SMU outside hitter Kathryn Wilkerson (5) attempts to put the ball past Tulsa Julia Kenealy (4) and Rachel Vukson (6) in a 1-3 loss in Moody Coliseum Tuesday night to open conference play. (Stuart Palley)
The SMU volleyball team plays in its final non-conference tournament when it travels to the Denver Invitational this weekend.
The Mustangs (6-5, 0-1 Conference USA) get the tournament started with a match against winless Georgia State (0-10) at 5 p.m. Friday. The competition gets much stiffer Saturday when defending Mountain West Conference champion and 2007 NCAA Tournament participant Nevada-Las Vegas (4-5) comes calling at 11 a.m. Saturday evening, the Mustangs wrap up the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. showdown against the host Denver Pioneers (7-2).
The Mustangs are coming off a disappointing loss to conference rival Tulsa last Wednesday at Moody Coliseum. The match was tied 1-1 after two sets, but the Golden Hurricane eked out the last two sets for the win.
Despite the loss, SMU has plenty to be happy about going into this weekend’s tournament. Four freshmen have looked impressive early this season, and the Mustangs have played strong defense-especially up front.
Junior Kendra Kahanek leads the team in blocks (45) and attack percentage (.291). Her partners on the front line, senior Natalie Peters and freshman Jessica Oliver, have combined for 54 blocks.
On the back row, freshman libero Sidney Stewart leads the team with 171 digs, followed by another freshman, Dana Powell, who has 140.
Freshmen Powell, Stewart, Oliver and Becerra all are starting and appear to be relatively comfortable with head coach Lisa Seifert’s style. Sophomore co-captain Kathryn Wilkerson leads the team in kills (131) and service aces (11).
The Mustangs face the seemingly perfect bounce-back opponent in Georgia State. The Panthers have won only two of their 29 sets this season and don’t have a senior on the roster.
UNLV, despite its meager record, has had some impressive victories. The Rebels beat Baylor (who defeated the Mustangs 3-0 early this season in Waco) and Arizona State, but lost to No. 12 Wisconsin in five sets. The Rebels are led offensively by junior Jessica Walters, who has 131 kills.
The Pioneers were champions of the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division in 2007 and have beaten power conference teams Arkansas, Virginia, Iowa and Tennessee. The Pioneers are hitting .238 and have held opponents to a .158 attack percentage. Three players have more than 20 blocks this season. Senior Holly Benson leads the team with 102 kills and 116 digs.
