No. 3 Pitt In Action at AVCA First Serve Showcase
8/21/2025 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt Panthers open their 2025 season at the AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Friday, Aug. 22 against 2024 National Semifinalist and No. 1 Nebraska in front of a sold-out crowd. The Panthers will play on Nebraska on FOX for the first time in program history. Pitt will wrap up the weekend against No. 16 Florida on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.
The Panthers and Huskers meet for the 16th time in program history as Pitt is looking for its first victory. Pitt most recently fell to No. 1 Nebraska in the 2023 National Semifinal in Tampa, Fla. The Panthers currently lead the overall series against Florida 3-1 and took down the Gators in the 2022 Regional Semifinal in their last meeting.
LIV'S BUSY SUMMER!
• Olivia Babcock had a busy summer both on and off the court.
• She played with the USA Senior National Team in the VNL for two weeks before heading to New York City for the CWSA Honda Award Banquet (6/29-6/30) and Los Angeles for the ESPYS (7/16).
• Babcock is the first Panther to be named a Honda Award winner and the first Pitt female student-athlete to be nominated for an ESPY (best college athlete in women's sports).
PANTHERS TO WATCH
• Olivia Babcock and Bre Kelley were named to the 2025 AVCA Player of the Year Watch List.
• This marks Kelley's first time being named to the list.
• Babcock makes the list after being dubbed the 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year.
NPOTY RETURNS
• Olivia Babcock returns for her junior campaign.
• She had the best season in program history last year, being named the program's first AVCA National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year, AVCA First Team All-American, First Team All-ACC, and Pittsburgh NCAA Regional Most Valuable Player.
• Babcock recorded 33 kills in the National Semifinal, a program record in the rally scoring era.
• The sophomore sensation led the conference in points per set (5.85), kills per set (4.59) and aces per set (0.65) last season.
BIG BLOCK BRE
• Redshirt senior Bre Kelley is back for her fifth year after earning AVCA Second Team All-America honors last season.
• Kelley finished eighth in the nation in blocks per set (1.49)
• She finished the season hitting .497, setting both a program and ACC record.
• Along with being named an All-American, Kelley earned First Team All-ACC and East Coast Region honors.
EMERY DUPES A PANTHER
• Graduate libero Emery Dupes transferred to Pitt after four seasons at Florida State.
• She became the first All-ACC freshman libero in program history for the Seminoles.
• Dupes redshirted the 2023 season after tearing her ACL in preseason.
• She comes into the 2025 campaign with career totals of 872 digs, 212 assists and 59 aces.
FROM GREEN TO GOLD
• Sophia Gregoire transferred to Pitt after two seasons at Oregon.
• She redshirted her freshman season and saw action in her redshirt freshman campaign before sustaining an ankle injury.
• Gregoire had an accomplished high school career and was named to the U18 roster for the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program.
B1G TO ACC
• Redshirt senior setter Brooke Mosher came to Pittsburgh this May to prepare for her fifth and final season of college volleyball.
• She played four years at Illinois and comes into the season with 2,075 assists, 727 digs, 403 kills and 114 aces in her career.
EARLY ENROLLEES
• Freshman middle blocker Abbey Emch graduated high school early to join the Panthers last spring.
• Emch was the District Player of the Year and MVAC Player of the Year, notched 1st Team All Ohio, 1st Team All District, 1st Team MVAC and AVCA girls high school All-Region honors.
• Freshman libero Izzy Masten graduated a whole year early and reclassified to be a part of the 2025 Pitt volleyball team.
• She played outside hitter and libero in club and high school and won the USAV 18U Beach National Championship.
INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
• The Panthers welcome two international outside hitters to the 2025 team.
• Dagmar Mourits hails from the Netherlands and won the CEV Volleyball European Championship from 2019-2022.
• Marina Pezelj is from Monaco and recently was a member of the French VNL Team this past summer.
FOUR FOR FOUR
• The Panthers advanced to their fourth straight National Semifinal in 2024.
• Pitt is the only team in the nation that advanced to the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 National Semifinals.
• Recent Pitt volleyball alumni Emmy Klika and Rachel Fairbanks made every Final Four in their careers.
ALL-REGION NODS
• All seven starters were named to the AVCA East Coast Region Team for the second straight year.
• Olivia Babcock was dubbed the AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year for the first time in her career. Rachel Fairbanks earned the award in 2023.
• Dan Fisher was named the AVCA East Coast Region Coach of the Year for the third time in his career after leading Pitt to a 33-2 overall and 19-1 ACC record.
OUTRIGHT ACC CHAMPS!
• The Pitt Panthers were the 2024 outright ACC Champions for the third time in program history and sixth overall.
• This marked the third consecutive ACC Championship for Pitt.
• The win over No. 3 Louisville secured a share of the title, and the victory over No. 19 Georgia Tech allowed Pitt the outright championship.
OUR COACH
• Head Coach Dan Fisher was named the 2024 ACC Coach of the Year after leading Pitt to a 33-2 overall record and 19-1 ACC record.
• This marked Fisher's third ACC Coach of the Year accolade and first since 2018.
• He sits at 395 career wins and 320 at Pitt.
NUMBER ONE
• For the first time in program history, Pitt was the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Panthers were tied for first with the least amount of losses last year and ended the season at No. 3 in the RPI.
AWARDS ON AWARDS
• In addition to ACC Coach of the Year and ACC Player of the Year, all seven of Pitt's starters were named all-conference.
• Olivia Babcock, Rachel Fairbanks, Torrey Stafford and Bre Kelley saw their names on the First Team, and Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Emmy Klika earned Second Team honors.
• Ryla Jones was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team for her impact in her rookie campaign.
PRO PANTHERS
• Three Panthers from the 2024 team are currently playing professional volleyball in the United States.
• Rachel Fairbanks re-signed a contract with LOVB Atlanta after a great first season this past spring, ending in a semifinal appearance.
• Valeria Vazquez Gomez joined the Omaha Supernovas last season after a successful career as a Panther.
• Libero Emmy Klika recently re-signed with the Orlando Valkyries after joining late in the year and helping them win the organization's first PVF Championship.
• Klika was a two-time All-ACC and 2023 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention performer.
BABCOCK MAKES HISTORY
• Olivia Babcock is the all-time program leader for most aces in a single season with 71 in 2024.
• She reached the feat against Morehead State in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
• Previously she passed the single season record in the 25-point scoring era with her third ace of the night against Miami (11/17) and ended with five for the match.
• Babcock passed Lindsey Zitzke who recorded 53 aces in the 2011 season.
STAT STUFFERS
• Pitt led the nation in hitting percentage (.332) last year for the first time in program history.
• The Panthers were third in opponent hitting percentage (0.135), eighth in blocks per set (2.81), tenth in assists per set (13.18) and twelfth in aces per set (1.92) and kills per set (14.08).
VOLLEYBALL TAHN
• Nine Pitt volleyball matches sold out last season (Penn State, Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Miami and Georgia Tech).
• Eight of those nine took place in the Fitzgerald Field House while the victory over the Nittany Lions was in the Petersen Events Center in front of a record-breaking 11,800 people.
FISHER IN HIS 13TH SEASON
• Head coach Dan Fisher is heading into his 13th season at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team.
• He is building upon his unprecedented success, earning his sixth ACC Championship and is seeking his first National Championship.
• Fisher currently holds a 320-69 overall record at Pitt, good for a .823 winning percentage.
