DALLAS, SEPT. 28, 2014 - Junior outside hitter Erin Fairs became just the 12th player in USF history to surpass 1,000 career digs Sunday afternoon, collecting a team-high 15 in a close loss at SMU.

Fairs paced the Bulls in kills and digs, and added three blocks as the Bulls (7-7 overall, 1-1 The American) out- blocked the Mustangs 12-7 in the second match of the conference season. USF just couldn't get anything going offensively against a quick SMU defense however, as the Mustangs out-hit the Bulls .243-.196 to top USF in three sets, 25-18, 25-23, 25-21.

While SMU (12-2, 1-1) slowed down the Bulls' offense for the most part, senior right side hitter Bree Scarbrough and Fairs had field days. Scarbrough punched home 12 kills without a hitting error, posting a scalding .600 hitting percentage, while Fairs added 14 kills, hitting .291 from the outside hitter position.

The Mustangs held the rest of the Bulls to just 10 kills, USF getting four of those from sophomore outside hitter Dakota Hampton.

Defensively, the Bulls nearly matched SMU's output, posting 12 blocks, including 11 in the first two sets. Freshman middle blocker Brittany Kelly led USF with six blocks (two solo), while seniors Jennica Mullins and Scarbrough added four each.

After spending the last three weeks on the road, USF returns home Friday to host UConn in conference action, in a match beginning at 7 p.m.