Pitt
UMBC
No. 1 Pitt Finishes Non-Conference Play With UMBC on Wednesday Night
9/24/2024 1:30:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (9-0, 0-0 ACC) hosts UMBC (1-9, 0-0 America East) for a midweek match-up on Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House. The two programs will play each other for the third time in four years.
Pitt leads the series 4-0 and defeated the Retrievers in three sets last season. Five Panthers registered at least five kills while the team hit an efficient .488.
PANTHERS SWEEP GOLDEN EAGLES
• Pitt looked sharp against Marquette on Sunday afternoon, sweeping the Golden Eagles.
• The Panthers hit .398, and three players (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.
PITT DOMINATES PIRATES
• The Panthers once again swept East Carolina on Friday night 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.
• This marks 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.
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 and three kills and four blocks in the sweep of Marquette.
SWEET SWEEP
• The Panthers swept No. 3 Penn State last Wednesday night in the Petersen Events Center in front of a record-breaking crowd (11,800).
• Pitt's 21 straight sets won broke a program record.
• Torrey Stafford and Rachel Fairbanks shined, recording 17 kills and 42 assists, respectively.
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones had a career-high seven kills on a .636 hitting percentage.
• Senior libero Emmy Klika registered 15 digs.
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 15 in the nation in points per set (11th – 5.25) and kills per set (7th – 4.65) while Babcock ranks 5th nationally in points per set (5.63) and 20th in kills per set (4.42).
• Babcock or Stafford have either led or tied for the team high in kills in each match this season.
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.
WELL-OILED MACHINE
• Pitt ranks among the top five in the country for hitting percentage (1st - .354), opponent hitting percentage (3rd - .124), aces per set (6th – 2.26), and assists per set (7th - 13.48)
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 a season-high 38 assists.
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones led the Panthers with seven blocks and added four kills.
PUT A RING ON IT
• The 2023 ACC Champions and Final Four participants were given their rings prior to the Penn State match by alumni and Forever Panthers.
• Cat Flood, Rachel Fairbanks and Emmy Klika received their third ring (2021 Final Four, 2022 ACC Championship/Final Four, 2023 ACC Championship/Final Four) while Valeria Vazquez Gomez was given her fourth ring, as she was a part of the 2019 ACC Championship team.
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.
FISHER IN HIS 12TH SEASON
• Head coach Dan Fisher is excelling in his 12th season at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team.
• He looks to build upon his unprecedented success and seek his sixth ACC Championship and first National Championship.
• Fisher currently holds a 296-67 overall record, good for a .815 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 5th in the nation in assists per set (11.30) and has recorded double digit digs twice so far.
