Baden Pronounce

Since the program's inception in 1996, Lisa Seifert has served as the lone coach of the SMU Volleyball program. Seifert, currently entering her 15th season (2010) with the Mustangs, has built SMU from the early beginnings into a team in the national spotlight. She has coached players 21 All-Conference honorees and two All-Americans. Mustang athletes have not only excelled on the court under Seifert, but also in the classroom, where 76 student-athletes have been awarded Academic All-Conference Honors. Building a program from the ground up is an arduous process, but Seifert has laid the ground work for a volleyball program that continues to rise. As the veritable architect of the SMU Volleyball program, Coach Seifert has overseen the Mustangs rise over the beginning hurdles to a team of national prominence. Seifert's first SMU team, composed of freshmen and a pair of junior college transfers, fought its way to being only one win away from earning the final seed in the 1996 WAC Tournament. The Mustangs finished 15-19 in 1997, marking an eight-win improvement from the 1996 squad. SMU won its WAC Quad in 1997, and impressively posted a 5-1 record against Rice, TCU, Tulsa and NCAA Tournament qualifier Arkansas-Little Rock during the year. SMU followed with a 14-17 record in 1998. The 1999 season was monumental in Mustang history as SMU eclipsed 20-win mark by posting a 20-13 record, despite a demanding schedule that featured nine matches against NCAA Tournament teams. It was the Mustangs' first taste of national prominence as a program. The team accomplished many firsts during the year, including the team's first winning record and an at-the-time school-best 9-3 home record. During the season, Seifert reached a milestone of her own when she earned her 50th coaching victory during SMU's 3-1 win at Rice on Oct. 28, 1999. In 2000, SMU set a program record for attendance when 1,455 fans witnessed the Mustangs' 3-0 sweep of the Texas Longhorns in Moody Coliseum. The win not only solidified the Mustangs' place as a contender in the state of Texas, but also marked its first win over one of the nation's most elite programs.Seifert also graduated her first four-year class in 2001, with a pair of Mustangs, Leslie Olson and Erin Pryor, ending their careers ranked among WAC career leaders in assists and kills. The 2001 campaign saw SMU notch its first win over a regionally-ranked foe, when the Mustangs edged San Jose State, 3-2. The team finished with a winning record and had five All-WAC selections, including all three seniors, with two Mustangs, Tara Hatfield and Janna Newsom, becoming the first players to gather All-WAC first-team honors. With the loss of the three key seniors, the Mustangs entered into rebuilding mode in 2002, with four freshmen seeing significant playing time. Seifert still managed the Mustangs to 12 wins and a WAC Tournament berth despite the inexperienced roster. The playing time gained by the youthful roster laid the foundation for success in the coming years. SMU once again rose to prominence during the 2003 season as Seifert's team won 23 games with five of her players being named All-WAC athletes. Seifert was rewarded as WAC Coach of the Year for having led the Ponies to an amazing 11-2 conference record and the Eastern Division Championship. The 2004 season saw the Mustangs complete its final season in the WAC while battling injuries to key players. SMU ended the season at 14-14 with Beth Karasek being named a unanimous All-WAC selection. In 2005, SMU saw a transition into another conference as the Mustangs joined Conference USA. The Mustangs depended on the combination of a consistent returning class and the addition of talented newcomers to guide them through the season. The Mustangs went 13-16 overall and 8-7 in their inaugural season of C-USA. The team notched the nation's 23rd-highest number of digs per game while freshman Natalie Peters ranked 34th in the nation in blocks per game. In 2006, the Seifert-led Mustangs compiled an overall record of 17-15 and notched several milestones in the process. The 2006 season saw SMU host its first nationally-televised match at Moody Coliseum on Nov. 10, when the Mustangs hosted Houston. With a win over UTA on Sept. 1, the Mustangs along with Seifert recorded the program's 150th win. Junior outside hitter Rachel Giubilato led the Mustangs and was ranked nationally in kills per game. Freshmen Kendra Kahanek and Candice Davis joined Giubilato in rewriting the SMU record book in more than 10 different statistical categories. SMU started the season with a then program-best six wins, including a victory over Texas Tech, to kick off the 2007 season. The Ponies were 10-3 heading into the championship match at the New Hampshire Invitational, when outside hitter and team captain Giubilato went down with a career-ending knee injury. The Mustangs were forced to rely heavily on All-Freshman outside hitter Kathryn Wilkerson and senior co-captain Caitlin Rainbird. Seifert's team accumulated numerous statistically meaningful performances during the year, compiled a 16-15 overall record and progressed to the C-USA Tournament. The 2008 rotation, led by two seniors and two juniors, saw four freshman regularly in the starting lineup. The Mustangs went 14-17 on the season, but the experience and maturity gained by the four freshmen firmly established the foundation for success in the following years. The 2009 season saw a Seifert-led squad produce an impressive 19-12 record behind the program's first All-American Honorable Mentions in sophomore Dana Powell and senior Kendra Kahanek. As a whole, the Mustangs' defense set a SMU single-season record with 317.5 blocks in just 121 games, while minimizing its opponents to 223.5 team blocks. The Mustangs were particularly tough at home, winning 12 of 14 games in Moody Coliseum. Seifert joined SMU after six years as assistant coach at Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders compiled an overall record of 128-62 during Seifert's tenure, with NCAA tournament appearances from 1990-92 and regional semifinal berths in 1990 and 1991. A 1978 graduate of Saint Francis (Minn.) High School, Seifert held volleyball, softball, track and basketball coaching jobs at several different colleges and high schools in Colorado, Wisconsin and Minnesota from 1982-86. In addition to coaching, Seifert serves as the chair for the D1 Midwest Region Awards responsible for the AVCA All-Region and All-America selections. Seifert earned her B.S. in physical education in 1983 from Winona State (Minn.) University, where she played volleyball and softball, and added a master's degree in physical education from Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1987.