PITTSBURGH — SMU volleyball’s historic season ended against Purdue in the Sweet 16 as the Mustangs lost in four sets, 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 29-27.
After the match, SMU head coach Sam Erger wasn’t mad about her team’s loss — she was more upset she no longer will coach 2025’s edition of SMU volleyball.
“I’m not sad that we lost because we really fought and we really played well, but I’m sad to see these girls go,” Erger said in her postgame press conference, flanked to her right and left by Casey Batenhorst and Jentry Lamirand — two of SMU’s most decorated volleyball players of all time.
In 2025, SMU set program records for wins (27) and deepest postseason run — the Sweet 16.
SMU’s loss was similar to the one it suffered against Purdue on Sept. 14, as it also fell then to the Boilermakers in four sets.
First set domination
SMU had as good a start to the match as it could have hoped for, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. And the Mustangs did not let off the gas throughout the first set, forcing Purdue to call both of its timeouts before it scored three points.
“We came out throwing punches and really took it to them in Set 1 — I was so proud,” Erger said.
The Mustangs cruised to an easy 25-16 victory over the Boilermakers after getting out to a 17-4 advantage.
Second set struggles
Purdue found a weak spot in the SMU defense throughout the second set, tipping over the block countless times.
“They made some adjustments and started throwing a lot of tips and trash,” Erger said. “We struggled at first to pick some of that up, and that made the match really close.”
It seemed as if SMU had figured out Purdue’s attacking strategy, as it cut its deficit to just one point. But the Boilermakers finished the set on a 6-1 run for a 25-19 set win.
Errors haunt the Mustangs in the third set
Tied at 20, someone had to take control of the third set and the match, and Purdue was the team that stepped up, finishing the set on a 5-2 run that included four errors by SMU.
Crushing defeat in fourth set
It was deja vu in the fourth set for the Mustangs. Tied at 15, three straight errors handed the Boilermakers an 18-15 lead. But SMU didn’t let the same thing happen to it in this set, retaking the lead at 23-22.
Once more, however, SMU couldn’t close out the set, losing 29-27 and the match 3-1, just as it did in mid-September to Purdue.
Despite the crushing loss, Erger stayed positive.
“This is what you want out of a Sweet 16 match,” Erger said. “… That could have gone either way at the end there. … Purdue played better, but how fun was that to fight? I thought that was pretty cool — that run we had at the end.”
With the win, Purdue reaches its first regional final since 2021, where it will face top-seeded Pitt.
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