Pitt
Wake Forest
No. 1 Panthers Head South, Play Wake Forest and NC State This Weekend
11/21/2024 1:51:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – No. 1 Pitt (25-1, 15-1 ACC) heads south to play Wake Forest (13-14, 5-11 ACC) and NC State (14-10, 9-7 ACC). The Panthers play the Demon Deacons on Friday night in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m. before taking on the Wolfpack on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Panthers lead the overall series against Wake Forest, 12-1 and have not lost a match since 2016. The All-American duo of Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 25 kills and seven digs in the sweep of the Demon Deacons last season. Rachel Fairbanks set Pitt to a blistering .416 hitting percentage, notching 33 assists and 11 digs for a double-double.
Once again, Pitt controls the series over NC State with 15 wins to only two losses. The Panthers have won seven straight matches, with five of those being in the form of a sweep. Pitt dominated the Wolfpack defensively both at the net and in the back court last season. The Panthers notched 14 total blocks in the effort, and Emmy Klika recorded 14 digs.
BIG TIME BABCOCK
• Olivia Babcock earned her second AVCA National Player of the Week award of the season after her impressive performances against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.
• This was the third time of her career Babcock has been honored.
• She is the only player in program history to have more than one national weekly award to her name as Pitt great Kayla Lund is the only other Panther to add the accolade to her resume.
ACC NODS
• Rachel Fairbanks and Olivia Babcock were named ACC Setter and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively, after two sweeps against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.
• Fairbanks averaged 12.00 assists per set and 2.17 digs per set this past weekend.
• She set Pitt to a .438 team hitting percentage for both matches.
• Babcock averaged 8.08 points per set, 6.50 kills per set, hitting .525, 1.17 blocks per set, 1.17 digs per set and 1.00 ace per set.
BABCOCK MAKES HISTORY
• Olivia Babcock is now the all-time program leader for most aces in a single season in the 25-point scoring era with 56 aces.
• She reached the feat with her third ace of the night against Miami and ended with five for the match.
• Babcock passed Lindsey Zitzke who recorded 53 aces in the 2011 season.
WEATHERED THE STORM
• The Panthers swept Miami on Sunday afternoon on senior day, not allowing the Hurricanes to reach the 20-point mark.
• The win marked the 22nd sweep of the season.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded 36 assists and 10 digs for the double-double, and Olivia Babcock notched 20 kills, five aces, three blocks and three digs, hitting .531.
• Bre Kelley registered nine kills on 12 swings, hitting a career-high .750 (while recording at least 10 attempts)
SWEPT THE SEMINOLES
• Pitt earned its ninth top 25 win of the season against then No. 22 Florida State on Friday night in a sweep.
• Olivia Babcock led the Panthers with 19 kills and Torrey Stafford added 10 kills to go along with a .563 hitting percentage.
TERRIFIC TRIO
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford have been named semifinalists for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
• Pitt's three nominees lead the country, and Nebraska is the only other team to have more than one (2).
• All three were named AVCA All-Americans last season and are on track to earn the award once again.
WELL-OILED MACHINE
• Pitt ranks among the top 20 in the country for hitting percentage (1st - .343), opponent hitting percentage (1st - .113), aces per set (6th - 2.05), blocks per set (6th - 2.93), kills per set (T16th - 14.04) and assists per set (12th -13.15).
SENSATIONAL STAFFORD
• Torrey Stafford is hitting .376 for the season, good for 40th in the nation and first among all Division I outside hitters.
• No other Power Four outside hitter ranks in the top 150 in hitting percentage.
KELLEY HEATING UP
• Middle blocker Bre Kelley has recorded at least five blocks in 11 matches this season.
• Her ACC Defensive Player of the Week (10/21) was the first of her career.
• Her ten blocks against No. 4 Louisville tied a career high and are a season high.
• She has hit at least .400 in the last 12 matches and is hitting .518 on the season.
DYNAMIC DUO
• Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock have impressed in their sophomore campaigns after earning All-American status as rookies.
• Babcock ranks among the top 25 in the nation in aces per set (2nd - 0.69), points per set (4th – 5.84) and kills per set (16th – 4.53) while Stafford ranks 40th in hitting percentage (0.376), 77th in points per set (4.36) and 83rd in kills per set (3.77)
• Babcock or Stafford have either led or tied for the team high in kills in each match this season.
COUNT 'EM!
• Pitt notched its eighth top 25 win of the season against No. 25 North Carolina.
• Five of those eight wins have come against ACC opponents (No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 15 SMU, No. 5 Stanford, No. 4 Louisville, No. 25 North Carolina).
• The Panthers are 3-0 against top five teams this year (No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford).
VOLLEYBALL TAHN
• Eight Pitt volleyball matches have sold out this season (Penn State, Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State and Miami).
• Seven of those eight took place in the Fitzgerald Field House while the victory over the Nittany Lions was in the Petersen Events Center in front of a record-breaking 11,800 people.
DOWNED THE BLUE DEVILS
• The Panthers played solid volleyball against Duke on Sunday, defeating the Blue Devils 25-10, 25-11, 25-13.
• Torrey Stafford had a match-high 13 kills while hitting .480.
• Pitt recorded 12 team blocks and held Duke to a season low, -.049 hitting percentage.
PITT BLUE ON TOP!
• The Panthers defeated No. 25 North Carolina last Friday in three sets.
• Olivia Babcock registered a match-high 18 kills and hit .484, adding three digs, three aces and two blocks.
• Rachel Fairbanks assisted on 37 balls, leading Pitt to hit .434 on the match. This marks the highest opponent hitting percentage the Tar Heels have allowed this season.
HOUSED THE HOKIES
• Pitt defeated Virginia Tech on Sunday in three sets in Blacksburg.
• Olivia Babcock recorded a match-high 18 kills, hitting .341.
• Nisa Buzlutepe notched her first double-double of the season with 31 assists and ten digs. This marked the second of her career.
• Blaire Bayless tied her career high with eight kills.
BROOMS COME OUT
• Pitt downed Virginia in the form of a sweep.
• Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford notched 11 kills apiece, both hitting .375 or higher.
• The Panthers dominated in the first set with the greatest point differential of the season as Pitt held a 21-2 advantage. An 8-0 service run from Valeria Vazquez Gomez, a 10-0 service run and three consecutive aces from Olivia Babcock powered Pitt's dominance.
• Emmy Klika had a match-high 13 digs and assisted on five kills.
MISS 1,000
• Valeria Vazquez Gomez recently became the 19th player in program history to reach the 1,000 kills mark in the sweep over Virginia.
• She is also 27 digs away from reaching the 1,000 career digs mark.
• With the 27 digs, Vazquez Gomez will become the eighth player in program history to join the 1,000 kill + 1,000 dig club.
