UNIVERSITY PARK — After the biggest win in program history against No. 1 Pitt on Saturday, No. 12 SMU fell back to earth Wednesday night, losing 3-0 to No. 5 Stanford.
The Mustangs (13-5, 5-2) didn’t make it easy on the Cardinal (14-2, 6-1), battling hard in all three sets. But Stanford outside hitters Elia Rubin and Ipar Kurt proved to be too powerful, racking up 18 and 16 kills, respectively.
Outside hitter Maya Tabron and opposite Naya Shime were the standout performers for the Mustangs with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Middle blockers Nnedi Okammor and Natalie Foster anchored the SMU defense with four blocks each.
After the Mustangs upset Pitt at home, fans were loud and engaged in their return to Moody Coliseum. The Cardinal were able to quiet the raucous crowd en route to their first conference win against a ranked opponent.
“I think it’s hard to win here, so hats off to Stanford for coming in and getting a sweep,” SMU coach Sam Erger said. “We were able to get it done against Pitt, but I felt like we were tired and tentative tonight.”
Stanford claimed the first set 25-22 after it nearly went the Mustangs’ way. Hebron product Okammor appeared to tie the set at 23 with a spike that deflected out of bounds off two Stanford blockers. But the Cardinal challenged the call and won, as the referees ruled the ball touched Okammor’s hand last. Stanford defensive specialist Malyssa Cawa’s final serve hit the top of the net before trickling over for the set point.
SMU dropped the second set 25-23. Stanford pulled ahead with three straight points after being down 20-18 and never gave up the lead. Opposite Jordyn Harvey sealed the set with a kill off an assist from setter Kami Miner.
In the third set, Stanford won four straight points to make it 16-15 before Shime ended the run with a kill. At the end of the set, SMU staved off six straight match points for the Cardinal before they won 35-33 on a tipped ball.
SMU has enjoyed its best season in 2024, after never being ranked in the top 25 in its previous 27 seasons. Their head coach is trying to appreciate all of it as the Mustangs move into the heart of their ACC schedule.
“We talked a lot this week about how awesome this opportunity is. It’s a privilege to play in these kinds of games.” Erger said. “By the time we got to the third set, I did think we were ripping away and trying to give it our best shot to win. We’re going to learn from this game that this is what the postseason is like.”
