University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Three Panthers Honored With Weekly ACC Awards
8/25/2026 4:14:00 PM | Volleyball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The ACC announced the first weekly volleyball awards of the 2026 season and three Pitt players were recognized as Olivia Babcock was named Offensive Player of the Week, Izzy Starck was named Setter of the Week and Ayanna Watson was named Freshman of the Week.
Pitt, ranked No. 4 in the country, opened the season with an impressive 2-0 weekend at the Jeep AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee, Wisc. The Panthers opened the season with a four-set victory over No. 3 Kentucky Sunday and then swept Xavier, a team that went 26-5 a year ago, Monday evening.
Babcock, the two-time defending AVCA National Player of the Year, was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the 10th time in her career. It is the 16th weekly ACC award for the senior including six ACC Freshman of the Week awards in 2023. She opened the season with 27 kills in the four-set win over No. 3 Kentucky, adding nine digs, four blocks and hitting .339. She followed that up with 12 kills in the win over Xavier, posting two aces, five digs and three blocks. She also hit .450 in that match.
Starck, a junior transfer, made her debut in a Pitt uniform with a pair of double-doubles over the weekend. She had 41 assists, 13 digs and five blocks in the win over Kentucky and was recognized as MVP of the match. She then had 29 assists, 10 digs and a block in the sweep of Xavier.
Watson made her collegiate debut over the weekend and did not disappoint. One of the top recruits in the country, Watson had six kills and hit .300 with two aces and two blocks against Kentucky. She then established a new career-best with eight kills in the sweep of Xavier, hitting .467 and adding two digs and two blocks. She had just one attack error on 35 swings over the weekend.
Pitt returns home to host the Opening Spike Classic Friday and Sunday, welcoming No. 5 Stanford, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 15 Kansas to the Petersen Events Center. Winners of 21 straight matches inside the Petersen Events Center, Pitt will face Kansas Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Wisconsin Sunday at noon. Tickets are available by CLICKING HERE.
