No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps NC State

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball swept NC State Wolfpack.

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates Points in Sweep of NC State / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball team is playing their best they have all season, resulting in another sweep, this time, over NC State on the road.

The Panthers (27-1 overall, 17-1 ACC) win their 12th straight match dating back to Oct. 18, a month long winning streak. They also improve to 16-2 all-time vs. the Wolfpack (14-12 overall, 9-9 ACC) and 7-1 in Raleigh, N.C.

Pitt would start out with an early lead and held a 13-9 advantage midway through the first period. NC State continued battling back, with a 5-1 run, taking a 15-14 lead.

The Panthers then went on a 7-1 run, burning both Wolfpack timeouts and would win the first set, 25-18. Redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley and sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock each made two kills and a block during the run for the Panthers.

Pitt built an early lead of 7-2 and would lead 15-5, before taking the second set, 25-12. Pitt hit .500 in the period and held NC State to .040.

The Wolfpack held an early 7-6 advantage in the third period, but a 9-2 run from the Panthers gave them a 15-9 lead, leading to the home team burning both of their timeouts. The Panthers would hold off the Wolfpack the rest of the way, taking the 25-18 set victory and the sweep.

Babcock excelled once again for Pitt, leading with 17 kills, tying her season-high hitting percentage of .577, making eight digs, three service aces, two assists and two blocks.

She now has 62 service aces, putting her into second place for most in a season in Pitt history, passing Ann Marie Lucanie back in 1993. She already broke the record for most service aces in the 25-point scoring era in the sweep vs. Miami at home on Nov. 17 and is only six service aces away from taking the program record.

The Panthers got great production from their middle blockers, as Kelley finished with eight kills and led with six blocks, while freshman Ryla Jones added six blocks and hit .750.

Sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez made seven kills, hit .294 and tied Babcock for the team lead with eight digs. Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford finished second behind Kelley with five blocks herself, and added six kills and six digs in the sweep for the Panthers

Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks led Pitt to a .437 hitting percentage with 33 assists. That is the third highest hitting percentage for Pitt in the ACC this season and fifth overall.

The Panthers held the Wolfpack to .080 hitting, the 12th time they've prevented an opponent from hitting over .100 and the ninth ACC opponent.

Pitt will battle rival No. 3 Louisville on the road on Nov. 27, with the ACC Network broadcasting the match at 7:00 p.m.

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