University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
#5 Stanford
No. 3 Panthers Prep for Important California Road Swing in Tight ACC Race
11/13/2025 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (21-3, 13-1 ACC) hits the road for an important swing of matches in California this weekend. The Panthers and No. 5 Stanford (22-3, 13-1 ACC) will battle for sole possession of first place in the ACC on Friday night at 10 p.m. ET. Pitt concludes the slate against Cal on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Both matches can be streamed on ACCNX.
This mark's Pitt's sixth meeting with newly initiated ACC member Stanford, as the Panthers look for their second consecutive victory. Olivia Babcock led Pitt to a sweep over the Cardinal last year with 17 kills on a .361 hitting percentage in front of a sold-out crowd.
Pitt leads the all-time series 2-0 against Cal and defeated the Golden Bears last season at home in three sets. Bre Kelley and Ryla Jones combined for 10 blocks in the match, and Babcock notched 16 kills while hitting a blistering .577.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS!
• The Panthers earned two sweeps over Virginia Tech and Virginia this past weekend.
• All 15 active players saw playing time across the two matches.
• Haiti Tautua'a recorded a career-high 31 assists and four blocks against the Cavaliers.
HISTORIC. AGAIN.
• Olivia Babcock broke her own program record with 45 kills against North Carolina.
• That kill total is the most in NCAA Division I volleyball since Cincinnati's Jordan Thompson had 50 against UConn on Nov. 3, 2019.
• Babcock has recorded at least 25 kills seven times this season and has three 30+ kills to her name in 2025 and four in her career.
• Her previous record was 41 kills set against rival Louisville on Oct. 19.
DYNAMIC DUO
• Olivia Babcock and Brooke Mosher earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week and ACC Setter of the Week, respectively on Nov. 3.
• The duo has combined for eight ACC weekly accolades, with Babcock at five and Mosher at three.
• Babcock continued her dominance, averaging 7.88 points per set, 6.88 kills per set, 1.75 digs per set and 1.25 blocks per set in wins over Duke and then-No. 21 North Carolina.
• Mosher paced the Pitt offense by averaging 10.88 assists per set and 2.63 digs per set in two wins.
RACKING UP RANKED WINS
• The Panthers earned their eighth ranked win of the season against then-No. 21 North Carolina.
• They boast an 8-3 record against top 25 opponents.
• Pitt is third in the nation with eight ranked wins right behind Texas and Nebraska, who have nine.
MEYER MAGIC
• Mallorie Meyer had a career day against North Carolina.
• The sophomore libero recorded a personal-best 21 digs and 10 assists to lead Pitt's backcourt defense.
• Meyer and the Panthers held the Tar Heels to a .180 clip.
SWEEPS ON SWEEPS
• The Panthers swept both NC State and Wake Forest.
• Marina Pezelj had a match-high 12 kills on Friday night against the Wolfpack, tying her career high.
• Mallorie Meyer recorded a then 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 previous 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 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 4-2 in five set matches this year.
HISTORY MADE!
• 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 only the second 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 top 10 in the nation in four statistical categories - third in points per set (5.97), fifth in kills per set (5.11) and total points (525.5) and seventh in total kills (450).
• Bre Kelley is tied for 14th in blocks per set (1.46).
• Brooke Mosher is 59th in assists per set (9.68) and 70th in total assists (852).
DUPES DIGS IT
• Redshirt senior libero Emery Dupes reached her 1,000th career dig against Wake Forest.
• She recorded 872 digs at Florida State and sits at 145 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.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
• Olivia Babcock has recorded a team best eight double-doubles so far this season.
• This includes a career-high 17 dig performance against No. 11 SMU.
• Her 2.16 digs per set this season is a personal best, improving upon her 1.82 digs per set her sophomore year.
