University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
2-0,0-0ACC
Xavier
0-1,0-0Big East
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier | 24 | 13 | 18 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
No. 4 Panthers Sweep Xavier To Close AVCA First Serve
8/24/2026 8:25:00 PM | Volleyball
MILWAUKEE, WISC. – No. 4 Pitt closed out the Jeep AVCA First Serve with a three-set sweep of Xavier Monday at Fiserv Forum, improving to 2-0 on the season. Blaire Bayless led the Panthers with 13 kills, Olivia Babcock added 12 on .450 hitting and Izzy Starck ran the offense with 29 assists in the 26-24, 25-13, 25-18 victory.
Pitt hit .367 as a team and out blocked Xavier 9-5, while limiting the Musketeers to a .169 attack percentage. Ayanna Watson chipped in eight kills on just one error for a .467 hitting mark, and Maaike Heilig was steady at the net with four kills on four swings without an error.
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FIRST SET
- The opener was tight throughout, with 13 tie scores and six lead changes before Pitt pulled away late.
- Xavier led 24-20 before Pitt closed on a 6-0 run, capped by a kill from Blaire Bayless and an attack error by Ava Tilden, to escape with a 26-24 win.
- Charlotte Moriarty paced Xavier with seven kills in the set, while Babcock and Bayless each had multiple kills down the stretch for Pitt.
SECOND SET
- Pitt controlled the second set from start to finish, hitting .500 as a team.
- The Panthers used a stretch of kills from Mallorie Meyer's serve, including back-to-back errors by Xavier, to build an 8-2 cushion.
- A late 6-0 run, punctuated by kills from Bayless and Moriarty's own attack error, sealed the 25-13 win.
THIRD SET
- Xavier hung within striking distance early, trailing just 8-7 after a Jenna Barhorst service ace.
- Pitt answered with a 4-0 spurt behind kills from Olivia Babcock to take control at 12-7 and never trailed again.
- The Panthers finished it off at 25-18 on a Xavier service error.
NOTABLE
- Blaire Bayless was perfect on 13 reception attempts and added four digs and two block assists to go with her team-high 13 kills. She earned match MVP honors.
- Olivia Babcock finished with five digs and three block assists in addition to her 12 kills, and served two aces.
- Izzy Starck's 29 assists came with 10 digs and a block assist.
- Charlotte Moriarty led all players with 17 kills for Xavier, though she also hit into six errors on 40 attempts.
- Maaike Heilig was perfect on seven swings during the weekend, posting four kills on four attacks Monday. She added a team-best five blocks following up her team-high eight block effort against Kentucky Sunday.
- Freshman Ayanna Watson established a career-best with eight kills and she hit .467 while adding two digs and two blocks.
- Xavier hit just .169 in the match. It is the first time Pitt has held its first two opponents of a season below .175 in each match since the 2018 season.
- Pitt improves to 49-6 in regular season non-conference matches since the beginning of the 2021 season and 32-1 against unranked non-conference opponents during that stretch.
UP NEXT
- Pitt heads home to host the Opening Spike Classic Thursday and Sunday, welcoming No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 15 Kansas to the Petersen Events Center.
- Having won 19 straight matches inside Petersen Events Center over the course of the past seven years, Pitt will host Kansas Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Wisconsin Sunday at noon.
- Tickets are available by CLICKING HERE.
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