UNIVERSITY PARK – SMU’s historic volleyball season continued Saturday at Moody Coliseum with one of the biggest upsets of the season.

No. 15 SMU (13-4, 5-1) defeated No. 1 Pitt (15-1, 5-1) 3-2, handing the nation’s top team its first loss of the year.

Winning a set alone would have been a victory for the Mustangs, as Pitt had only lost one set in 15 games since the start of the season. Pitt had defeated SMU when the teams met in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

After Pitt won the first set 25-19 on Saturday, the Mustangs managed to build a narrow lead and extend it to a 25-22 victory in the second set.

Pitt responded dominantly in the third set, winning 25-13. Pitt players Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock posed significant challenges for the Mustangs, finishing the game with 17 and 16 kills, respectively.

But SMU was resilient and responded in the fourth set. The Mustangs built a 7-2 lead before Pitt came back to tie the game at 12-12. SMU managed to rebound and claim a 25-23 win, giving Pitt a five-set win for the first time this season.

In the fifth set, SMU took a 5-2 lead. Pitt recovered, but Natalie Foster took the set and the match with a service ace, her fifth of the match.

The Moody Coliseum crowd roared as the Mustangs earned their biggest win in program history, eclipsing their victory over No. 2 Nebraska earlier this season.

Graduate student Naya Shime had an outstanding day for SMU, finishing with a match-high 20 kills to go, six digs and five blocks. Outside attacker Maya Tabron added 11 kills, 10 digs and four blocks, while Nnedi Okammor posted a game-high 12 blocks in addition to eight kills.

The Mustangs have been nationally ranked for the past four weeks after never earning a top-25 ranking in their first 27 seasons. They could be poised for their first top-10 finish in program history this week.

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