two double-doubles.
• Jones is the first player in SMU Volleyball history to win the honors multiple times. Former Mustangs Avery Acker and Emma Clothier each won the honor once in their careers. Jones won the award during the first weekend of the season where the Mustangs defeated LSU and Baylor both in five sets.
ALL-ACC MUSTANGS
• SMU Volleyball setter Averi Carlson was named the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Setter of Year, while four others joined her by earning All-ACC honors, the league announced on Monday.
• After being named to the All-ACC Preseason Team, Senior Setter
Averi Carlson is the program's first ACC position player of the year and is the eighth SMU Volleyball athlete to earn a conference position player of the year award.
• Carlson and Malaya Jones were selected to the 15-player All-ACC First Team, while middle blocker Favor Anyanwu and outside hitter Jadyn Livings both earned All-ACC Second Team honors. Kennedi Rogers became the fifth Mustang to earn conference All-Freshman team honors.
MUSTANGS HEADED TO THE PROS
• SMU Volleyball setter Averi Carlson and opposite Malaya Jones were selected in the 2025 Major League Volleyball Draft on Monday.
• The Atlanta Vibe selected Setter Averi Carlson in the first round with the No. 7 overall pick.
• Jones was selected No. 9 overall by the Dallas Pulse and will team up with former Mustang setter Celia Cullen. The Pulse traded up to the first pick of the second round to take Jones.
• In the last three seasons, six players have been drafted to play professional volleyball under head coach Sam Erger at SMU.
• Carlson became the 24th SMU athlete to be drafted in the first round across all sports. (Men's Soccer – 12, Football, 7, Men's Basketball 3, Baseball 1, Volleyball 1)
SMU Volleyball Draft Picks
Emma Clothier 23' - No. 25 pick - Grand Rapid Rise
SEASONED VETS
• Jones sits in ninth in the entire NCAA in career kills, fifth in DI.
• Carlson ranks 9th out of all NCAA divisions and second in DI in career assists.
Active Career Kills (DI) – As of December 8
1. Eva Hudson, Kentucky 2,124
2. Mimi Colyer, Wisconsin 1,977
3. Flormarie Heredia Colon, Miami (FL.) 1,896
4. Victoria Barrett, Alabama 1,782
Active Career Assists (DI) – As of December 8
1. Callie Bauer, Western Ky. 4,978
3. Jordan Karlen, Tennessee Tech 4,562
4. Sophia Hudepohl, Lipscomb 4,459
5. Emme Bullis, Cal Poly 4,340
SERIES HISTORY
• SMU has yet to beat Purdue, as the Boilermakers lead the overall series 3-0. Each match has been a four-set match.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Purdue Boilermakers
• Purdue is 26-6 entering the match up, winning their first two matches of the Tournament against Wright State (3-0) and Baylor (3-1).
• The Boilermakers went 15-5 in Big Ten play, finishing third in the conference standings.
• Last season, Purdue went 27-7, 16-4 in Big Ten play. They fell to Louisville in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
GROW WITH THE NEW LOOK MUSTANGS
• Fans 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 typical starters are freshmen 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 in has NCAA Tournament experience in their careers.
AVCA RANKINGS: WEEK 14 – Final Regular Season Poll
• SMU Volleyball moved up to No. 7 in the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I WVB Poll, released on Monday by the association. It's the highest ranking in program history, also held for two weeks previously this season.
• SMU is the third-highest ranked ACC squad, trailing No. 4 Pitt and No. 5 Stanford. After the No. 7 Mustangs, Louisville is No. 9, Miami is No. 13, and North Carolina is No. 19.
• The Mustangs were ranked No. 10 in the 2025 preseason ranking, marking the first time that the program was ranked going into the season.
• The Mustangs cracked the top 25 for the first time in last year's historic season. The Mustangs have been ranked in 28 straight polls.
YEAR FOUR FOR ERGER
• Head Coach Sam Erger is in year four as SMU's head volleyball coach.
• Erger has now been to three-straight NCAA tournaments, two consecutive second-round appearances (2023 & 2024). Before the Erger tenure, SMU had only been to two NCAA Tournaments, in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
• Four consecutive 20-win seasons, the second-longest streak in program history.
• Erger has four of the program's 12 total 20-win seasons.
• Coach Sam Erger is 100-30 (.766) as head coach at SMU, 66-13 (83.5%) in conference matches on the Hilltop, winning 15+ in each of her first four seasons.
• Erger has 13 ranked wins under her belt at SMU, five over top 10 teams and four over top five teams.
