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SMU’s Historic Volleyball Upset Over No. 2 Nebraska Leaves Coach ‘In a Dream’

SMU delivers a shocking volleyball sweep against No. 2 Nebraska, with coach Sam Erger thrilled and calling the victory a 'dream' come true.'

Maren Angus-Coombs

Courtesy of SMU Athletics

On a night when Nebraska volleyball could have taken over the top spot in the Top 25 after No. 1 Texas lost on Monday, the No. 2 Huskers were toppled 25-23, 25-21, 25-18 by unranked Southern Methodist in front of a record crowd of 6,773 at Moody Coliseum. 

The sweep was Nebraska’s first loss to an unranked team since 2017. It was also the first time SMU charged for tickets to a home volleyball match.

SMU went into the match with nothing to lose and a whole lot of confidence to gain.

Naya Shime and Maya Tabron led the way for the Mustangs with nine kills each. Nnedi Okammor was solid at the net with nine blocks, while Shime added six.

It was, by far, the biggest upset in SMU program history.

“I feel like I’m in a dream. I knew in my heart that we could compete, I think in my heart we can compete with anybody,” SMU coach Sam Erger said after the match. “I’m just really excited for our girls.”

SMU's atmosphere was electric and seemed to get the best of Nebraska from the start, forcing the Huskers to commit 11 service errors and limiting them to just one ace.

“It was so amazing and electric,” Shime said. “It made the playing environment a level up and it was amazing and fun. I loved it.”

SMU and Nebraska went back and forth in the first half of the opening set, with the Huskers starting to pull ahead at 21-16. However, a 9-2 run by the Mustangs closed out the set, allowing them to take the first one by two points.

“I don’t know what happens if we lose the first set. That’s an incredibly talented team,” Erger said. “I think they walked into a tough environment, a little Moody Magic, and a team that’s a little ticked off we took a loss [to Hawaii]. The message is just chip away.”

This is SMU's first season as a member of the ACC and the new Power 4 program made NU look terrible the rest of the night. The win immediately became a core memory for Erger.

“We wanted to take advantage of that and show them what it’s all about and how fun it can be, and I think we did that,” Erger said. “It was a really cool environment. Everyone is chanting, ‘SMU’ and then ‘Go, Big Red.’ It was just really fun.

“I will remember this night for the rest of my life.”

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

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