University of Pittsburgh Athletics
“I’m Lucky To Be At A Volleyball School”
12/17/2025 4:21:00 PM | Volleyball
KANSAS CITY - Dan Fisher sat at the podium Wednesday afternoon inside the T-Mobile Center, fielding questions about roster turnover, the transfer portal and about how his Pitt volleyball program keeps reloading year after year. As the Panthers prepare to make their fifth consecutive appearance in the national semifinal on Thursday night against Texas A&M, Fisher reflected on the program he's built.
Then came his answer, simple and profound in its honesty.
"I'm lucky to be at a volleyball school."
Eight words that capture everything about what Fisher has built. Not a school with a volleyball program. A volleyball school.
The distinction matters.
With all the roster turnover experienced from 2024 to 2025, Fisher and his staff didn't panic.
They pivoted. They recruited. They rebuilt.
And here they are at the Final Four again, with a roster that looks completely different from the one that took the floor a season ago in Louisville.
"We had to pivot pretty quickly," Fisher said. "I'm just really proud of the work my staff did to get a team in place to be back here."
But the work goes deeper than Xs and Os, deeper than recruiting rankings or transfer portal additions. Fisher has built something sustainable at Pitt, something that transcends any single player or season. He's built a culture, and more importantly, a family.
More Than Volleyball
For Fisher, the consistency hasn't come from chasing perfection, but from setting standards and trusting people to grow into them.
Olivia Babcock and Bre Kelley, both All-Americans and leaders on this Final Four roster, describe a program that demands excellence without suffocating it.
"We have a standard we want to hold ourselves to," Babcock said. "But it's not the end of the world if we don't hit it right away. That takes pressure off and it lets us get better every day."
Kelley echoed that balance, pointing to Fisher's ability to coach individuals as much as athletes.
"He builds real relationships with us off the court," she said. "So when things get hard, when he's pushing you, you know it's coming from a place of care. He believes you can reach that level."
This year's team has needed that flexibility more than most. With so many new faces, the Panthers had to build chemistry on the fly while maintaining championship-level play. The result? A dominant season that has ended up back at the Final Four.
"This is a very new team, but so many people have been here before," Babcock said. "We were able to prepare the newer players coming into this experience, what to expect."
Playing for Something Bigger
Standing on the precipice of another Final Four, both Babcock and Kelley emphasized something that matters more than wins and losses: they're playing for each other.
"Every time I step on the court, it's just to have fun with my friends," Kelley said. "Obviously, it's hard to not give in to the pressure of these moments, but you just kind of look at your six-foot world, which is just the people on the court."
That "six-foot world" philosophy - focusing on the teammates beside you rather than the noise around you - has become a mantra for this group. It's how they've dominated elite competition. It's how they've stayed locked in through adversity. And it's how they plan to approach tomorrow's national semifinal match against Texas A&M.
"We just want to play volleyball," Babcock said. "This game is supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to be severely taxing on your mind and body. I just want to play ball with this team and play to the best ability that we can and have a blast on this court."
The Evolution of a Powerhouse
Fisher ponders a question about when he felt his program had arrived.
The foundation took years to build, player development that used to span five-year arcs rather than single seasons. But somewhere around last year, he admits, the perception shifted.
"Probably last year, with us being ranked number one a lot, it shifted from us being looked at as this new kid to, 'Oh yeah, Pitt's number one,'" Fisher said. "That was the new shift."
Maintaining that standard through roster turnover and the chaotic modern college landscape? That's the real challenge.
"The hardest part is how much the college landscape has changed," Fisher acknowledged. "People are going to schools for different reasons, recruiting's changed. As a collegiate coach, you need to evolve and adapt and embrace it."
But even with all the changes, one thing remains constant: Fisher's commitment to his players beyond volleyball.
"The most rewarding part is always the relationships," he said. "The best thing as a coach is to see somebody maybe become better or to do something they didn't think they could do. To be part of that journey is the best part."
A Volleyball School
Back to those eight words: "I'm lucky to be at a volleyball school."
Fisher wasn't bragging. He was expressing genuine gratitude for an administration that supports the program, for fans who pack Fitzgerald Field House and for a city that has embraced this team as its own.
"We have a newer athletic director (Allen Greene) that's been incredibly supportive of us," Fisher said. "I'm lucky to be at the school I'm at."
As the Panthers prepare for their fifth straight national semifinal appearance, they carry with them the weight of looking for their first appearance in the national championship match and the lightness of a team that genuinely loves playing together. They carry Fisher's standards without his expectations. They carry the knowledge that they're playing for something bigger than themselves.
Most of all, they carry the confidence that comes from knowing their coach sees them, truly, as more than just volleyball players.
That's what it means to be at a volleyball school. That's what Dan Fisher has built at Pitt.
Five straight Final Fours. A new roster. The same standard. The same coach who feels lucky to be at a volleyball school that just keeps winning.
