No. 8 SMU Set for Paradise Invitational in the Bahamas

#8 SMU (5-1) vs. #3 Kentucky (6-1)
Saturday, Sept. 12 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar • Nassau, Bahamas
ESPN+ • Match Notes • Live Stats • SMU Mobile App

#8 SMU (5-1) vs. #14 Purdue (3-2) or Houston (5-1)
Saturday, Sept. 12 • 12:00 or 4:00 p.m. CT
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar • Nassau, Bahamas
ESPN or ESPN2 • Match Notes • Live Stats • SMU Mobile App

MUSTANGS IN PARADISE
• The SMU volleyball team is one of four teams selected to play in the inaugural Paradise Invitational in the Bahamas this weekend (Sept. 11-13).
• The Mustangs will play two matches at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas, starting with No. 3 Kentucky on Sept. 12. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
• The matchup with Kentucky is the second straight against a top-10 opponent for the Mustangs and the third this season. After the conclusion of Saturday's match, SMU will have played the top-3 teams in the SEC based on last season's regular season standings. The Mustangs are 2-0 against those SEC foes this season.
• The winner of the match on Saturday will go on to play the winner of the first match of the day between Houston and No. 14 Purdue. The losers of each match will play a consolation round. The winners' match will air on ESPN while the consolation round will air on ESPN2.

DOWN GO THE LONGHORNS
• With the win against Texas, the Mustangs have won 12 straight home matches, tie for the most in program history.
• The win marked the seventh top-10 victory since SMU joined the ACC in 2024. Coach Erger has 15 ranked wins since taking over on the Hilltop in 2022.
• Favor Anyanwu was an unstoppable force against the Longhorns with another stat sheet-stuffing performance. She logged a career-high 16 kills on a .481 hitting percentage, while also adding eight blocks and five.
• Suli Davis reached 20+ kills for the third time this season, collecting 22 kills on a .281 hitting percentage. She also registered 13 digs for her third double-double of the season while adding four blocks, which ties her career-high. Davis has logged 15+ kills in every match this season. She has had 20+ kills three times in 2026.
• Hannah Beauford set the Mustangs to a .303 hitting percentage against the Longhorns, dishing out a career-best 53 assists. She also earned her first career double-double with 10 digs.
• SMU once again out-blocked their opponent, leading in the category against the Longhorns 12-7.
• Wednesday's attendance of 6,207 was the second-highest attended home match in program history. A record 801 students supported the Mustangs in their home opener. Student attendance was the highest for a volleyball match and the second-highest in Moody Coliseum across any sport.
• With the win, SMU has won 12 straight home matches, tied for the longest streak in program history.
• The Mustangs earned their first win over Texas since 2000 and the second in program history. The matchup was the first meeting between the two programs in Dallas since 2004.
• SMU improved to 2-0 against SEC opponents this season. SMU defeated Texas A&M in its season opener; Texas A&M finished third in the SEC last season and went on to win the national title. Texas finished second in conference play last season.
• Mustangs remained unbeaten in first sets this season, improving to 6-0. SMU also improved to 92-11 when winning the first set under Coach Erger.
• Under Coach Erger, the Mustangs improved to 15-8 in five-set matches.
• The SMU middle blockers feasted against Texas. They collected a combined 31 kills, hitting a combined .490 with only four attack errors. Freshman Elle Vandeweghe had her best outing of the season with seven terminations.
• Captain and defensive specialist Sarah Frazee earned a career-best nine digs in the win.

LOOKING TO BREAK THE STREAKS
• SMU is looking for its first win over Kentucky in program history when they face the Wildcats on Saturday. The Wildcats lead the overall series 5-0.
• If the Mustangs were to face Purdue on Sunday, they'd also be aiming to knock off the Boilermakers for the first time in program history. Purdue has a 4-0 edge over SMU in the series.

HIGHEST RANKED TEAM IN TEXAS
• In the latest (Sept. 7) version of the AVCA-Taraflex Coaches Poll, the Mustangs are the highest-ranked team in Texas at No. 8.
• The Mustangs are also rated the fourth-highest team in the ACC.

FALL SPORTS SUCCESS ON THE HILLTOP
• SMU is the only school in the country with its Football, Volleyball and Men's Soccer programs all currently ranked in the top-20.
• The SMU Football team comes in at No. 17 in the latest AP Poll after starting 1-0 with a win at Florida State on Monday.
• The SMU Men's Soccer team is ranked No. 7 by the United Soccer Coaches Association. They have started the year 5-0-1.

THE LAST MEETINGS
• Last time the Mustangs and Wildcats faced off was a season ago in Lexington, where Kentucky took the match in four sets. Despite the loss, Jadyn Livings led the Mustangs with a career-high 26 kills.
• Purdue got the best of SMU in four last season in a match that was also in Lexington, Kentucky.
• SMU last faced Houston on Sept. 14, 2024, when the Mustangs won a four-setter in Dallas. SMU leads the overall series over Houston 26-21. Houston is the second most-played opponent in SMU Volleyball history. 26 wins are the second-most victories over any opponent in the program's history.

FEED FAVOR
• Favor Anyanwu has been on fire in her last two matches. In those matches, she has logged 27 kills, averaging 3.00 per set with only four errors, hitting .451.
• She has also dominated defensively, collecting 16 digs, 1.78 per set, to go along with 17 total blocks, averaging 1.89 per frame.
• Anyanwu flirted with a triple-double against San Diego, logging 11 kills, 11 digs and nine blocks. The performance marked the first double-double of her career.
• Against Texas, Anyanwu notched a career-high 16 kills, while hitting 481 and adding eight blocks. She had 27 attempts in the match, the most in a single outing of her career.

NEWSOME'S EFFICIENCY
• Natalia Newsome is the most efficient middle in SMU Volleyball history. For her career, she is hitting at a .453 clip, .104 higher than the next person.
• This season she is hitting a team-best .486 with 41 kills and only six attack errors. She has hit .533 or better in three of the first six matches of the season.

Schedule

No. 8 SMU Set for Paradise Invitational in the Bahamas

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Players Mentioned

Favor Anyanwu

Hannah Beauford

Suli Davis

Sarah Frazee

Jadyn Livings

Natalia Newsome

Elle Vandeweghe

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #12 Stanford on Sep 25, 2026 at 8pm CT

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus California on Sep 27, 2026 at 1pm CT

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Syracuse on Oct 2, 2026 at 5pm CT

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Boston College on Oct 4, 2026 at 12pm CT

Upcoming Event: Volleyball at Pittsburgh on Oct 7, 2026 at 6pm CT

Results

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Yale on September 19, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Rice on September 17, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 0

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #14 Purdue on September 13, 2026 , Loss , 0, to, 3

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #3 Kentucky on September 12, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 1

Completed Event: Volleyball versus #9 Texas on September 9, 2026 , Win , 3, to, 2

No. 8 SMU Set for Paradise Invitational in the Bahamas

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Players Mentioned

Favor Anyanwu

Hannah Beauford

Suli Davis

Sarah Frazee

Jadyn Livings

Natalia Newsome

Elle Vandeweghe

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