Sept. 16, 2009

DALLAS (SMU) - The Mustangs stride into the 2009 Doubletree Classic on a four-game winning streak after defeating TCU for the inaugural Iron Spike and downing Montana, Arizona State and North Dakota for the title at the Montana Invitational.

Led by C-USA Players of the Week Dana Powell and Sidney Stewart, the Mustangs will host Texas State, Syracuse and William and Mary in the Doubletree Classic in Moody Coliseum Friday and Saturday.

SMU will take on a trio of teams with a combined record of 17-13 this season, highlighted by an 8-2 Syracuse team. Syracuse is led by middle blocker Sarah Morton, whose 1.78 blocks per set rank first in the country. She has 64 blocks and 106 kills in 36 sets this season. The Mustangs will take on the Orange at 7:30 p.m. Friday night. The Mustangs are 2-0 against Syracuse, with the last meeting going to five sets before SMU took a 3-2 win on Sept. 14, 2007.

Up first for the Mustangs is Texas State, under the direction of legendary head coach Karen Chisum, whose 679 wins rank eighth among active head coaches. Chisum is in her 30th year at the helm of the Bobcats' program, winning three NCAA Championships. The Bobcats are off to a slow start this year, however, posting a 4-8 record. The Mustangs will take on Texas State in their first match of the tournament at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The meeting is just the third, with Texas State taking the second match 3-1 on Sept. 5, 1998 to even the series 1-1.

The Mustangs will close out the Doubletree Classic at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against William and Mary, the only team in the field SMU has never faced. William and Mary enters the competition with a 7-3 record. Melissa Aldrich Shelton is in her second season as the coach of her alma mater. Shelton led the Tribe to a 19-9 record last season.

While the field is full of legendary coaches and statistical leaders, SMU has their own share of star power. Head coach Lisa Seifert reached 200 wins with the Mustangs' 3-0 victory over North Dakota, and Dana Powell leads Conference USA with 4.13 kills per set. Kelli Becerra is third in the conference with 10.21 assists per set, and libero Sidney Stewart and middle blocker Kendra Kahanek rank eighth in their key categories. Stewart averages 4.11 digs per set, while Kahanek averages 1.04 blocks per set.