Seven Panthers Named East Coast All-Region For Second Straight Year
12/10/2024 11:00:00 AM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – Seven Panthers were named to the East Coast All-Region Team, announced by the AVCA on Tuesday. All seven were named All-ACC earlier this month. Dan Fisher was dubbed the AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year, and Olivia Babcock was named the Player of the Year.
Dan Fisher adds AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year to his resume after leading Pitt to a 31-1 overall record and 19-1 ACC finish. The Panthers were named the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever and won their sixth ACC Championship. Pitt advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the fifth straight season this past weekend with wins over Morehead State and Oklahoma.
Olivia Babcock was named the East Coast Region Player of the Year after recently being named the ACC Player of the Year. She leads the Pitt offense, averaging 5.87 points per set and has won two AVCA National Player of the Week and three ACC Offensive Player of the Week awards this season. Babcock also saw her name on the All-ACC First Team for the second straight season and is an AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist.
Rachel Fairbanks earned a spot on the exclusive team for the third straight season and is averaging a career-best 10.56 assists per set, good for fifth in program history. She is setting Pitt to a nation's best 0.336 team hitting percentage and is impressive in her back court play, averaging 2.20 digs per set. The 2023 ACC Setter of the Year and AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist currently has 2,955 career assists to her name along with 754 digs and 279 kills.
Torrey Stafford has enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign, and is on the East Coast All-Region team for the second time. The 2024 First Team All-ACC performer is an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist and currently leads in the nation in hitting percentage for all Power Four outside hitters (0.369). Stafford contributes 3.77 kills per set and 2.26 digs per set as a six-rotation player.
Bre Kelley is an AVCA East Coast All-Region Team member for the first time and has impressed this season after a season ending injury last year. She was named a First Team All-ACC player for the first time in her career and is currently third in the conference with 1.53 blocks per set and is hitting a blistering .516. She earned the ACC Defensive Player of the Week award (10/21) after averaging 2.00 blocks per set and 1.67 kills per set, hitting .450 in two sweeps over Cal and Stanford.
A three-time AVCA East Coast Region Team member, Valeria Vazquez Gomez has contributed in every area of her game in her sixth season. She earned Second Team All-ACC honors and averages 2.14 kills per set and 1.68 digs per set. She recently became the newest Panther in the 1,000 kill and 1,000 dig club. Vazquez Gomez is hitting an efficient .248 for the year and has captained the Panthers, alongside Rachel Fairbanks, to its sixth ACC Championship.
Emmy Klika earns the honor for the second consecutive season is a steady presence in both defense and serve receive in her final season as a Panther. The two-time Second Team All-ACC player is widely regarded as one of the best passers in the nation and helps Pitt hold opponents to a nation's best 0.123 hitting percentage.
Ryla Jones was named to the AVCA East Coast Region Team and All-ACC Freshman Team for her efforts in her rookie campaign. She has made an immediate impact on the team and was named the ACC Freshman of the Week (9/23) after notching 18 kills and not committing a single error en route to a .692 hitting percentage with wins over Penn State, East Carolina and Marquette. Jones averages over 1.00 block and kill per set in Pitt's commanding offense and defense.
