#10 SMU (6-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #3 Kentucky (3-2, 0-0 SEC)

Saturday, Sep. 13 • 2 p.m. CT

Historic Memorial Coliseum • Lexington, Kentucky

SEC Network+ • Live Stats • Match Notes • SMU Mobile App

#10 SMU (6-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #14 Purdue (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten)

Sunday, Sep. 14 • 10 a.m. CT

Historic Memorial Coliseum • Lexington, Kentucky

Live Stats • Match Notes • SMU Mobile App

SETTING THE SCENE

• SMU hits the road for the second time this season for two ranked matchups in Lexington, Kentucky, this coming weekend. The Mustangs will take on No. 3 Kentucky on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT and No. 14 Purdue on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.

• A 7-0 start for the Mustangs would be the best start in program history.

• The matchups complete a three-match stretch against ranked opponents.

• SMU Volleyball aims to earn back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time in program history.

• Under coach Erger, SMU has ten ranked wins, three over top 10 teams.

• SMU looks to collect wins over both the Wildcats and the Boilermakers for the first time in program history. The Mustangs are a combined 0-6 against the two programs.

• The match against the No. 3 Wildcats will be streamed on SEC Network+. SMU's matchup versus Purdue will not be streamed.

 

GIG EM OUTTA HERE

• No. 10 SMU Volleyball (6-0) swept No. 8 Texas A&M (5-1) in front of the second-largest home volleyball crowd in program history of 3,076 Tuesday night. The Mustangs won in straight sets of 25-20, 25-14, and 25-19, earning their second sweep of the season and second win over a ranked opponent this year.

• The Mustangs are now 6-0, tying the program record for best start to a season.

• The win marked the 10th ranked victory under head coach Sam Erger and the second of the season. SMU has now beaten three top 10 teams in the last two years at home. 

• Outside hitter Jadyn Livings led the way for the 10th-ranked Mustangs with 14 kills, hitting .400, while adding four digs. Middle blocker Natalia Newsome logged eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage against the Aggies. Favor Anyanwu led the match with eight blocks and Jordyn Schilling led the way with 12 digs.

• Setter Averi Carlson dished out 29 assists with four digs and five blocks in the three-setter. As a team, SMU hit .270 and held the No. 8 Aggies to a .070 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season. SMU out-blocked Texas A&M 11-7 on the night.

• SMU improved to 2-0 against the Aggies in the all-time series with the win.

• The match was the first top 10 home matchup in Moody Coliseum, regardless of sport, since 1957.

• Outside hitter Jadyn Livings led the way for the 10th-ranked Mustangs with 14 kills, hitting .400, while adding four digs. Middle blocker Natalia Newsome logged eight kills on a .538 hitting percentage against the Aggies. Favor Anyanwu led the match with eight blocks and Jordyn Schilling led the way with 12 digs.

• Setter Averi Carlson dished out 29 assists with four digs and five blocks in the three-setter. As a team, SMU hit .270 and held the No. 8 Aggies to a .070 hitting percentage, their lowest of the season. SMU out-blocked Texas A&M 11-7 on the night.

• Jadyn Livings earned double-digit kills for the first straight match, tied for the longest streak of her career. Her 14 kills were double the Aggies' leading attacker.

 

NOT ONE… NOT TWO… BUT THREE!

• Three Mustangs earned Atlantic Coast Conference weekly accolades Monday, September 8, as Setter Averi Carlson earned ACC Setter of the Week for the second consecutive week, Jadyn Livings was selected as the ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week, and Christa Wilburn earned ACC Freshman of the Week honors.

• It marks the second time in program history that three players earned conference weekly honors in the same week.

• Carlson averaged 12.73 assists per set, totaling 140 assists in the Mustangs' three wins. She was the catalyst of an SMU squad that averaged 14.36 assists per set, second in the ACC and 11th in the country this week. The Lucas, Texas native also added 2.36 digs per set, 1.36 blocks per set, while notching a team-most four aces in week two of action. She logged two double-doubles in the three matches, with 35 assists and a career-high 10 blocks against Northern Iowa, and then a 56-assist and 12-dig performance in the win over Stony Brook on Saturday. Carlson led an SMU offense that finished first in the conference and seventh in the country in hitting percentage, hitting .375 on the week.

• Livings earned the first conference weekly honor of her career as she led the Mustangs with 3.55 kills per set on the week while hitting an efficient .421 in the three matches. Livings went for 18 kills, nine digs, and six blocks while hitting .371 in SMU's win over Washington. She closed out the week with a 13-kill, eight-dig outing against Stony Brook while hitting .571 in the match. The Colony, Texas native averaged 2.00 digs per set and .64 blocks per set.

