SMU volleyball snapped Pitt's 58-match home winning streak on Wednesday, beating the No. 2 Panthers 3-1 at Petersen Events Center. Before the loss, Pitt's women's college volleyball squad hadn't lost at home since September 2023, marking the longest active run in the NCAA.

But the Mustangs had a record of their own to preserve. The road win was their fourth over a Top 10 opponent this season, and it didn't come easy.

SMU Launches Comeback Against Pitt in 4-Set Thriller

The No. 6 Mustangs needed to come back from a set down after Pitt took the opening frame 25-21, and they did, winning three straight — including a 38-36 third set that needed extra points to settle.

SMU got double-digit kill totals from five different players behind setter Hannah Beauford's career-high 54 assists, with Natalia Newsome and Suli Davis each posting 17. Newsome hit at a .519 clip while Davis added nine digs and four blocks.

On the other side of the ball, Favor Anyanwu controlled the backcourt with nine blocks while Victoria Harris anchored the back row with 20 digs — her second 20-dig match this season. Together they helped SMU hit .347, finishing with 61 digs to Pitt's 48 and limiting the Panthers to .252 hitting.

The win moves SMU to 13-2 overall and 5-0 in ACC play, pushing their conference winning streak to 14 straight. For Pitt it marks the women's volleyball team's first NCAA loss of the 2026 season.

The two meet again Sunday at SMU's Moody Coliseum, live on ESPN.

Nebraska volleyball closed out scheduled non-conference play with an 11-0 record and a firm hold on the No. 1 spot in the NCAA volleyball rankings, sweeping Missouri 25-10, 25-17, 25-14 at John Cook Arena. The 10,497 fans on hand for Wednesday night's win saw one of the most lopsided NCAA women's volleyball scores of the week, as the Huskers hit .380 while holding Missouri to just .020

Nebraska Offense Posts Top Non-Conference Scores as Big Ten Looms

Andi Jackson powered the front row with 10 kills while hitting .667 and zero errors across 15 swings. She also recorded six blocks, capping the first set with a solo stuff.

Harper Murray put up 10 kills of her own, extending her double-digit streak to three straight matches, while Virginia Adriano added nine. Meanwhile, Nebraska senior Bergen Reilly ran the offense with 29 assists and eight digs.

And in the back row, Laney Choboy posted a team-high 11 digs, as Olivia Mauch reached 10 — her eighth consecutive match in double figures.

The Huskers logged their 12th and 13th sets this season above .400, capping a dominant non-conference stretch. Next on the Nebraska volleyball schedule is a Big Ten opener against Rutgers on Friday at 8 PM ET.

Nebraska claimed 48 of 63 first-place votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, keeping Husker volleyball firmly atop the NCAA volleyball rankings. The team now enters Wednesday's home matchup against No. 20 Creighton women's college volleyball with a perfect record through seven matches.

But the 7-0 start didn't come without a scare.

Husker Volleyball Sweeps Baylor, Guts Out Georgia Tech Win

Nebraska dropped their first set of the season against Georgia Tech on Saturday before rallying to win in four, closing the final frame 25-12.

Their earlier match against Baylor followed a more familiar formula. The Huskers swept the Bears behind 12 kills apiece from Manaia Ogbechie and Harper Murray. Setter Bergen Reilly added a season-high 41 assists and nine digs in that match, then sealed it with three aces, including the match winner.

Nebraska's Upcoming Women's College Volleyball Schedule

After Creighton, the schedule only tightens for the Huskers.

Nebraska hosts No. 25 North Carolina on Friday before closing the week against Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. The Huskers own a 22-0 all-time record against the Bluejays, though Creighton enters with Wisconsin transfer Trinity Shadd-Ceres leading the offense at 123 kills through nine matches.

Other programs vying for a top spot in the NCAA volleyball poll include Pittsburgh, which collected the remaining 15 first-place votes at No. 2, and Louisville at No. 3. Kentucky and SMU rounded out the top five, while Big Ten rival Wisconsin sat at No. 6.

They'll all look to make moves with their schedules this week.

A year after coming up one match shy of the Final Four, Nebraska Cornhuskers women's volleyball opens 2026 atop the NCAA preseason rankings. The list, released last week, sees Kentucky and Texas follow at No. 2 and 3. Stanford, Wisconsin, Pitt, Purdue, Louisville, SMU, and Texas A&M fill out the rest of the NCAA women's volleyball Power 10 field.

Cornhuskers Lead NCAA Women's Volleyball Preseason Favorites

The case for Nebraska championship run this year starts with continuity.

Andi Jackson, Harper Murray, and Bergen Reilly all return for their final year, anchoring a group that went 33-1 last season and swept the Big Ten at 20-0 to claim a third straight league title. That run ended only when Texas A&M pushed the Huskers to five sets in a surprise regional final loss.

Right behind them, Kentucky slots in at No. 2 with its own score to settle. The 2025 national runner-up pairs returning star Brooklyn DeLeye with transfer Morgan Gaerte. The Wildcats also lead the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List heading into the season.

Last year's ACC co-champions carry momentum into the Top 10, too.

Stanford, Pitt Women's Volleyball Earn Top 10 Nods

Pitt women's volleyball checks in at No. 6 after sharing the 2025 league crown.

Meanwhile, Stanford women's volleyball sits two spots higher at No. 4. That rise follows a 29-5 finish and its first-ever ACC title, claimed alongside the Panthers. The Cardinal also topped the ACC preseason poll with 10 first-place votes.

Defending national champion Texas A&M slid to No. 10 after losing Logan Lednicky, Ifenna Cos-Okpalla, and Maddie Waak from its title-winning lineup. But Aggies returner Kyndal Stowers and transfer Natalie Ring are early picks for AVCA Player of Year so Texas A&M still looks threatening during its rebuild season.

The 2026 season opens August 21st at the AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee, with Texas A&M facing Louisville in the tournament's headline match. Teams outside the event begin regular-season play on August 28th.

College volleyball is back on the scene and the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers kicked off the 2025 NCAA season in style last weekend, defeating both the No. 3 Pitt Panthers and No. 6 Stanford Cardinal with respective 3-1 and 3-0 results in the annual AVCA First Serve event.

The weekend wins mark a hot start for incoming Nebraska head coach and former Husker Dani Busboom Kelly, as the ex-Louisville Cardinals leader aims to push her alma mater to their first NCAA title since 2017 — following in the footsteps of Nebraska's four-time national champion coach John Cook, who stepped away last January.

"Dani's an awesome coach, and we've had so much fun with her, especially in this off-season," said Nebraska junior middle blocker Andi Jackson. "It's been just really fun getting to know her as a person and as a coach, and we've done a lot of really, really cool things."

"That intro was pretty unbelievable to start off college volleyball. For them to set the stage and set the tone that this sport is big-time was awesome," Busboom Kelly added after the Huskers' season-opening win on Friday.

Hot on No. 1 Nebraska's heels in the 2025 NCAA volleyball preseason rankings is reigning champion Penn State, with the pair leading the Big Ten's charge as the conference battles battles the also-stacked ACC for domination this season.

The No. 2 Nittany Lions also started their 2025 campaign with a big weekend win, sweeping the No. 12 Creighton Bluejays on Saturday's AVCA First Serve court.

How to watch top NCAA volleyball on Monday

The AVCA First Serve season kick-off wraps with two top-ranked matchups on Monday, when No. 2 Penn State will face the No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks at 6:30 PM ET before the No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers take on the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies at 8:30 PM ET.

Both matches will air live on the Big Ten Network.