Pitt
14-3,6-1ACC
Notre Dame
7-8,4-3ACC
No. 6 Pitt Earns Reverse Sweep over Notre Dame Friday Night
10/17/2025 11:25:00 PM | Volleyball
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 6 Panthers (14-3, 6-1 ACC) reverse swept Notre Dame (7-8, 4-3 ACC) on Friday night (25-27, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 15-4) in Purcell Pavilion to earn its sixth conference win of the season. Olivia Babcock recorded 29 kills, 14 digs and five blocks to lead the Panthers, and Marina Pezelj notched a career-high and match best 17 digs to pace Pitt on the defensive end. This marked Pitt's first reverse sweep since the 3-2 win over Louisville in the 2023 Regional Final at the Fitzgerald Field House.
The Fighting Irish held the momentum from the first point, forcing Pitt to take timeouts down 3-0 and 8-3. The Panthers did not give up and cut Notre Dame's lead to one at 20-19, causing the Irish to take a timeout of their own. Izzy Masten was solid from the service line, and a pair of kills from Pezelj and a termination from Babcock led to another Notre Dame timeout with Pitt leading 22-20. The Irish went on a 7-3 run to secure the tight first set, 27-25.
Notre Dame continued its solid play out of the break and forced the Panthers to take an early timeout, down 5-3. A service run from Pezelj and two Blaire Bayless kills gave Pitt some energy, and the Fighting Irish called a timeout, down 11-8. Notre Dame picked up its play down the stretch, and Pitt called a timeout, trailing 20-18. Despite forcing the Irish to talk things over at 23-22, the Panthers were unable to win the 27-25 nail biter second set, going down 2-0 for the first time this season.
Pitt flipped the script in the third set, and Notre Dame was left with no timeouts after calling a pair at 8-5 and 15-10. The Panthers held a strong 22-15 lead but called a timeout after Notre Dame benefited from two Pitt errors. Babcock ultimately gave Pitt set point after a fiery swing. Her ninth kill of the frame allowed Pitt to take the 25-21 set three victory.
The Panthers continued to roll in set four as Notre Dame needed a timeout, trailing 13-9. The Fighting Irish responded well, however, and dialed up a 5-1 run to force Pitt to take a timeout at 14-14. Babcock, Bayless and Brooke Mosher each put a ball away to help push the Irish to take their final timeout, down 20-16. Despite the late effort from Notre Dame, a kill from Babcock, her 10th of the set, was what Pitt needed to earn the fourth set, 25-23.
The strong serving from Mallorie Meyer ignited a strong 5-1 start for Pitt in the deciding set, and Notre Dame needed to stop the momentum with a timeout. The efficient Panther offense coupled with a pair of Notre Dame unforced errors resulted in Notre Dame calling its final timeout at 10-3. Pitt ultimately won the fifth set in dominant fashion, 15-4, and the match, 3-2.
Up next, No. 6 Pitt takes on rival No. 4 Louisville (14-3, 6-1 ACC) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
NOTES
- Olivia Babcock has now recorded at least 25 kills in five matches this season
- Marina Pezelj registered a career-high 17 digs and 12 kills on the night
- Mallorie Meyer notched a personal best nine digs and six assists
