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SMU, Pitt Volleyball Dominate Day 3 of AVCA First Serve

 The third day of the AVCA First Serve was dominated by teams making their 2026 season debuts.

Abbie Harris

Dec 18, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA;  Pittsburgh Panthers right-side hitter Olivia Babcock (5) listens to her head coach Dan Fisher in a 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship semifinal match at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images
Dec 18, 2025; Kansas City, MO, USA;  Pittsburgh Panthers right-side hitter Olivia Babcock (5) listens to her head coach Dan Fisher in a 2025 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship semifinal match at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Each new day of the AVCA First Serve Showcase introduces new teams to the 2026 season and gives more insight into just how wild the season could be.

New lineups, old favorites, sweeps, upsets - everything fans could want from top-15 matchups.

Sunday’s schedule welcomed the No. 11 SMU Mustangs and the No. 4 Pitt Panthers in two clashes that could have long-term implications for eventual NCAA Tournament seeding.

No. 11 SMU Wins the First Battle of Texas vs No. 8 Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies were once again without star outside hitter Kyndal Stowers, due to a lingering back issue. Before the match, head coach Jamie Morrison seemed hopeful she could return, but during warmups, the team decided to protect her long-term health.

SMU swept the reigning National Champions, thanks to the connection between redshirt freshman setter Hannah Beauford and outside hitter Suli Davis, a transfer from BYU and 2025’s Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Beauford led the offense to a .310 hitting percentage in her first collegiate match, including Suli’s match-high 16 kills.

The teams started set 1 trading points before SMU got a small lead, with red-shirt freshman setter Hannah Beauford behind the service line. They stayed an arm's length away from the Aggies for most of the set until Texas A&M came within one, thanks to a small run of their own. SMU finally put the game away in extras, 27-25.

The second set started better for Texas A&M, as they strung points together for an early lead. SMU took its first lead of the set at 12-11 and never looked back. The Aggies tried to rally, but it was too little, too late as the Mustangs took the second set 25-19.

Like the first set, teams traded points and mini-runs in the third set until they reached double digits. SMU had a scary moment when junior South Carolina transfer Victoria Harris (L) stayed down after a possible lower leg injury. Thankfully, she recovered quickly and led SMU’s three-point run that ultimately put her team ahead. SMU maintained its lead, finishing the set 25-20.

The Aggies will leave the weekend 0-2. Outside hitters Natalie Ring and Megan Fitch led their offense with 13 and 10 kills, but the team, on the whole, was unable to find and maintain the rhythm needed to win a set.

SMU, on the other hand, looked as though they had been playing together for more than just one offseason thanks, in large part, to AVCA Match MVP Beauford’s 33 assists and team .301 hitting percentage. Not a bad start for a redshirt freshman’s first match.

No. 4 Pitt Comes Out on Fire Against No. 3 Kentucky

In a top-five matchup, Pitt wasted no time introducing the connection between back-to-back Player of the Year Olivia Babcock (RS) and former Freshman of the Year transfer setter Izzy Starck. Starck, in her first college volleyball game since she stepped away in September 2025, did not miss a step in Pitt’s 3-1 win over Kentucky.

Kentucky came into this match following a 3-0 sweep over No. 6 Wisconsin but almost instantly looked like a different team, as their hitters made more errors in the first set against Pitt than they did in their entire match against the Badgers. The Wildcats never found their groove, while the Panthers went on multiple small runs before pulling away with a 6-0 run and ultimately winning the set 25-14.

In the second set, Kentucky head coach Craig Skinner adjusted, substituting 5-foot-10 outside hitter Asia Thigpen for the taller, 6-foot-3 Georgia Watson to defend against Babcock and hit over Pitt’s block.

The substitution not only immediately led to a side out for Kentucky, thanks to a kill by Watson, but also shifted the momentum. The Wildcats pulled away and closed out the second set 25-21, thanks to three consecutive aces from outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye.

Pitt came roaring back in the third set, taking the lead early and never looking back. At one point, the teams were tied 9-9 before Pitt went on a 17-4 tear and won 25-13, thanks to strong serves from Stark, freshman Ayanna Watson (OH), and junior Mallorie Meyer (L).

Kentucky started its must-win fourth set stronger than any other today, with Thigpen rattling off four serves and forcing errors from Babcock. However, Pitt and Babcock were not to be denied, tying the game at 11, taking the lead, and ultimately winning the set 25-21.

Anytime Pitt plays, the word “dominant” is always applied to Babcock, and this match was no exception. She took 56 swings, 27 more than the next highest on her team, Blaire Bayless’ 29, and 14 more than Kentucky’s leading attacker, Brooklyn Deleye’s 42.

Babcock is not only dominant with volume, but also with efficiency, hitting a match-high .339.

But it was Stark, with her 41 assists, five blocks, and team .250 hitting percentage, who earned AVCA’s MVP of the match.

Welcome back to collegiate volleyball, indeed.

The AVCA concludes Monday, August 24 with Pitt vs Xavier at 5 pm CT, followed by No. 2 Texas vs Marquette at 7 pm CT, both on FS1.

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Abbie Harris
ABBIE HARRIS

Abbie Harris has been talking about women's sports to anyone who would listen, and sometimes to those who wouldn't, for as long as she can remember. She has been the host of a weekly Nebraska women's sports podcast for over a year, primarily covering volleyball, women's basketball, and softball. Harris holds three degrees, including a Ph.D. from Saint Louis.

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