Box Score | Photo Gallery

PITTSBURGH, PA. (SMU) – The No. 15 SMU volleyball fell to No. 1 Pitt (15-0, 5-0 ACC) with set scores of 25-17, 25-18, and 25-9 Wednesday night, snapping their seven-game win streak and handing SMU their first ACC loss. With Wednesday's result, the Mustangs moved to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in the ACC.
 
Naya Shime led the Mustangs with six kills, followed by Natalie Foster and Maya Tabron, who each logged five kills in the loss. Celia Cullen dished out 21 assists and led the team in digs with seven Wednesday night.

Foster added two more service aces to her season total, putting her at 37 for the season. She entered the match first in the ACC and top-10 in the country in total aces. 

Pitt outhit the Mustangs, .109 to .427, and had the edge in kills (43-23), blocks (8-4) and digs (44-28). 

MATCH NOTES:

• Wednesday's matchup was the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Mustangs finished their seven-game road skid 6-1 and 4-1 against conference opponents.
• SMU will be back at Moody Coliseum for five straight home matches starting Saturday against Pitt. They will host three teams that are currently in the AVCA top-25. 
• SMU moved to 3-2 against ranked opponents this season.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE | SMU worked to gain an 8-6 lead to open the match, but Pitt flexed their muscle with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 12-8 advantage and force a timeout by the Mustangs to talk things over. Pitt added another to the run before a service error by the Panthers and ace from Foster, plus a point on a bad set, which forced Pitt to call a timeout, as SMU cut their deficit down to three. Out of the timeout, Pitt rallied for four straight to take an 18-11 lead. A block from Okammor and Cullen stopped the bleeding momentarily, but the Panthers put together three more to take a 21-12 advantage. SMU showed great fight down the stretch, but their deficit was too much to overcome, as Pitt took a 25-17 set one win.  
 
SET TWO | The second set started like the first, as both teams went back and forth for points. Three straight from the Mustangs put them up 21-11 on kills from Cullen and Tabron, along with an ace by Foster. The lead, however, was short-lived as the Panthers went on a massive 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead (20-12). SMU clawed back to within five on a kill from Okammor, but Pitt closed the set with four of the final six points to win the second frame 25-18.  

SET THREE | SMU took a 4-2 lead early in set three thanks to a 3-0 run ending on back-to-back aces by Tabron. However, Pitt went on another large run, scoring eight straight to leap ahead 10-4. The Mustangs regrouped momentarily midway through the third set. A kill from Foster made the set score 16-8. However, Pitt got going again to close out the match, ending the frame with a 9-1 run to win the set 25-9.
 
SMU LEADERS:
SMU Kills Leader:  Naya Shime (6)
SMU Assist Leader: Celia Cullen (21)
SMU Digs Leader: Celia Cullen (7)
SMU Blocks Leader: Natalia Newsome/Celia Cullen (2)
SMU Ace Leader: Maya Tabron (3)
 
UP NEXT:    
SMU Volleyball will get another crack at No. 1 Pittsburgh, this time at Moody Coliseum, on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT, with the match airing on the ACCNX. For all things SMU Volleyball, follow the program on Instagram, X, and Facebook.