The Pony Express Has Arrived

Welcome to the place to get all things SMU volleyball. Just like this program jumped onto the scene mid-season, we as a fan page are coming in hot mid-season. We finished the pre-season (8-2) and just got through the brutal back-to-back with Pitt (0-2). 

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What do We know?

Malaya Jones has lived up to all the hype, winning AVCA national player of the week after week one of the season (not to be confused with week 0). She is averaging 3.71 kills per set while hitting at .313. She leads the team with two hundred total points on the season (producing a lot of offense). Right behind her is Jadyn Livings with 199 points, she is averaging 3.83 kills per set while hitting .258. One question mark coming into the season would be Livings passing, this is an area she continues to improve in to allow the offense to be extremely potent (top twenty-five hitting percentage).

Speaking of offense, Averi Carlson has been RUNNING THE SHOW! Thank you, portal, and thank you Coach Sam for being an elite recruiter. Coach Sam has been on record saying Averi is the best location setter in the country and I do not think there are many that would disagree. She is fourth in the country in assists per set. That offense can do its thing because of libero Jordan Schilling being an elite passer, not only statistically is she able to handle a lot of heat but also is asked to cover a lot of the court. 

Favor Anyanwu holds it down at the net, her defense has provided a physicality this program needed with the undersized Newsome. Favor is 17th in the country in blocks per set and I think this number will continue to climb. The staff has been working to get Favor more involved offensively as well, as shown in the most recent Pitt game where she had multiple slide attack kills. This team is most effective when their middles are heavily involved in the offense (look at the A&M match)

The Surprises! 

Natalia Newsome, if you do not know her by name then I will question your social media game. For fans of the Ponies of last year, you saw her jaw dropping hops. For the rest of the world, welcome! She is listed at 5’11 but I have seen her live and she seems to be closer to 5’9. She has blown up on social media (even getting Lebron James in on the disbelief) because of her 41’ inch vertical jump. She truly soars in the area on her attacks; it is worth the price of admission to the games alone. BUT she is not only a social media star but also become a massive weapon for the Mustangs. 

Christa Wilburn, the high school darling. Erger and staff had Christa graduate early. This raised some question marks of why? Through the first part of the season, we have the answer. Christa has shored up the back line serve receive with Schilling and Livings. She also has a WEAPON of a serve (watch the record breaking and game winner against LSU). These strengths of Wilburn have allowed other players like Kennedi Rogers and Madison Scheer to come in and provide offense when needed in the front row. Scheer is a talented player in the front that I think the staff will continue to pick and choose her spots to come in and impact games. 

Things to Consider

This team played an extremely difficult preseason schedule, according to the unofficial RPI the Ponies have the second hardest strength of schedule. In each match, they battled and never felt like they were too far away. As of right now, the same RPI currently has SMU at 9. This team controls their destiny moving forward where it does not get any easier. Still left on the schedule: Georgia Tech (19), Clemson (32), Miami (5), Louisville (4), Stanford (8), Florida State (21), and North Carolina (29). The ACC is no joke, and it is the best volleyball conference in the country this year. Buckle up and hop on the Pony Express!