University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Duke
No. 4 Pitt Travels to Duke and No. 21 North Carolina This Weekend
10/30/2025 12:50:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (17-3, 9-1 ACC) heads south for a pair of ACC matches against the Blue Devils and Tar Heels this weekend. The Panthers are set to play Duke (5-16, 2-8 ACC) on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and No. 21 North Carolina (16-3, 9-1 ACC) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. The matches can be streamed on ACCNX and ACC Network, respectively.
Pitt owns a 16-8 series record against Duke and has won eight straight matches. Most recently, the Panthers swept the Blue Devils in the Fitzgerald Field House behind a match-high six blocks from Bre Kelley in 2024.
The Panthers also have a significant 16-3 record against North Carolina and are on a nine-match winning streak. Olivia Babcock recorded 18 kills on a .484 hitting percentage last time out against the Tar Heels to lead Pitt to a 3-0 sweep. The Panthers and Tar Heels are currently tied for first in the ACC with Stanford.
SWEEPS ON SWEEPS
• The Panthers swept both NC State and Wake Forest this past weekend.
• Marina Pezelj had a match-high 12 kills on Friday night against the Wolfpack, tying her career high.
• Mallorie Meyer recorded a career-high 11 digs, her second double-digit dig outing in three matches.
• Olivia Babcock notched a match-high 16 kills on a .560 hitting percentage to round out the weekend against Wake Forest.
MARINA ON A TEAR
• Freshman outside hitter Marina Pezelj has stepped in due to a Dagmar Mourits injury and is thriving.
• She tied her career high with 12 kills, a match best, in three sets against NC State while hitting .381 with eight digs, a personal best five blocks, an ace and an assist.
• Pezelj followed that up with eight kills on a .286 hitting percentage, five digs, a career-high three aces, a block and an assist against Wake Forest.
PLAYED OUR CARDS RIGHT
• Pitt came back from being down two sets to one to defeat rival Louisville in the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
• Olivia Babcock set a new program record with 41 kills while hitting .423, and Brooke Mosher recorded a career-high 60 assists to pace the Panthers to a .313 team hitting percentage.
• Mallorie Meyer notched a personal best 10 digs and seven assists, and Blaire Bayless also registered a career-high eight digs.
• Babcock made an appearance on NFL Countdown to help preview the top-10 rivalry match.
SURVIVED IN FIVE
• The Panthers earned a gritty five-set win over Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
• Olivia Babcock had a match-high 29 kills, and Marina Pezelj enjoyed a career day with 17 digs and 12 kills.
• Pitt is currently 3-2 in five set matches this year.
HISTORY MADE, AGAIN!
• Olivia Babcock was named the AVCA National Player of the Week after setting a new program record with 41 kills in the five-set victory over then No. 4 Louisville.
• She became just the second player to earn four weekly national awards in a career, tying Minnesota's Stephanie Samedy for the all-time mark.
• Babcock rewrote the previous record of 37 set by Ann Marie Lucanie against Auburn on 9/13/91.
• She is the only player in the NCAA to record at least 40 kills in a single match this season and the fourth to reach that milestone since 2019.
STAT STUFFER
• Olivia Babcock is currently third in the nation in points per set (5.88), fourth in total points (441), sixth in kills per set (5.07) and eighth in total kills (380).
• Bre Kelley is 16th in blocks per set (1.42).
• Brooke Mosher is 40th in total assists (756) and 48th in assists per set (9.82).
DUPES DIGS IT
• Redshirt senior libero Emery Dupes reached her 1,000th career dig against Wake Forest on Sunday night.
• She recorded 872 digs at Florida State and sits at 135 this season as a Panther.
• Dupes is coming off a strong match against Wake Forest as she notched 11 digs and four assists in the sweep.
ACC AWARDS KEEP ROLLIN' IN
• Olivia Babcock earned her fourth ACC Offensive Player of the Week award of the season (10/20).
• This marks the 14th ACC weekly honor of her career (8 Offensive Player of the Week and 6 Freshman of the Week)
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
• Olivia Babcock has recorded a team best eight double-doubles so far this season.
• Six of them have come in the last 11 matches, including a career-high 17 dig performance against No. 11 SMU.
• Her 2.23 digs per set this season is a personal best, improving upon her 1.82 digs per set her sophomore year.
30 KILL OUTING
• Olivia Babcock recorded 30 kills on a .519 hitting percentage with only three errors on 52 swings against #18 Miami.
• This marked her third 30+ kill match of her career and the first since the National Semifinal last season.
SILENCED THE SEMINOLES
• Pitt swept Florida State in Tallahassee behind Olivia Babcock's 18 kills.
• Emery Dupes led the match with 12 digs, and Babcock and Bre Kelley shared the match high with six blocks.
HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN
• The Panthers played in front of two sellout crowds against Clemson (10/3) and Georgia Tech (10/5) at the Fitzgerald Field House.
• These marked the first sellouts of the season.
TRIPLE B'S CAREER DAY
• Blaire Bayless added a career-high 16 kills on a .429 clip against the Yellow Jackets.
• She is hitting a career best .289 for the season and has hit at least .400 in six matches.
OLIVIA ON OFFENSE
• Olivia Babcock recorded 25 kills against Georgia Tech (10/5) while hitting .404.
• This marked Babcock's third match of the season where she notched at least 25 kills.
FRIDAY NIGHT SWEEP
• Pitt defeated Clemson in straight sets and hit a season-high .479 as a team.
• Eight Panthers recorded at least two kills on the night, and Olivia Babcock added 12 kills on a .632 hitting clip.
TAMED THE STANGS
• The Panthers completed the home-and-home series against No. 11 SMU with a four-set win on Sept. 28.
• The match was highlighted by Olivia Babcock's explosive double-double of 29 kills and a career-best and match-high 17 digs.