• Wilburn hit at a .462 clip, averaging 1.50 kills per set in the Mustangs' 3-0 week. She notched eight kills on 12 swings, hitting .667 in her first career home match against Washington. The Dripping Springs, Texas native added three aces to her season total, bringing her to ten on the year, which ranks sixth in the ACC.

 

WEEK ONE NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

• Graduate opposite Malaya Jones was named AVCA Division I Player of the Week, it was announced by the organization on Tuesday, September 2. Jones paced the Mustangs to five-set victories over LSU and No. 20 Baylor in Baton Rouge.

• Jones averaged 4.40 kills per set while hitting .330 in the Mustangs' two wins over the weekend. Jones racked up 44 kills, 24 digs, and seven blocks in the two matches, including a double-double against Baylor, where she put up 24 kills, 16 digs, and four blocks.

• Jones became the just third player in SMU Volleyball history to receive the honor. SMU Hall of Fame setter Avery Acker won it during the 2015 season, and middle blocker Emma Clothier received the honor in 2023.

 

FIRST ACC HONORS OF THE YEAR

• Setter Averi Carlson was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Setter of the Week and opposite hitter Malaya Jones was selected as the ACC's Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced Monday, September 1. The two standout performers helped the Mustangs to five-set wins over LSU and No. 20 Baylor in Baton Rouge over the weekend.

• Carlson logged 10.40 assists per set during SMU's opening weekend, along with 2.00 digs per set. The Lucas, Texas native, logged consecutive 50+ assist matches, including 53 assists, 14 digs and a career-high five blocks (2 solo blocks), against No. 20 Baylor on Saturday.

• Jones has now won three conference Offensive Player of the Week awards. The other two were in the Mountain West with Colorado State. It is the first setter of the week honor for Carlson in her career. Carlson was a Big 12 Rookie of the Week five times at Baylor in 2022.

 

SERIES HISTORY

• Kentucky led the all-time series 4-0. Kentucky won last season's meeting 3-0. It was the first matchup since 2003. The programs also played against each other in 1998 and 2001.

• SMU is 0-2 against Purdue. The first match was the Mustangs' first NCAA Tournament match in 2015, where Purdue won 3-1. The last matchup was 2023 at then-No. 20 Purdue, where the Boilermakers won 3-1 on their home court.

 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

The Kentucky Wildcats

• The No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats bring a 3-2 record into the weekend, falling in their most recent match to No. 7 Pittsburgh on Wednesday. The Wildcats' other loss came in five sets to No. 1 Nebraska on August 31.

• Kentucky was picked to win the SEC after winning the SEC last season for the eighth straight season. The Wildcats went 23-8 last season, 14-2 in league play. Kentucky fell to Pittsburgh 3-0 in the Elite Eight a year ago.

• The Wildcats led the way with four All-SEC Preseason team selections in middle Brooke Bultema, outside Brooklyn Deleye, outside Eva Hudson, and libero Molly Tuzzo.

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The Purdue Boilermakers

• No. 14 Purdue is 5-1 entering the weekend with its lone loss coming to then No. 23 Georgia Tech on September 3.

• The Boilermakers were picked to finish seventh in the Big Ten in the preseason coaches' poll after a 27-7, 16-4 campaign in 2024.

• Purdue fell in the Round of 16 to Louisville in three sets to end its season in 2024.

LET'S TAKE THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD

• SMU has won nine straight matches away from home dating back to last season. Eight of those nine matches were true road games.

• The last time SMU fell away from Moody Coliseum was at No. 1 Pittsburgh on October 9.

 

NEW SEASON, NEW FACES

• SMU will be replacing 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.

• 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 brought in six transfers and seven players out of high school to go along with four returners.

• Each of the six transfers Sam Erger and company brought in have NCAA Tournament experience.

 

TOP 10 MUSTANGS

• SMU Volleyball moved back to No. 10 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Taraflex Coaches Poll after going 3-0 last week.

• The Mustangs were ranked No. 10 in the 2025 preseason ranking, marking the first time that the program was ranked going into the season.

• SMU is the fourth highest-ranked ACC squad, trailing No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford and No. 7 Pittsburgh. After the No. 10 Mustangs, Georgia Tech comes in at No. 21, and North Carolina cracks the top 25 for the first time this season, entering at No. 25.

• The Mustangs will face eight teams that opened the season ranked, including five in the preseason, before ACC play begins against preseason-ranked No. 3 Pitt on Wednesday, September 24, inside Moody Coliseum.

• 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 14 straight polls.

 

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.

 

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 enters year four as SMU's head volleyball coach. Erger will now try 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 seasons. Before the Erger's tenure, SMU had only been to two NCAA Tournaments, in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. 

• Erger is 49-10 (83.1%) in conference matches on the Hilltop, winning 15+ in each of the three seasons.