The Pitt women’s volleyball team had an exciting weekend with a pair of ACC wins to end a two-week road stint.
Dan Fisher earned his 300th win, and Olivia Babcock broke a program record in the 4-1 (23-25, 25-7, 25-9, 25-20) victory against Boston College. Torrey Stafford stood out in Pitt’s 13th sweep (25-11, 25-18, 25-14) of the season in the match with Syracuse on Sunday. The sophomore outside hitter had 16 kills on 25 attempts with just two errors for a 0.560 hitting percentage.
Dalia Vîrlan earned her first career start, joining Bre Kelley in the starting lineup against Boston College and Ryla Jones against Syracuse. Vîrlan added six kills and four blocks against the Eagles, as well as one kill and one block against Syracuse.
The Panthers continue their undefeated season 14-0 and are now 42-1 in sets.
STAR PLAYER
On Friday, Babcock set an all-time single-match ace record with 12 aces against the Eagles. She also earned the first triple-double of her career with 14 kills, 12 aces and 10 digs. The sophomore right side is the first Panther to notch a triple-double since Rachel Fairbanks finished with 28 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills against BYU in the 2022 NCAA tournament.
She wasn’t at her best against Syracuse, though, adding just two service aces, one block, one dig and six kills with a 0.143 hitting percentage.
TOP MOMENT
It took 13 games, but the Panthers finally dropped a set after winning the first 36 of their season. Pitt held a 7-4 lead early in the first set but struggled to maintain control, and the Eagles quickly tied things up at 12-12. Courtesy of a 4-0 Olivia Babcock service run, the Panthers jumped back out to a four-point lead.
However, the Eagles reached set point first, and an attack error by Pitt’s Blaire Bayless ended the set with Boston College ahead 25-23. Pitt had a hard time against the Eagles’ block as they finished the set with nine total blocks, which resulted in nine attack errors for Pitt. Julia Haggerty contributed to six of those blocks. The Panthers hit in the negatives for the first time this season with a -0.048 hitting percentage, leading to their first set loss of the season.
KEY STAT
The Panthers had their lowest hitting percentage of the season against Boston College with .163. It’s the first time this season they’ve been held below a .200 and only the second time they’ve hit sub .300. Most of that had to do with Pitt’s negative hitting percentage in the first set as their lowest hitting percentage in the other three sets was just .238.
Despite the low mark for the team, three different players hit above .300 — Stafford (.321), Vîrlan (.455) and Fairbanks (.500).
BIG PICTURE
Pitt was the only team that had yet to drop a set heading into the weekend, but it no longer holds that honor. The Panthers are one of two teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 that are undefeated at 14-0.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home after two weeks of away games. They play No. 17 SMU at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Fitzgerald Field House. The Mustangs have notable wins over then-ranked No. 2 Nebraska, No. 18 Baylor and No. 13 Georgia Tech.
First Published: October 6, 2024, 5:16 p.m.
