SMU Beats No. 2 Pitt, Ending a 58-Match Home Winning Streak

There are sets that run so long you forget the score, remembering only the taut feeling after each touch. SMU's third set against Pittsburgh stretched to 38-36, and only when the final whistle blew did I realize I had been holding my breath.

I remember an afternoon in Bhubaneswar in 2026. A twenty-year-old Thai 400m hurdler broke the national record in 49.87 seconds. I wrote about him as a future SEA Games star. Three months later, he tore a hamstring in training and never returned to his peak. Since then, whenever I witness a long unbeaten run, I ask myself what will happen on the day it ends.

Pittsburgh's 58-match home winning streak was one such asset. It lasted long enough for people to forget how fragile it was. Last Wednesday, No. 6 SMU came to town, won in four sets, and ended both the streak and Pitt's unbeaten start to the season.

This was an ACC conference match — the top conference in U.S. women's college volleyball. With the result, SMU improved to 5-0 in ACC play while Pitt fell to 4-1. The teams meet again on Sunday, October 11, broadcast on ESPN — a sign the matchup's appeal has outgrown a single conference.

The result needs context. SMU has now beaten four top-10 teams this season: No. 3, No. 8, No. 9, and now No. 2. They also hold a 14-match ACC winning streak, the longest among active teams. At the other end, Nebraska remains the only unbeaten team, holding the No. 1 ranking. According to data from NCAA.com compiled by Volleyballmag.com, this was Pitt's first home loss in 58 matches.

Look at the stat sheet and the block is the brightest point. SMU out-blocked Pitt 12.5–6, its third consecutive match with at least 12 team blocks. In U.S. college volleyball, blocks use a half-point convention when two players combine, so 12.5 is a valid figure. What matters is repetition: three straight matches — a systemic trend.

Alongside the block came middle-hitter efficiency. SMU's middle group recorded 27 kills on 47 swings, a .447 clip. Natalia Newsome hit .519 with 17 kills — a career high. These are excellent numbers for a four-set match.

More telling still is the spread of the offense. SMU placed five players in double-digit kills: Newsome 17, Suli Davis 17, Jadyn Livings 13, Placide 10, and Favor Anyanwu 10. Such balance prevents opponents from loading the block on a single arm. Davis, a sophomore, added 9 digs and 4 blocks. Livings hit .435, her season best. Libero Victoria Harris recorded 20 digs and 4 aces — her second career 20-dig match, tying her career high in aces. Anyanwu came close to a double-double with 10 kills and 9 blocks.

On the other side, Olivia Babcock scored 25 kills with 2 aces, extending her career totals to 1,853 kills and 176 aces — both Pitt program records. But when a team surrenders a 12.5–6 block edge, funneling nearly half its attack through one player signals a missing second option under pressure.

The 38-36 third set says a great deal. A set stretching far beyond 25 points usually means both teams kept scoring in decisive situations. That set was decided by final-ball execution and fewer errors. The win-by-two, no-cap rule is what produces such marathon sets — testing roster depth, defensive composure, and timely serving. A sports storyteller need not speak loudly, only at the right moment.

The "giant-killer" narrative is appealing, but it obscures something more interesting. A 58-match home streak tells a story about strength, and at the same time about comfort. Win long enough in one place and you forget the feeling of being backed into a corner. Coach Dan Fisher's team had gone a season rarely tested emotionally, and Fisher himself admitted the team needed to "experience those emotions." That is a management signal: he is building resilience rather than reacting in panic.

Babcock also reflected: the team had not yet met a high standard in matches. That is a healthy form of self-awareness, the kind that keeps a group from fracturing after a loss. To call SMU a one-night phenomenon is to misread the data. Four top-10 wins and a 14-match conference streak are the marks of a program that has genuinely reached the national tier.

On a wider scale, the result matters to the whole U.S. college volleyball system. The NCAA is the primary feeder for the U.S. national team and for emerging pro leagues such as LOVB and PVF. A win like SMU's thickens a program's recruiting file and shows that the top tier is growing more crowded and unpredictable.

Sunday's rematch will be the next inflection point: a Pitt win resets the story, while another SMU win turns them from challenger into genuine contender. Old footage moves slower than a live feed but remembers longer. A fragile record endures only when touched with reverence, not the urge to break it. What is worth remembering in Pittsburgh is how both teams chose to move forward after a streak closed.