SETTING THE SCENE
• After a 2-0 start to the 2025 season with wins over LSU and No. 20 Baylor in Baton Rouge, SMU will host Washington, Northern Iowa and Stony Brook for their first three home matches of the season.
• SMU looks to start the season 3-0 for just the fifth time in program history. With three wins this week, the Mustangs would start the season 5-0 for just the third time ever.   
• SMU is one win away from the programs 250th home victory. The Mustangs are 249-131 inside Moody Coliseum.
• The match versus Washington will air on the ACC Network. Anne Marie Anderson (pxp) and Nicole Branagh (analyst) will be on the call at 7 p.m. CT. Chris Mycoskie (pxp) and Alex Glover (analyst) will have the call on ACCNX against Northern Iowa and Stony Brook.
 
NOTABLES FROM BATON ROUGE
• The win over No. 20 Baylor marked SMU's first ranked win of the season and ninth under head coach Sam Erger.
• Opposite Malaya Jones secured back-to-back 20+ kill outing over the weekend. She became the first Mustang to have consecutive 20 or more kill outings since Mekenzi Heckmann in 2019.
• Sophomore Jadyn Livings went for a career-high 21 kills, while adding 12 digs and four blocks against Baylor. Sophomore Natalia Newsome also had a career night at the net, recording eight blocks against LSU.
•  Averi Carlson logged consecutive 50 or more assist showings for just the third time in her career and became the first SMU player to do so since 2019 when Lily Heim had four straight 50+ outings.
•  In her collegiate debut, Christa Wilburn racked up seven aces, breaking the program's 25-point rally scoring era record in SMU's win at LSU.
• As a team, SMU had 19 blocks against No. 20 Baylor. The last time the Mustangs had more than 19 blocks was at Cincinnati on Oct. 23, 2017, with 23.
• SMU had four players with double figure digs against Baylor. The last time four or more Mustangs did so was on Sep. 9, 2023, in a neutral site match against Houston in West Lafayette, Indiana.
• Libero Jordyn Schilling logged 23 digs in the win over LSU in her first match as a Mustang, the most since Jamison Wheeler notched 26 against Texas Tech on Sep. 15, 2023.
• SMU hit .274 as a unit in the first two matches of the season and logged 30 team blocks in Baton Rouge.
• Four freshman, Kennedi Rogers, Christa Wilburn, Sarah Frazee and Maggie Croft, saw their first collegiate action over the weekend.
 
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, Sep 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, Sep. 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. 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
• SMU will take on Washington for the first time in program history at home on Thursday night.
• Last season's two matchups against Northern Iowa were the first two all-time. SMU went 2-0 in those meetings in Cedar Falls, Iowa, winning 3-0 and 3-1.
• SMU is also 2-0 against Stony Brook. The Mustangs swept the Seawolves at home in 2005 and 2014. The 2014 match was a neutral site match in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Washington Huskies
• Washington brings a 1-2 record into the DoubleTree Invitational. The Huskies fell to Northern Colorado in their opener (3-2), then beat Colorado State (3-2) before falling to Colgate in five.
• The Huskers were picked eighth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll, after finishing 9th in 2024.
• The Huskers went 19-12, 9-11 in the Big Ten in 2024. Washington reached the NCAA Tournament, but fell to LMU in the first round, 3-2, a team SMU fell to earlier that same season.
• Junior outside Kierstyn Barton and sophomore middle Julia Hunt was named to the Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
The Northern Iowa Panthers
• UNI brings a 1-1 record into this weekend's matches, falling to No. 13 Arizona State in three and then beating South Dakota State 3-1. Both matches were at home.  
• Northern Iowa went 26-8 in 2024 and a perfect 18-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Panthers beat Illinois 3-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last year and then nearly upset No. 4 Louisville, falling in five to the Cardinals in Kentucky.
• UNI has been selected to win the MVC volleyball crown in 2025, receiving 10 of 12 first-place votes. Outside hitter Cassidy Hartman earned Preseason All-MVC honors.
 
The Stony Brook Seawolves
• Stony Brook is unbeaten heading into the week of matches. The Seawolves collected wins over Central Connecticut State, Siena and Rhode Island in their home tournament.
• Stony Brook went 16-13, 9-9 in the Colonial Athletic Conference in 2024. That record put the Seawolves at sixth place finish last season.
• Stony Brook has been picked to finish fifth in the CAA this season. Senior outside hitter Kali Moore represents the Seawolves on the All-CAA Preseason Team.
 
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.
 
AVCA RANKINGS
• SMU Volleyball began the 2025 season as the No. 10-ranked team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Taraflex Coaches Poll but fell to No. 11 despite going 2-0 to start the season.
• The 2025 preseason ranking marks the first time that SMU Volleyball is ranked going into the season.
• SMU is one of five ACC teams in the top 25 as Louisville checks in at No. 3, Stanford comes in at No. 6, Pitt is ranked ninth and Georgia Tech is No. 23 in the Sep. 1 edition of the poll.
• The Mustangs will face eight teams that opened the season ranked, including five in the preseason before ACC play begins against No. 3 Pitt on Wednesday, Sept. 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, Dec. 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.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS – 2025 LEADERS
• Senior outside Jentry Lamirand, graduate opposite Malaya Jones, and freshman DS/Libero Sarah Frazee have been named captains for the 2025 volleyball team by the players and coaches.
• Lamirand was also a captain on last year's team, while Jones and Frazee are new to the program.
 
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.