The SMU volleyball team added another bit of history to its resume earlier this week when it hosted the first Top 10 matchup at Moody Coliseum in any sport since 1957.

That's been a common theme over the last few years for the Mustangs. Last year, SMU defeated both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country and hosted NCAA tournament matches for the first time in program history. 

Over the last year-plus, the Mustangs are 9-4 against ranked opponents. Tuesday's 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Texas A&M was the third Top 10 win in that span.

"I don't want to say I'm surprised, because I really believe in our team," SMU head coach Sam Erger said. "We are super young. We've got a lot of freshmen, sophomores, and we do have some vets, but our ball control is young and/or new to the power conference."

The message before the match was to play loose, free and have fun instead of just focusing on the result. More often than not, the result has followed for the Mustangs.

"We believe in our game plan," Erger said. "We put a lot of work into this, and we need you guys to go execute on it," and that's how you go play high-level volleyball. And then, of course, you've got to be ready to adjust. And I felt like we, as a unit, finally did that (Tuesday), where they really executed on our game plan."

Winning the first set hasn't been a problem for the Mustangs early in the season, taking a 1-0 lead in four of their first five matches of the season. So when SMU came out and took the first set 25-20 against A&M, it was a familiar situation. 

But after an emphatic 25-14 second-set win, the Mustangs wanted to finish it off — and they did.

"Early in the season, we went five with Baylor and five with LSU, and so we were, we've gained a little bit of resilience," Erger said. "But we really didn't want to go five with them (Tuesday). So yeah, big deal to win Set 1. And then when we started blowing it out in Set 2, the next message is, 'We don't want to go more than three. We're not here to play.'"

The Mustangs have taken big strides over the last couple of seasons. They won the American Athletic Conference and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament two years ago. Last year, SMU was ranked and hosted NCAA tournament matches for the first time in program history.

This year's team has now matched the best start in program history and has another Top 10 win under its belt. That leads the Mustangs to think big, really big.

"There is a recipe you need to go win at a high level, and we have it here," Erger said. "You've got to have a fertile recruiting ground, great resources, a crowd that gets behind you. There's so many more things, and we're not lacking in any of them. I believe we can go compete for a national championship at some point."

Of the 17 players on the roster, 11 are either freshmen or sophomores. That makes the Mustangs a young and hungry group that is putting in the work and has gotten the results, so far, this season.

Which leads to confidence.

"I think for me personally, it's like, why not? You know what I mean," sophomore outside hitter Jadyn Livings said. "Especially with SMU being the talk of the town lately. I think it's a really good thing to be like, 'OK, why not get out there and start bouncing on everyone? Why not do what I see that we can do in practice and transfer it onto the court? I know we're a really good team. I know how hard we work. I know we still have a lot to work on also. Every team does, but I think with how much talent that we have, especially this year, it's a good thing to be like, 'Why not?' and go out and do it."

There is only one team holding the trophy at the end of the season, and every team goes into a season hoping to be that team. 

But over the last few years, that goal has become less far-fetched. And for now, the Mustangs are having fun with it.

"I hope our girls have those big dreams," Erger said. "We're big on process. Whether we achieve that or not, why not dream it? We've got the athletes to do stuff like that, and I don't think there's anything wrong with dreaming that big."