Babcock Sets Two School Records In No. 2 Pitt Loss To No. 6 SMU

Wednesday, October 7

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM

Pitt

14-1,4-1ACC

SMU

13-2,5-0ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
SMU	21	25	38	25	3
Pittsburgh	25	19	36	22	1

Babcock Sets Two School Records In No. 2 Pitt Loss To No. 6 SMU

10/7/2026 10:48:00 PM | Volleyball

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PITTSBURGH, PA. – Olivia Babcock broke a pair of Pitt career records Wednesday but the Panthers, ranked No. 2 in the country, lost for the first time in 2026, falling to No. 6 SMU 21-25, 25-19, 38-36, 25-22.

Babcock broke the program's career record in both service aces and kills, but the milestones were bittersweet as Pitt fell to 14-1 on the season and 4-1 in ACC play. SMU improved to 13-2 on the year and 5-0 in the conference as the Mustangs won for the seventh consecutive match.

Pitt will have an opportunity to correct and learn from its mistakes as the two teams will turn around and face each other in Dallas Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN.

FIRST SET

Tied at 3-3, Pitt scored three straight to take a lead it would not relinquish.
The Panthers led by as many as seven after back-to-back kills from Blaire Bayless made it 14-7.
SMU got back within two at 16-14 and still trailed by just two at 23-21. After a service error, Olivia Babcock posted a kill for the 25-21 win.

SECOND SET

Pitt scored seven of the first 10 points to jump out to a 7-3 lead, but SMU battled back.
Trailing 11-9, SMU went on a 4-0 run to grab the lead.
SMU pushed the lead to four at 22-18, forcing a Pitt timeout.
The Mustangs closed out the set for the 25-19 win to even the match.

THIRD SET

Neither team built a lead larger than two points through the early stages of the set, but SMU used a 4-0 run to turn a 10-8 deficit into a 12-10 lead.
The Mustangs pushed ahead 18-14 but Pitt clawed back.
Blaire Bayless and Jordyn Dailey had back-to-back kills to make it 20-18.
At 22-19, SMU had a service error followed by an assisted block from Abbey Emch and Izzy Starck that made it 22-21.
SMU recorded a kill but Ayanna Watson terminated an overpass and SMU followed with an attack error to tie the score at 23-23.
SMU had a kill, which was neutralized by an Olivia Babcock kill to tie it at 24-24. SMU then hit wide but got a block at the net to knot the score at 25-25.
A service error by SMU gave Pitt another set point but another block tied it at 26-26.
SMU followed with a service error but yet another Mustangs block made it 27-27.
A third consecutive SMU service error put Pitt ahead 28-27 but the Mustangs answered with a kill for 28-28.
SMU had a chance to take the lead but hit wide. The Mustangs won a joust at the net and the score was tied again, 29-29.
SMU got a solo block and then apparently won the set when Pitt was called for four touches. Upon review, the call was overturned and the point was replayed. Izzy Starck posted a solo block and the set was tied, 30-30.
After a Pitt service error, Babcock had a kill to make it 31-31.
SMU answered with a kill but Babcock terminated a pass from Starck for 32-32.
The Mustangs got a kill for the lead but a service error tied it again, 33-33.
SMU took the lead again with a kill but another service error had the score at 34-34.
Babcock got a kill that put Pitt ahead 35-34 but SMU responded in kind to make it 35-35.
Jordyn Dailey slammed home an overpass but SMU tied it with a kill once more.
SMU closed out the set with a pair of kills for the 38-36 win.

FOURTH SET

Pitt responded to the third set defeat quickly in the fourth, scoring the first three points of the frame.
An Olivia Babcock ace made it 5-1 but SMU fought back, tying the score at 7-7 on a four-point run.
SMU used a 3-0 run to take its first lead of the frame, 12-10, but Pitt tied it at 13-13 on a Babcock kill and an SMU attack error.
Pitt wrangled the lead back, 15-14, as SMU called a timeout.
Tied at 15-15, Abbey Emch had a kill for Pitt followed by an attack error by SMU to put the Panthers ahead by two.
SMU came right back with three straight points to go ahead 18-17.
The Mustangs reached 20 first but Babcock posted her 24^th kill to tie it at 20-20 and Maaike Heilig and Izzy Starck combined on a block to put Pitt ahead.
SMU responded with three in a row for the 23-21 advantage, forcing a Pitt timeout.
The Mustangs got a block for the 24-21 lead and the Panthers used their second timeout.
Pitt wasn't quite done as Babcock recorded a kill on the next point

NOTABLE

The 38-36 third set is believed to be the highest scoring set in the Dan Fisher era (dating back to at least 2013). That frame saw 21 ties and six lead changes.
Olivia Babcock had a match-high 25 kills, adding seven digs, two aces and two blocks. The 25 kills give her 1,864 for her career, breaking the previous Pitt career mark of 1,852 set by Diana Andreyko from 2004-07. The two aces give her 177 for her career, breaking the previous Pitt career record of 175 set by Lindsey Zitzke from 2011-14.
Blaire Bayless added 13 kills and Ayanna Watson had 10 with a .333 attack percentage.
Izzy Starck handed out 47 assists and finished with eight digs and three blocks.
Mallorie Meyer had a team-high 11 digs, followed by Izzy Masten and Starck with eight apiece.
Abbey Emch tied Starck for team-high honors with three blocks.
Pitt entered the match as the nation's leader in attack percentage at .325, but was held to just .252 on the evening. SMU, though, hit .347.
The Panthers had their consecutive sets won streak ended at 28 in a row.
Pitt now holds a 3-2 lead in the all-time series between the two programs.

UP NEXT

No. 2 Pitt will travel to Dallas to face No. 6 SMU again. This match takes place Sunday at 3 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Pitt then returns home to host Florida State on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. and Miami on Sunday, Oct. 18 at noon.