2023 Women's Volleyball Roster
Rachel Fairbanks
- Position:
- S/RS
- Hometown:
- Tustin, Calif.
- Class:
- Junior
- Letters:
- 2
- High School:
- Foothill HS
- Height:
- 6-0
Career Highlights
AVCA First Team All-American (2024)
First Team All-ACC (2024)
AVCA East Coast Region Team (2024)
AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist (2024)
Pittsburgh NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2024)
ACC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year (2024)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (2024)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District (2024)
All-ACC Academic Team (2024)
Volleymag.com First Team All-American (2024)
AVCA First Team All-American (2023)
AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year (2023)
AVCA East Coast Region Team (2023)
ACC Setter of the Year (2023)
All-ACC First Team (2023)
ACC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year (2023)
Pittsburgh NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2023)
Volleymag.com First Team All-American (2023)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (2023)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District (2023)
Preseason All-ACC Team (2023)
All-ACC Academic Team (2023)
AVCA Third Team All-American (2022)
Volleymag.com Fourth Team All-American (2022)
AVCA All-East Coast Region (2022)
All-ACC Second Team (2022)
Madison NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2022)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District (2022)
All-ACC Academic Team (2022)
Pittsburgh NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team (2021)
AS A SENIOR (2024)
- Notched a personal best 1,067 assists and averaged 10.67 assists per set
- Led Pitt to first in the nation with a .332 hitting percentage, a program record in the 25-point scoring era
- Set Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford and Bre Kelley to AVCA All-America honors
- Notched nine double-doubles on the year
- Recorded at least one ace in 22 matches
- Registered a season-high 54 assists and 12 digs in the Regional Semifinal win over Oregon
- AVCA First Team All-American
- First Team All-ACC
- AVCA East Coast Region Team
- AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist
- Volleymag.com First Team All-American
- Pittsburgh NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team
- Asics Classic Tournament Best Setter
- 4x ACC Setter of the Week
AS A JUNIOR (2023)
- Recorded a career-high 933 assists along with 190 digs, 59 kills, 52 blocks and 22 aces
- Notched a career-high 58 assists and 19 digs against Louisville (11/18)
- Registered 30 or more assists in 17 matches
- Recorded a season-high seven kills and nine points against Kentucky (9/3) on a .313 hitting percentage
- Set the Panthers to a program best .303 season hitting percentage
- Blocked a season-high four balls against North Carolina, Notre Dame and Coppin State
- Registered two aces on five different occasions
- AVCA First Team All-American
- AVCA All-East Coast Region Player of the Year
- AVCA All-East Coast Region
- ACC Setter of the Year
- All-ACC First Team
- Four-time ACC Setter of the Week
- Preseason All-ACC Team
- ACC Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year
- College Sports Communicators Academic All-American
- College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
AS A SOPHOMORE (2022)
Member of Pitt’s NCAA Final Four team, the second consecutive National Semifinal appearance…won her first ACC Championship, helping the Panthers to a 17-1 conference record and the most wins in a single season since 1990 (31-4)…3rd Team AVCA All-American, first underclassmen to achieve All-American status in program history…4th Team volleyballmag.com All-American…first Panther to record a triple-double in the modern scoring era, making 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs vs. Hawai’i (8/27)…first Panther to record triple-double in an NCAA Tournament match, making 10 kills, 28 assists and 13 digs in the 2nd round vs. BYU (12/3)…first Panther in the modern scoring era to deliver 850+ assists and 100+ kills in a single season, finishing with 144 kills and a team-high 880 assists…Named All-Regional team for the Madison Regional, making 12 kills, 75 assists, four aces and 24 digs in wins over Florida and Wisconsin…led the team with 15 double-doubles this season including two in the NCAA Tournament and seven in ACC play…led the team with 39 aces, the second most aces in a single season by a Panther over the last seven seasons…recorded a career-best six aces in Pitt’s sweep over American, tied for the most aces by a Panther in the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008) and tied for the second highest aces/set (2.00) in program history…named second team all-conference for the first time in her career.
AS A FRESHMAN (2021)
Part of Pitt’s first NCAA Final Four appearance by a women’s team in school history … Helped Pitt reach its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, marking the program’s longest NCAA postseason streak in history … Named to Pittsburgh NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team, as voted by media … Appeared in all but one match for the Panthers, earning a starting role for the first time at Syracuse (Nov. 12) and starting every match during Pitt’s Final Four run (five matches, Dec. 3-16) … Recorded two double-doubles, both in the NCAA Tournament, with the first in the Second Round against Penn State (27 assists, season-best 12 digs) and the second with season-best totals of 10 kills and 28 assists in the Regional Final against Purdue (Dec. 11) … Hit a blistering .727 against No. 1 Louisville with eight kills on 11 swings and zero errors (Nov. 24) … Posted a season-best two service aces in four matches, with the latest against Nebraska in the National Semifinal (Dec. 16) … Averaged 2.34 assists, 0.88 digs, 0.66 points, 0.45 kills and 0.18 service aces per set.
HIGH SCHOOL/CLUB
Under Armour Second Team All-American … Named to the All-Region 9 Team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) … PrepVolleyball Class of 2021 Top 150 … Two-time JVA Ultra Ankle All-National Team … 2019 Crestview League Most Valuable Player … Two-time captain for club and current captain of Foothill HS team … Three-time Crestview League First Team … Three-time Crestview League Champion … 2019 Division I All CIF Team … 2019 All Orange County First Team … 2018 All Orange County Second Team … 2018 CIF State Division I Regional Finalist … Senior season delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic … Played for Tstreet Volleyball Club out of Irvine, Calif. … Team named 2019 USA Volleyball Club Team of the Year … 2020 season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic … 2019 PrepVolleyball All-America First Team … 2019 USA Volleyball GJNC 16 Open National Champion.
PERSONAL
Daughter of Stephanie and Bret Fairbanks … Has three older sisters: Megan, Katie and Jessie … Mother, Stephanie, played soccer at BYU … Four-year member of the Principal's High Honor Roll … Four-time Scholar-Athlete.
