SMU Volleyball Returns Home To Face Rice And Houston
DALLAS (SMU) – The Mustangs return to Moody Coliseum Friday for the first time since hosting the Doubletree Classic on the first weekend in September. The weekend slate pits SMU against Rice Friday at 7 p.m., and the Mustangs face Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m.
SMU is 2-1 at home this season, and the last time SMU was in Moody Coliseum, the Mustangs set a school-record with 130 digs in a 3-2 win over Alabama. SMU is 21st in the NCAA in digs this season, led by Sidney Stewart, who is 20th in the country with 5.36 per set. Kelli Becerra recently recorded her 1,000th-career dig, and Dana Powell is in the top-10 in Conference USA with 3.89 per set.
The Owls have a 7-7 record overall, 2-1 in Conference USA, and have won four of their last five matches. Three Owls average more than two kills per set, led by Nancy Cole’s 2.7 kills per set. Megan White leads the team with 4.92 digs per set, while setter Megan Murphy averages 10.5 assists per set. Rice has played six matches on the road this season, four at neutral sites, and is just 2-4 in those matches.
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Houston comes into the weekend with a 10-3 record, 3-0 in C-USA, and has won seven of its last eight. The Cougars are led by Stephanie Nwachukwu, 2.98, and Katie Norris, 2.96, who each average just less than three kills per set. Natalie Keck averages a team-high 4.32 digs per set, and Caitlin Ogletree scores 10.54 assists per set.
IN THE PAST
The Mustangs are 11-19 all-time against Rice and 7-10 all-time against Houston. SMU has taken the last three matches from the Owls, winning two-in-a-row in Moody Coliseum, and the Mustangs have won four of the last five overall against the Cougars. The Mustangs and Owls have met twice a year since SMU started a program in 1996. The first meeting was a 3-1 Rice win on Oct. 24,1996. The Owls won both matches in SMU’s inaugural season, but SMU evened the series in 1997. SMU and Houston first met on Sept. 23, 1998, with the Cougars taking a 3-0 victory. Houston won the first seven matches, but the Mustangs are 7-3 in the last five years.
