SMU Ends Pitt's 58-Match Home Streak with a Block-First, Balanced Attack

Three straight matches before arriving in Pittsburgh, SMU finished with at least 12 team blocks. In the third of those matches, they blocked Pitt 12.5 times and ended a 58-match home winning streak for the No. 2 team. The third set ended 38-36. SMU, ranked No. 6, beat Pitt 3-1 in ACC play on October 7, 2026. Pitt lost its unbeaten start, and Nebraska became the only undefeated team left. SMU entered the match with a 14-match ACC winning streak, the longest active in the league, plus three top-10 wins: No. 9, No. 8 and No. 3. Five SMU players scored in double figures: Natalia Newsome 17, Suli Davis 17, Jadyn Livings 13, Favor Anyanwu 10 and Placide 10. The middle blockers combined for 27 kills on 47 swings, a .447 hitting percentage. Newsome hit .519, a career high. Livings hit .435, a season best. Davis added 9 digs and 4 blocks in her 14th double-digit kill match. Libero Victoria Harris had 20 digs and 4 aces. SMU out-blocked Pitt 12.5 to 6, a third straight match with at least 12 team blocks. Olivia Babcock scored 25 kills and 2 aces for Pitt, raising her program records to 1,853 kills and 176 aces. Pitt coach Dan Fisher said the team needed to experience those emotions. Babcock admitted the team had not met such a high standard in matches. The rematch is Sunday, October 11, on ESPN, at SMU. The question is not whether SMU can repeat the upset, but whether Pitt can stop depending on one attacker.