Pitt
#15 SMU
No. 1 Pitt to Host SMU in Top-15 Battle
10/8/2024 2:06:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (14-0, 4-0 ACC) hosts new ACC member No. 15 SMU (12-3, 4-0 ACC) on Wednesday night at the Fitzgerald Field House at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ACC Network. The Panthers will then head to Dallas to finish the home-and-home series on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
The Panthers and Mustangs will compete for the first time this week. SMU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, sweeping Texas State before losing to eventual National Champion Texas.
MR. 300
• Head Coach Dan Fisher captured his 300th win at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team against Boston College last Friday.
• Fisher now has the most all-time wins at Pitt with 301, passing Shelton Collier with 295 wins (1980-1988).
RECORD BREAKER
• Olivia Babcock recorded a program best 12 aces in a single match against Boston College.
• Her 12 aces passed her previous career high of five and the long-standing program record set in 2005 by Diana Andreyko with eight aces.
TRIPLE DOUBLE SHOW
• Babcock notched the first triple-double of her career with 14 kills, 12 aces and 10 digs against Boston College.
• She is the first Panther to reach the milestone since Rachel Fairbanks did so in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against BYU (28A, 13D, 10K).
• Babcock is the first player to record that style of triple-double since the 2021 season.
WELL-OILED MACHINE
• Pitt ranks among the top ten in the country for hitting percentage (1st - .351), opponent hitting percentage (1st - .099), aces per set (4th - 2.33) and kills per set (10th - 14.16).
DYNAMIC DUO
• Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock have impressed in their sophomore campaigns after earning All-American status as rookies.
• Stafford ranks among the top 25 in the nation in kills per set (20th – 4.38) and points per set (22nd – 4.97) while Babcock ranks 3rd nationally in points per set (5.73) and 28th in kills per set (4.25).
• Babcock or Stafford have either led or tied for the team high in kills in each match this season.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
• The Panthers earned their 13th sweep of the season against Syracuse.
• Torrey Stafford hit for an impressive .560 hitting percentage, and senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe recorded a season-high 37 assists and added seven digs and a block.
SOARIN' HIGH
• Pitt defeated Boston College in four sets in Chestnut Hill, holding the Eagles to a -.010 hitting percentage.
• Bre Kelley recorded a season-high nine blocks, and Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 28 kills.
• Dalia Vîrlan registered a career-high six kills in the match and hit .455 on 11 attempts.
PANTHERS STING YELLOW JACKETS
• Pitt dominated in a 3-0 sweep of then No. 13 Georgia Tech, holding the Yellow Jackets to less than 20 points in each set.
• This was the first time this season Georgia Tech has been held to a sub .200 hitting percentage (-.043).
• Pitt hit a blistering .493, its second highest team hitting percentage of the season behind a .516 clip against Buffalo.
• The Panthers recorded a season-high 12 blocks in the three-set win.
ACC OPENER WON
• Pitt took care of business in the ACC opener against Clemson.
• The Panthers held the Tigers to a .094 hitting percentage and hit an efficient .326.
• Olivia Babcock had a match-high 15 kills and hit .406 in the sweep.
CAREER DAY
• Five different Panthers recorded career bests against UMBC on Sept. 25.
• Cat Flood (6K), Dalia Vírlan (4K), Bianca Garibaldi (2K), Ryla Jones (1SA) and Blaire Bayless (2SA) all impressed in the sweep of the Retrievers.
PANTHERS SWEEP GOLDEN EAGLES
• Pitt looked sharp against Marquette, sweeping the Golden Eagles.
• The Panthers hit .398, and three Panthers (Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford and Valeria Vazquez Gomez) recorded at least 10 kills.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded 39 assists, six digs, three blocks and two digs.
• Emmy Klika picked up a season-high 18 digs.
PITT DOMINATES PIRATES
• The Panthers once again swept East Carolina behind Olivia Babcock's match-high 19 kills.
• Senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe recorded 30 assists, and Cat Flood tied her career high with three aces.
QB1 DOING QB1 THINGS
• Rachel Fairbanks was named the ACC Co-Setter of the Week for the first time this season (9/23).
• This marked the fifth Setter of the Week award of her career since switching to a one setter offense.
• She averaged 13.5 assists per set and set the team to a .391 hitting percentage in the wins over then No. 3 Penn State, ECU and Marquette.
THE ROOKIE IMPRESSES
• Ryla Jones earned her first ACC Freshman of the Week honor after an impressive three match stretch.
• She recorded seven kills in the sweep of No. 3 Penn State, hitting .636 on 11 attempts and added a match-high six blocks.
• Against East Carolina, she notched a career-high eight kills, hitting .800 on 10 attempts and added five blocks. She followed that up with three kills and four blocks in the sweep of Marquette.
SWEET SWEEP
• The Panthers swept No. 3 Penn State in the Petersen Events Center in front of a record-breaking crowd (11,800).
• Torrey Stafford and Rachel Fairbanks shined, recording 17 kills and 42 assists, respectively.
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones had a then career-high seven kills on a .636 hitting percentage.
• Senior libero Emmy Klika recorded 15 digs.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER AWARD
•Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career after her impressive week in California.
