Pitt
Coppin State
No. 1 Seed Pitt Ready For NCAA Tournament
11/30/2023 1:12:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 seed Pitt volleyball team (25-4, 16-2 ACC) is set to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament Friday and Saturday. The Panthers play Coppin State on Friday night at 7 p.m. right after the USC and UMBC match at 4 p.m. The three matches this weekend will all be played at the Petersen Events Center. The winner of Coppin State/Pitt will play the winner of USC/UMBC on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in the Round of 32.
This is the first time in program history Pitt and Coppin State will meet. The Eagles are led by outside hitter TaKenya Stafford and middle blocker Laila Ibrahim. This is the first time the Eagles have advanced to the NCAA Tournament after winning the MEAC championship. They went 27-4 overall and 13-1 in conference play and swept the last three matches in the conference tournament.
Pitt and USC have only met three times, as the Trojans hold the 3-0 advantage. The last time the teams met was in 2002 when USC swept the Panthers. 2022 First Team All-American Skylar Fields leads the Trojans, recording 5.19 kills per set and 2.07 digs per set while the offense is run by Mia Tuaniga who has notched 1,157 assists this season.
The Panthers and Retrievers are familiar opponents, as Pitt and UMBC played earlier this season. The Panthers earned the sweep and were led by Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford who registered nine kills apiece. Pitt holds the 4-0 advantage over the Retrievers, and the Panthers have only dropped one set in the series.
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
• For the second straight year, the Panthers have secured a share of the ACC Championship, going 16-2 in conference play.
• Pitt beat two top-10 opponents in No. 8 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Louisville in the final four matches of the ACC slate.
ALL-ACC ACCOLADES
• A program record seven Panthers were named all-conference.
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford are First Team members while Chiamaka Nwokolo, Emma Monks, Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Emmy Klika earned Second Team honors.
• Rachel Fairbanks is the ACC Setter of the Year for the first time in her career while Olivia Babcock is the first Panther to be named ACC Freshman of the Year.
DANCING SHOES
• Pitt is set to compete in its eighth straight NCAA Tournament, coming off three straight trips to the Elite Eight and back-to-back Final Fours appearances.
• This is the second time in three years the Panthers are a number one seed, earning the right to host the first four matches of the tournament until the Final Four, should they continue winning.
•The Panthers have competed in 19 NCAA Tournaments and hold an 18-18 record.
• Since 2020, Pitt has gone 11-3 in the tournament.
SISTER, SISTER
• Four Panthers have a sister who is competing in the NCAA Tournament.
• Emmy Klika and Laney Klika (Wofford), Bre Kelley and Becca Kelley (Oregon), Torrey Stafford and TaKenya Stafford (Coppin State), Juliana Dalton and Katie Dalton (Kansas) are all playing in the big dance.
• Laney and TaKenya willed their respective programs to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
VOLLEYBALL TOWN
• 8,865 people watched Pitt reverse sweep Louisville in the Petersen Events Center on Nov. 18 for an all-time attendance record.
• This mark beats the previous program high of 5,195 set in 2019 in a home match against Penn State.
BIG-TIME BABCOCK
• Freshman Olivia Babcock has been named ACC Freshman of the Week six times, ACC Offensive Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week in conference play.
• This is first time a Panther has earned AVCA Player of the Week honors since Kayla Lund did so in 2021.
BLOCK PARTY
• The Panthers are currently second in the nation in blocks per set (2.95) and are holding teams to an average .147, good for fifth in the nation.
• The combination of Pitt's block and back court defense has been tough to stop this season, and it has held 13 opponents to less than a .100 hitting percentage.
• Both Pitt middle blockers earned all-conference honors, and Monks is currently third in the nation in blocks per set (1.56) and 25th in total blocks despite Pitt sweeping 21 opponents.
OFFENSIVE POWER
• Rachel Fairbanks is setting the Panthers to a team .309 hitting percentage, which is good for third in the nation.
• All five starting attackers are hitting at least .275 for the season.
