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 claimed the first-ever Spikes Under the Lights title on Thursday, sweeping two matches at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The No. 1 Huskers never dropped a set, and earned $350,000 for the exhibition win.
Nebraska Volleyball Makes a Statement Against SMU
Nebraska dominated the final against SMU volleyball from the first serve, winning 21-12 and 21-11. Teraya Sigler paced the attack with 7 kills, while Harper Murray added 6 kills and 5 digs. Setter Bergen Reilly ran the offense with 21 assists.
Together, the Huskers hit .339 while SMU managed just .068.
Earlier, Nebraska outlasted Florida volleyball 2-0 in a tighter semifinal. Sigler again led with 6 kills, while Andi Jackson provided a spark with 5 kills on .571 hitting.
"There were definitely some game one jitters, even though it was just an exhibition, it felt very real," Reilly said of her team's performance.
"And I think just seeing how well we adapted and learned and grew from that first game to that second game was the best part for a lot of us."
NCAA Women's Volleyball Makes History with Spikes Under the Lights
The four-team showcase put college volleyball under an NFL stadium roof for the first time, drawing 40,000 fans and a $1 million purse.
Nebraska heads to Las Vegas next, opening regular-season play against UNLV on Saturday.
Spikes Under the Lights is set, as organizers announced the $1 million college volleyball exhibition’s August 27th slate this week. The contest pits Nebraska against Florida and Penn State against SMU inside Dallas’s AT&T Stadium.
The Nittany Lions arrive with a record 45 NCAA tournament appearances and eight national titles. However, the Huskers counter with 44 appearances and five championships.
The Gators round out the field with 36 NCAA appearances. Meanwhile, SMU rides three straight tournament berths into the made-for-TV event.
The three-match, best-of-three set format features two first-round winners advancing to a final showdown, all tailored to fit into a three-hour primetime window.
Each program automatically collects a $200,000 appearance fee, before battling for another $200,000 in prize money split between the champion and runner-up.
“This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season,” Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly said.
“It should be an awesome night and hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas.”
NCAA volleyball continues its rapid growth with the inaugural Spikes Under the Lights exhibition at AT&T Stadium, as Nebraska, Florida, Penn State, and SMU headline the $1 million mini-tournament.
The made-for-TV event marks the Dallas NFL stadium's first women's college volleyball competition. Two semifinals and a championship match will take place within a three-hour broadcast window, all played in best-of-three formats.
Each NCAA volleyball team receives a $200,000 appearance fee. An additional $200,000 in prize money will be distributed based on tournament finish.
"We are excited and honored to be part of this historic event that showcases the continued growth of women's volleyball," Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly said in a team statement.
"This will be a great opportunity to face some talented teams in an iconic setting as we ramp up to the start of the season. Hopefully a lot of Husker fans will be able to experience it with us in Dallas."
'Spikes Under the Lights' Underlines NCAA Volleyball Boom
Nebraska volleyball already knows how to fill big venues, after the Huskers drew a women's sports record 92,003 fans to a 2023 outdoor match at Memorial Stadium.
Penn State currently holds the record for NCAA tournament appearances with 45, alongside eight national championship titles. Nebraska has competed in 44 tournaments and won five titles, while Florida lists 36 appearances. Recent powerhouse SMU has subsequently reached three consecutive NCAA tournaments, and five overall.
AT&T Stadium seats more than 100,000 fans for special events. Organizers of the August 27th exhibition are shooting to overtake Nebraska's attendance record.
With half of the Elite Eight now set, a few Big Ten underdogs still have a shot at disrupting the No. 1 seed stronghold at the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend.
The No. 3-seed Purdue Boilermakers are through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 2-seed SMU 3-1 on Thursday, while the No. 4-seed Indiana Hoosiers, No. 3 seed-Wisconsin Badgers, and the still-undefeated overall No. 1 seed Nebraska Cornhuskers all face stiff Sweet Sixteen competition on Friday afternoon.
Coming off a strong regular season, the Big Ten could still field half of the quarterfinal round — though that would require the first No. 1-seed upset of the 2025 national tournament in the form of an Indiana victory over top-seeded Texas.
Bolstered by their defensive leader, senior middle blocker Madi Sell, the Hoosiers booked just their second-ever Sweet Sixteen trip with last week's win over No. 5 Colorado, with Indiana now hoping their lucky run continues against the 2022 and 2023 champion Longhorns.
Meanwhile, the No. 1 Huskers will look to keep rolling against No. 4-seed Kansas while the No. 3 Badgers aim to snag another Big Ten spot in the Elite Eight by ousting No. 2-seed Stanford on Friday.
How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this weekend
The NCAA volleyball tournament's Sweet Sixteen action will wrap with four games on Friday, starting with No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Indiana at 12 PM ET.
The Elite Eight will then meet at the net on Saturday and Sunday to determine the last-standing teams heading to next week's Final Four in Kansas City.
All of this weekend's NCAA tournament games will air live across ESPN platforms.