#10 SMU (5-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #8 Texas A&M (5-0, 0-0 SEC)
Tuesday, Sep. 9 • 6 p.m. CT
Moody Coliseum • Dallas, Texas
ESPN2 • Live Stats • Match Notes • SMU Mobile App
SETTING THE SCENE
• Two 5-0 volleyball clubs are set to clash Tuesday night inside Moody Coliseum as No. 10 SMU welcomes No. 8 Texas A&M to Dallas for a 6 p.m. CT first serve.
• SMU aims to start the season 6-0 for just the second time in program history. The Mustangs also look to earn their second ranked win of the season and first over a top 10 opponent this season.
• SMU is 1-0 against Texas A&M. The lone meeting was a sweep in 2016 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Austin.
• Under coach Erger, SMU has nine ranked wins, two over top 10 teams. Both of those wins came at home last season against No. 1 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Nebraska.
• Opposite Malaya Jones went off against the Aggies in the NCAA Tournament last season, notching 26 kills, seven digs and five blocks. Setter Averi Carlson averaged 23.5 assists and 6.5 digs in her two matches at Texas against the Aggies last season. Outside Madison Scheer went for 13 kills, five digs, and four blocks against Texas A&M last season while she was with Auburn.
• The match will air on ESPN2. Anne Marie Anderson (PxP) and Nicole Branagh (Analyst) will have the call.
A SUCCESSFUL HOME TOURNAMENT
• SMU remained unbeaten to start the 2025 season with three wins at home.
• On the week, SMU's offense finished first in the conference and seventh in the country in hitting percentage, hitting .375 last week. SMU held its three opponents to a .147 hitting percentage. The Mustangs out-dug their opponents 163-122 and out-blocked their opponents 56-20.
• As a team, SMU led the ACC in hitting percentage, team assists, team digs, team kills and team total blocks.
• The Mustangs averaged 14.36 assists per set, second in the ACC and 11th in the country this week.
• Favor Anyanwu led a Mustang team that out-blocked the Panthers 15-2, with a career-high 11 blocks while adding eight kills with a .727 hitting percentage in the sweep over Northern Iowa. Anyanwu's 11 blocks are the second most blocks in a three-setter by an individual player since 2015, when Janelle Giordano had 12 against Cincinnati on October 23.
• Setter Averi Carlson had a career night at the net against UNI with ten blocks to go along with 35 assists to complete her second double-double of the season. Carlson also added seven digs to her stat line against the Panthers.
• In the Mustangs' final matchup of the week, Jadyn Livings led the way with 13 kills, hitting .571 with eight digs. Three more Mustangs reached double figures, starting with Favor Anyanwu, who finished the match with a career-high 12 kills, hitting .588. Carlson dished out 56 assists and notched another double-double with 12 digs.
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. 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 is 1-0 against Texas A&M all-time. The first meeting came in 2016 when SMU swept the Aggies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Austin.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The Texas A&M Aggies
• Washington brings a 5-0 record into Tuesday's top-10 clash. The five wins have come against No. 11 Minnesota, Rice, Central Arkansas, No. 21 Utah and Utah State.
• The Aggies were picked third in the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving one first-place vote.
• The Huskers went 21-8,10-6 in the SEC in 2024. Texas A&M reached the Round of 16, beating Colorado State and Arizona State before falling to Wisconsin.
• Senior middle Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and opposite Logan Lednicky earned All-SEC honors in the preseason. Texas A&M returns 11 players from last season's Round of 16 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.
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 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.
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.
