University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
19-3,11-1ACC
#21 North Carolina
17-4,10-2ACC
No. 4 Pitt Outlasts No. 21 UNC In Five; Babcock Shatters Kills School Record
11/2/2025 5:20:00 PM | Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – In a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) match Sunday, No. 4 Pitt (19-3, 11-1 ACC) outlasted No. 21 North Carolina (17-4, 10-2 ACC) on the road 25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 17-15. Olivia Babcock broke her own single-match school kills record, which she set two weeks ago, with 45 kills in the victory while hitting .357.
The defending AVCA National Player of the Year, Babcock recorded her second 40+ kill match in 14 days. She is the only player in the country to reach 40 kills in a match this year. Her 45 kills were four better than the 41 she posted to set the school record at Louisville on Oct. 19. 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 added six blocks and eight digs as the Panthers moved to 11-1 in the ACC, dropping UNC out of a three-way tie atop the league standings at 10-2. Stanford remains tied with Pitt at 11-1.
The two teams split the opening two sets and North Carolina built an 18-12 lead in the third, but Pitt rallied and eventually tied the score at 21-21. With the set squared up at 23-23, Pitt got kills from Blair Bayless and Babcock that completed the rally.
North Carolina rallied back to force a fifth set, coming back from a 23-20 fourth stanza deficit for the 26-24 win.
In the fifth and deciding set, Pitt jumped out to a 7-2 lead but the Tar Heels chipped away at the lead. Pitt still led 14-11 but North Carolina fought off three match points to tie the score at 14-14. A Babcock kill made it 15-14 but UNC answered again to tie it at 15-15.
Bre Kelley and Marina Pezelj combined on a block that gave Pitt a 16-15 advantage before a Pezelj kill closed out the match.
Brooke Mosher led Pitt with 57 assists, and Ryla Jones tied her personal best with 10 blocks. Mallorie Meyer recorded a career-high 21 digs and ten assists for her first career double-double as Pitt outdug UNC 66-53.
The Panthers improve to 19-3 overall and extending the team's win streak to seven matches. Pitt will return home this week to host Virginia Tech Friday at 6 p.m. and Virginia Sunday at noon. Both matches can be streamed on ACCNX.
