SMU volleyball hosted Arkansas State, TCU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M for their spring Dallas Power Invite on April 26.
The invite is hosted annually on the same weekend as one of the country’s largest club-level volleyball tournaments: the Adidas Lone Star Classic. The Lone Star Classic hosts over 2,500 volleyball teams from around the country for athletes in both elementary, middle and high school.
SMU head volleyball coach Sam Erger said that they align the invite with the Lone Star Classic because it gives SMU an opportunity to display their talent before some of the best high school players in the country.
“A lot of those kids [competing at the Lone Star Classic] are kids from out-of-state that we’re recruiting that wouldn’t normally have a chance to come see our campus or see our team,” Erger said. “It became a win-win for the other teams, because it’s the same thing for A&M and Oklahoma. It’s a chance for their recruits to see them [play].” Not only is the invite a great recruiting tactic, but also a sponsorship opportunity for brands that want to break into the volleyball market. Kendra Scott, an Austin-based jewelry company sponsored this year’s invite. The athletes received gift boxes with Kendra Scott jewelry for competing.
The day consisted of five games between the various teams, with SMU and Arkansas State starting gameplay at 10 a.m.
The Mustangs won all three sets, playing their signature aggressive and scrappy volleyball.
“We had a really good turnout for the 10 a.m. game. [Moody Coliseum] was full, it was rockin’,” Erger said.
The second game between Arkansas State and TCU came a bit closer. After losing the first set, the Arkansas State huddle tried to regroup.
“We need to remember it’s the spring. Yeah, we wanna win, but we also need to have fun,” Arkansas State defensive specialist Libby Gee-Weiler said.
For being the only team not in a power conference (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12), the Arkansas State red wolves held their own, only losing their sets to the Big 12 ‘s Horned Frogs by less than six points per set.
The third game was a win for A&M in four sets over Oklahoma. The fourth game was a four-setter between TCU and Oklahoma, with the Horned Frogs pulling out the win.
The fifth and final game between Texas A&M and SMU resulted in a sweep by the Aggies, three sets to none.
The teams selected for the invite have established themselves as volleyball programs with a large following and reputation for intense gameplay to draw a crowd and highlight college volleyball culture.
Erger has big goals for the invite. Not only is it a good way for recruits to experience a team’s culture, but it’s an opportunity to provide entertainment to the Dallas and wider Texas community. The crowd at the 10 a.m. and 30pm games featured elementary through high school volleyball teams there to have fun and watch high-level volleyball.
“I want every little girl in Dallas to grow up rooting for us,” Erger said. “We want to win Dallas.”
Sisters Madilyn and Kaydin Farrell and their friend Shelby Folmar drove nearly two hours from East Texas for the invite.
“We’re gonna be here all afternoon,” Folmar said. “[We’re most excited about] the A&M and SMU game. That’s top [priority].”
All three play on their local high school team and wore A&M Aggie shirts.
“We just love college volleyball,” Kaydin Farrell said.
Kaydin, the older of the two sisters, has two years left of high school and has already started considering where she wants to play in college. Texas A&M is her top choice.
Because the school volleyball season is in the fall, the Dallas Power Invite gives opportunities to athletes like Farrell to watch live gameplay of schools she’s interested in without missing her own season.
“I think it’s really awesome that the community can come out and interact with our team. To me, it’s such a cool thing,” Erger said. “I hope it grows every year.”