• On the weekend, she averaged 6.17 points per set, 5.11 kills per set, 2.22 digs per set, 0.78 blocks per set and 0.67 aces per set on the weekend, hitting .347.
• This is the eighth conference weekly honor she has received after being named ACC Freshman of the Week six times last year.
BATTLED THE TROJANS, AND WON
• Pitt recorded its second top 25 win with a 3-0 sweep over then No. 23 USC in Los Angeles on Sept. 11.
• California natives Torrey Stafford, Olivia Babcock and Rachel Fairbanks impressed in their hometown, as the sophomore pin hitters combined for 30 kills while Fairbanks recorded 38 assists.
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones led the Panthers with seven blocks and added four kills.
DOWN GO THE DUCKS
• The Panthers defeated No. 10 Oregon in its season opener in straight sets.
• Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks led the charge with her first double-double of the season (34A, 11D).
• Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford came in hot after returning from injury, recording a match-high 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and adding five digs.
CONQUERED THE BEACH
• Pitt dominated in its second match of the season, beating Long Beach State in a 3-0 sweep fashion.
• Four freshmen experienced their college debut while senior transfer setter Nisa Buzlutepe saw her first action against The Beach.
• The team was clicking on all cylinders, hitting .351 for the match.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded her second straight double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.
FRESH FACES
• The Panthers' roster features five true freshmen in Ryla Jones, Bianca Garibaldi, Kiana Dinn, Mallorie Meyer and Dalia Vîrlan.
• Jones and Garibaldi joined the team in January, Dinn and Meyer arrived in Pittsburgh this summer, and Vîrlan came right before preseason.
• Garibaldi hails from Argentina, Vîrlan is from Romania while Jones (Washington, D.C.), Meyer (Nebraska) and Dinn (Kentucky) come to Pittsburgh from the States.
• Pitt also signed senior transfer setter, Nisa Buzlutepe, from Istanbul, Turkey.
• She has one year of eligibility remaining after playing three seasons at Texas A&M.
AN EXPERIENCED BUNCH
• Ten Panthers return from the 2023 Final Four Team, including five All-Americans.
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford, Emmy Klika and Valeria Vazquez Gomez all have notched All-American, All-ACC and All-Region awards in their careers.
PANTHERS ARE HOT
• Pitt is coming off three straight Final Fours, back-to-back ACC Championships and eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
• The Panthers are the only team in the last three years to appear in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Final Fours and one of three to compete in the last four Elite Eights.
PITT IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE
• Olivia Babcock and Blaire Bayless competed with Team USA once again this summer.
•Babcock played with the Senior National Team in Anaheim, Calif., the only rising sophomore in NCAA volleyball to do so.
• Bayless trained with the U-19 National Team, winning the gold medal at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Canada.
SCHEDULE DROP
• Pitt has a competitive fall schedule, highlighted by 15 matches against 2023 NCAA Tournament participants, including five teams that advanced to at least the Sweet 16.
• Seven of the ten non-conference matchups are against teams that advanced to the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
FISHER IN HIS 12TH SEASON
• Head coach Dan Fisher is in his 12th season at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team.
• He is building upon his unprecedented success and seek his sixth ACC Championship and first National Championship.
• Fisher currently holds a 301-67 overall record, good for a .818 winning percentage.
FAIRBANKS RUNS THE SHOW
• The reigning ACC Setter of the Year and AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year, Rachel Fairbanks, is putting up solid performances in her fourth and final season in Pittsburgh.
• The senior is 16th in the nation in assists per set (10.66) and has recorded double digit digs in three matches.
PRESEASON ALL-ACC
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford were named to the Preseason All-ACC Team by the conference.
• The trio of All-Americans led the Panther offense last season and look to do so again in 2024.
• This is Fairbanks' third straight season being named to the selective group.
ALL OUT DEFENSE
• The Panthers finished the 2023 season ranked top five in total blocks (344), blocks per set (2.97) and opponent hitting percentage (.141).
• Senior libero Emmy Klika returns after a career-best season in 2023 after earning All-American Honorable Mention, All-ACC and AVCA East Coast All-Region honors for the first time.
FAMILY TIES
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones has deep ties to the game as her sister, Rainelle Jones, played volleyball for the University of Maryland and her twin sister, Renee, is committed to play at the University of Arizona.
• Rainelle is currently first in program history in career total blocks and block assists at Maryland.
• Jones comes from an athletic family as her dad (basketball - University of Maryland), mom (basketball - University of Winnipeg), brother (basketball - Charleston Southern), sister (rowing - Drexel) also all play or have played Division I sports.
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
• The 2024 team boasts four international student-athletes, including sixth year Puerto Rican Valeria Vazquez Gomez, senior Turkish setter Nisa Buzlutepe, Argentinian freshman Bianca Garibaldi and Romanian newcomer Dalia Vîrlan.
• Vazquez Gomez, Garibaldi and Vîrlan have National Team experience and look to make an impact at the net.
ONE LAST GO AROUND
• Graduate outside hitters Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Cat Flood decided to use their final year of eligibility in pursuit of a championship.
• Flood has been critical in big moments behind the service line for the Panthers while Vazquez Gomez has become an elite, well rounded player for Pitt.
