This weekend, the SMU volleyball team will play two of its last three games of the 2008-09 season before the Conference USA championships begin. Friday, the Mustangs travel to New Orleans to face off against Tulane at 7 p.m. Following Friday’s match, the team will fly to El Paso to face off against the UTEP Miners.
Going into this weekend, SMU holds a conference record of 5-8 and an overall record of 13-14. Last weekend, the Mustangs went 1-1 at home, displaying impressive stats offensively and defensively along with recording 29 blocks.
The Green Wave has been exceptional in the last half of the season, going undefeated in its last eight matches. Tulane, which owns the 13th best NCAA R.P.I., proves to be a difficult feat for SMU, which has been struggling in conference play this season.
Last time SMU faced Tulane, it was swept at Moody Coliseum on Oct. 12 with senior middle blocker Jen Linder recording a .909 attack percentage and an error-free game. The Mustangs’ junior hitter Kendra Kahanek shone on offense leading the team with nine kills and a .417 hitting percentage, and senior Natalie Peters led SMU’s front-line defense with three solo blocks.
The Miners have been struggling this season, going only 2-11 in conference play. Mustangs faced UTEP earlier this season, where they picked apart the Miners, winning in a five set battle. For the Miners, outside hitter Amy Sanders led the offense with 20 kills and 21 digs. In the match, SMU’s Stephanie Kons led the offensive attack with 31 assists and six kills.
The Mustangs recently have stepped it up in the blocks department in recent games. Peters has continued to smash previous SMU records with her strong blocking, and Kahenek has steadily stayed on the NCAA top blocks per set list this season. Together they recorded more than half of the team blocks against Houston with a combined 12.
Another strong weekend from setter Kelli Becerra would be important to this weekend’s success. Becerra has been productive lately, recording a combined 87 assists last time the Mustangs were on the road.
