No. 7 Mustangs Set for Weekfinish Checks in North Carolina

 SETTING THE SCENE
• SMU brings an eight-match profitable streak right into a weekend the place it faces No. 21 North Carolina on Friday and Duke on Sunday within the Tar Heel State. The Mustangs’ eight straight victories is the longest energetic streak within the ACC. North Carolina, Stanford and Pitt sit atop the ACC standings with 9-1 convention information.
• The Mustangs have swept their final three opponents and have hit over .300 in every of the three matches.
• SMU volleyball held its No. 7 spot on this week’s AVCA rankings. It is the very best rating in program historical past.
• The Mustangs purpose to gather their fifth ranked win of the season once they tackle No. 21 North Carolina on Friday in Chapel Hill.
• For the second time this season, graduate reverse Malaya Jones has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week, introduced by the league on Monday. Jones averaged 5.33 kills per set and 6.08 factors per set this week within the Mustangs’ two sweeps over Wake Forest and NC State. She ended the week with a .625 hitting share, which led the ACC and ranked fifth greatest nationally. Jones additionally recorded simply two assault errors on her mixed 48 swings within the two matchups.
• SMU enters the week sixth in NCAA RPI, eighth in KPI and with the nation’s third strongest energy of schedule.
• Friday’s match will air on the ACC Network, the Mustangs’ sixth match on nationwide tv this season. It would be the program’s first-ever journey to each North Carolina and Duke.
 
QUICK HITS
• Malaya Jones broke this system’s report for single-match hitting share on 20 or extra makes an attempt, hitting .750 in opposition to the Wolfpack on Sunday. Jones broke the hitting share report that held up for 26 years. Erin Pryor held the report prior with a .720 assault share (19-1-25) in opposition to Harvard on Sept. 25, 1999.
The share is tied for second-best within the nation this season. Jones logged 16 kills on 20 swings with just one error within the win whereas including 4 blocks. Malaya Jones has reached double-figure kills in six consecutive matches. 
• SMU’s offense has been buzzing all season lengthy. The Mustangs entered the week ninth within the nation in hitting share, swinging at a .295 clip. SMU has hit over .300 in ten matches, together with every of the final three. SMU’s .392 hitting share in opposition to Wake Forest final week is the very best of the season up to now.
• SMU is high 50 within the nation in six classes: Hitting Percentage (ninth), Blocks Per Set (twentieth), Winning Percentage (twenty third), Team Total Blocks (twenty seventh), Assists Per Set (twenty ninth), and Kills Per Set (thirty first).
• Averi Carlson enters the weekend ranked second nationally in assists per set (11.13) and ninth in whole assists (857), main the ACC in each classes.
• Favor Anyanwu has been one of the dominant forces on the web defensively this season. The sophomore comes into the weekend ranked 14th within the nation in blocks per set (1.44) and eighth in whole blocks (111). She is first within the ACC in each classes.
• Christa Wilburn’s 0.42 aces per set ranks fourth within the ACC this season. Her 31 whole aces are the third most within the convention. Wilburn wants eight extra aces to set the SMU freshman report for many aces in a season (38 – Kendall Patterson, 2016).
• ACC Play Notes: Malaya Jones has turned issues up a notch in ACC matches, averaging 4.18 kills per set, up from her 3.62 mark in non-conference motion. Jordyn Schilling has logged at the very least an ace in 10 straight matches and has 17 in ACC play, the second most within the convention by means of the primary 10 matches.
• Wake Forest Match Notables: Wilburn logged 4 aces within the win over Wake Forest, her fifth match this season with three or extra. Madison Scheer had a breakout match in opposition to Wake Forest, going for a season-best 11 kills whereas hitting .435. Maggie Croft received her first begin in opposition to the Demon Deacons and registered three kills, two digs, and 4 blocks.
• NC State Match Notables: Jones’ 16 kills in opposition to each NC State and Wake Forest are essentially the most by a Mustang in a three-set match this season. SMU’s 25-7 victory in set three is the most important set victory by the Mustangs this season. Freshman Sarah Frazee received the primary begin of her profession and logged a season-best seven digs.
• This season, SMU has gained 9 ACC weekly awards. During Head Coach Sam Erger‘s tenure, the Mustangs have earned 24 weekly convention honors.
• Favor Anyanwu and Jadyn Livings had been added to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, introduced by the affiliation on Thursday, Oct. 2. Anyanwu and Livings are two of the 17 gamers added to the preseason record, which featured fellow Mustang Malaya Jones. With three athletes represented, the one crew to have greater than SMU is Nebraska, which has 4 of its athletes listed.
 
