Rachel Fairbanks looked like she was having the time of her life on Friday. The Pitt volleyball team was playing East Carolina, and coach Dan Fisher decided to give the starting setter the night off.
Considering Fairbanks is usually in the thick of the game, she got a rare chance to be part of the cheers and celebrations you usually see from the players by the bench. She was one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Panthers — an echo to her role on the court.
“It’s more pent up energy when I’m on the sideline,” Fairbanks said. “I’m freaking out a little bit. I feel like I have so much to say, so I just say it way louder because the people aren’t near me. So I probably look like a crazy person. I just love watching our team play.”
It’s not often Fairbanks isn’t in the game. Last season, she played in 100 of 116 sets, and that was with multiple backups on the bench. This season, there will be even fewer opportunities since they’re down to just two setters with Haiti Tautua’a and Kiana Dinn dealing with injuries.
Fairbanks’ ability to take a night off is a testament to Pitt’s strength. She hasn’t played in two whole games this season — against UC Santa Barbara and East Carolina — giving time to Texas A&M transfer Nisa Buzlutepe. It’s a similar situation for starting outside hitter Torrey Stafford, who hasn’t played in five sets this season.
Yet there hasn’t been a drop-off in performance by the Panthers. They have won every single set they’ve played this season, no matter who is on the court. Friday’s sweep of East Carolina was just the latest example, pushing the Panthers to 8-0 on the early season — and fully locked in to the No. 1 ranking in the country.
“Our team is very talented,” Fairbanks said. “Our depth is pretty good right now. I truly believe any lineup we put on the court can win a national championship.”
It’s obvious Pitt is dominant right now. The Panthers are 8-0 and the only Division I team that hasn’t dropped a set, despite playing multiple ranked opponents.
The question is, how are they able to be so dominant?
It comes down to three areas: experience, offensive efficiency and defensive intensity.
The experience aspect is easy to understand, with Pitt returning all but two starters. Everyone on the squad except for the five freshmen have played in the NCAA tournament.
Add that in with how balanced the offense and defense are, and that makes for a very well-rounded — and, so far, unbeatable — team.
Let’s break this down into football terms.
The team calls Fairbanks “QB1,” as she is running the offense. She’s been in the rotation since she was a freshman, and even though it’s only her second year running a 5-1 (five offensive players, one setter), she’s proven she’s good at her job.
“[The] most underrated player in the country could be Rachel Fairbanks,” said Lee Feinswog of VolleyballMag.com. “She’s a six-rotation setter who has great numbers attacking and she’s just really, really good. She probably doesn’t get enough credit for kicking Pittsburgh as far as it went the last few years.”
Fairbanks has a talented group of receivers — pin hitters — in Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Torey Stafford and Olivia Babcock. It really doesn’t matter who Fairbanks sets the ball to because it’s likely going to find its mark.
Pitt has the highest hitting percentage in the nation at .348. Only one starting pin hitter for the Panthers is averaging below .300 — Vazquez Gomez at .224. Stafford leads the group at .392. Even the middles are contributing, with Bre Kelley and Ryla Jones hitting above .450.
“Every single position you could argue is the best in the country,” Fairbanks said. “I know in a chaotic situation, I can have so many choices. If I want to repeat, I can repeat. If I want to just spread it out, I can spread it out. I don’t have to rely too heavily on one, so then they don’t feel like they have to do it all.”
That wasn’t necessarily the case last season. Babcock took on a lot of the load, accounting for 26.3% of the team’s kills as a freshman. That’s not to say Stafford wasn’t doing her part — she had 23.3% of the kills last season — Babcock was just playing more dominantly, which ultimately led to her winning freshman of the year.
What separates Pitt from the other teams this year is both Stafford and Babcock are playing phenomenally. The two are combining for an average of 9.1 kills per set and 10.95 points per set. Both Stafford and Babcock are in the top 50 nationally for the two statistics.
No other team in the nation has two people in the top 50 for kills per set or points per set.
“The connection’s strong,” Babcock said. “We’re jumping higher. It looks like we’re jumping over blocks. I feel like last year, it was a lot of placement, but now we’re going over the blocks. We’re going deep. We’re hitting high and we’re hitting hard.”
It helps when you’re able to pass the ball as well as Pitt is this season. Heading into the match with Penn State this past Wednesday, Fisher said it had been a “pleasant surprise” that they’ve been in-system — meaning all hitters have been available to set to — about 60% of the time.
Pitt has three solid back-row defenders in libero Emmy Klika, Stafford and Vazquez Gomez. It takes the pressure off Emmy Klika, the team’s defensive specialist, knowing that the other two are right there, too. Fisher said he’s even noticed team’s have started serving directly to Klika because Vazquez Gomez and Stafford are doing so well.
“Emmy is just one of the best liberos in the country,” Fairbanks said. “She has the best numbers. Kudos to Emmy just leading the passing, but also Valeria, every single day, works on her passing. Torrey always has been a threat offensively, but she spent the entire spring working on serve receive.”
It makes it really hard for teams to score when they have such a solid defensive unit. Pitt is holding opponents to a stifling .119 this season. They’ve also only allowed 15 service aces.
To put that into perspective, three players on Pitt’s roster have had over 10 aces over the eight games played. Babcock has 13, Cat Flood has 12 and Vazquez Gomez has 11. The team as a whole has 56 service aces.
It’s said that serving wins games, and Pitt’s ability to handle the serve-receive is a huge reason for its success.
Despite how dominant the Panthers are playing, they’re not taking any opponent for granted. They’ve had a lot of tight moments, whether it was against No. 3 Penn State, No. 23 USC or even an unranked East Carolina team. Pitt’s ability to get out of those sticky situations is what’s setting them apart from the competition.
“Our team motto is ‘high standards, no expectations,’” Fairbanks said. “When I’m looking toward a game, of course, I’m preparing for a five-setter where we win by two every set. Just mentally preparing for the toughest situation. Our main mission is to make sure every single person, 100% of the time, is locked in playing as if we were down.”
First Published: September 22, 2024, 9:30 a.m.
