Kendra Kahanek (7) and Caitlin Rainbird (8) go up to attempt a block against UTSA earlier in the season. (Stuart Palley)

After three straight games on the road, the Mustangs will return to Moody Coliseum this weekend for a pair of Conference USA games.

SMU is just 1-3 through its first four conference games, but have played against Tulane and Marshall, two of the top teams in the conference. But this weekend doesn’t get much easier.

The Mustangs start the weekend off Friday night against the Rice Owls.

The Owls come into the game with a better conference record, but SMU has an advantage overall. Rice (8-8, 3-1) has defeated Houston, UCF and Southern Miss, with its loss coming against the Houston Cougars when the two teams first met.

The Owls and the Mustangs match up at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The second game of the weekend is against Houston on Sunday afternoon.

Houston and Rice are tied for second in the conference behind Tulane and Marshall. Houston will come into the weekend well rested. Before playing Tulsa tonight, the Cougars have had a week off.

That means when the weekend is over, the Mustangs will have faced the top four teams in the conference in five games.

Leading the Mustangs are Natalie Peters on offense and Candice Davis on defense. SMU continues to play without Rachel Giubilato, who has missed the past three games because of a leg injury.

The Mustangs face Rice Friday at 7 p.m. and Houston on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.