SEASONED VETS
• Malaya Jones and Averi Carlson are each among the many nation’s energetic profession leaders in kills and assists, respectively.
• Jones sits in eighth in your entire NCAA in profession kills, fourth in Division I.
• Carlson ranks twelfth out of all NCAA divisions and fourth in Division I in profession assists.
 
SERIES HISTORY
• North Carolina leads the general collection 2-1. SMU gained the final assembly (3-1) over the then-No. 25 Tar Heels in 2024 inside Moody Coliseum.
• Duke leads the general collection 2-1 over SMU. SMU swept the Blue Devils at residence final season. 
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
The North Carolina Tar Heels
• UNC is 16-3, 9-1 in ACC play. They enter the weekend tied for first within the ACC standings.
• Last season, North Carolina went 23-8, 14-6 in ACC video games.
• UNC gained its first-round matchup of the NCAA Tournament final season 3-1 over Yale earlier than falling to eventual champion Penn State within the second spherical.
• The Tar Heels had been picked fifth by the coaches within the preseason. Junior outdoors Safi Hampton represented the Tar Heels on the Preseason All-ACC Team.
 
The Duke Blue Devils
• Duke is 5-16, 2-8 in ACC play, coming into the weekend.
• The Blue Devils went 10-21, 6-14 in ACC play final season.
• Duke has misplaced 4 straight matches. Its two ACC wins are over Clemson and NC State.

GROW WITH THE NEW LOOK MUSTANGS

• Fans get to develop with the brand new look Mustangs for years to return. 11 of the 17 gamers on SMU’s 2025 roster are underclassmen, and 4 of the seven starters are freshmen or sophomores.

• SMU needed to substitute 95% of its level manufacturing from a season in the past. With 9 productive gamers graduating a season in the past, Coach Erger and workers have reloaded their roster for the 2025 season, as they return no starters from this system’s historic season.

• Production misplaced by the numbers: Set Played: 87%, Kills: 95%, Attacks: 96%, Assists: 99%, Digs: 95%.

• The highest returning factors scorer is sophomore Natalia Newsome, who logged 56.5 factors in her rookie season, with 44 kills and 21 blocks.

• SMU additionally introduced in six transfers and 7 gamers out of highschool to go together with 4 returners.

• Each of the six transfers SMU introduced in has NCAA Tournament expertise of their careers.

AVCA RANKINGS: WEEK 9

• SMU Volleyball stays at No. 7 within the newest AVCA/TARAFLEX Division I WVB Poll, launched on Monday by the affiliation. It is the very best rating in program historical past.

• The Mustangs had been ranked No. 10 within the 2025 preseason rating, marking the primary time that this system was ranked going into the season.

• SMU is the third-highest ranked ACC squad, trailing No. 4 Pitt and No. 5 Stanford. After the No. 7 Mustangs, Louisville is No. 8, Miami is No. 15, and North Carolina is No. 21. Georgia Tech is receiving votes.

• The Mustangs cracked the highest 25 for the primary time in final yr’s historic season. The Mustangs have been ranked in 23 straight polls. 

  

ALL-ACC PRESEASON TEAM

• Malaya Jones, Averi Carlson and Favor Anyanwu had been voted to the All-ACC Preseason crew by the ACC coaches.

• The 2024 Preseason Volleyball All-ACC Team consisted of 18 gamers and was voted on by the league’s head coaches.

• Pitt leads the best way with essentially the most gamers on this yr’s preseason crew, with 4 representatives. SMU, Stanford, and Louisville observe, every having three gamers listed.

 ACC PRESEASON POLL

• SMU was chosen fourth within the ACC Preseason Poll by the league’s head coaches.

• The Mustangs completed fourth within the ACC a season in the past after being picked sixth within the 2024 preseason.

• SMU trails defending ACC Champion, Pitt, then Louisville and Stanford, whereas North Carolina rounded out the highest 5 behind SMU.

 

YEAR FOUR FOR ERGER

• Head Coach Sam Erger is in yr 4 as SMU’s head volleyball coach. Erger appears to be like to proceed this system’s success with back-to-back NCAA match second-round appearances and three straight 20-win seasons —the second-longest streak in program historical past. That consists of going 16-4 within the ACC final yr. SMU has 11 whole 20-win seasons, three of that are within the three seasons below Erger.

• Erger has already taken SMU Volleyball to new heights in simply three full seasons. Before the Erger tenure, SMU had solely been to 2 NCAA Tournaments, within the 2015 and 2016 seasons. 

• Head Coach Sam Erger is 89-29 (.754) as head coach at SMU.

• Erger is 57-12 (82.6%) in convention matches on the Hilltop, profitable 15+ in every of her three seasons.

• Erger has 12 ranked wins below her belt at SMU, 4 over high 10 groups.