Inside The Panthers

Pitt Volleyball Lands Three National Award Semifinalists

Pitt Panthers volleyball has three national award semifinalists.

Dominic Campbell

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball celebrates a service ace from outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez in the sweep of No. 15 SMU
No. 1 Pitt Volleyball celebrates a service ace from outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez in the sweep of No. 15 SMU / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have had a sensational 2024 volleyball campaign and three players earned recognition for the best player in the country.

Sophomores in right side Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford, plus senior setter Rachel Fairbanks each made one of the 14 semifinalist spots for the AVCA National Player of the Year Award.

Babcock leads the ACC with .67 service aces per set (No. 2 Division I), 4.37 kills per set (Tied for No. 4 Division I) and 5.66 points per set (Tied for No. 6 Division I).

She earned AVCA National Player of the Week honors following her play in sweeps over Cal on Oct. 16 and then ranked No. 5 Stanford on Oct. 18, both at home.

Babcock led with 16 kills. hit .577, while also adding five total blocks, two service aces and two digs againstĀ the Golden Bears. She also led with 17 kills, hit .361, along with six total blocks, six digs and a service ace vs.Ā the Cardinal.

She also had one of her best games of her collegiate career in the four-set win over Boston College on the road on Oct. 4.

Babcock had 12 service aces in the four-set win vs. the Eagles, setting the record for the most in a single match in Pitt history and the most service aces in a match in Divison I this season.

The match, itself, saw Babcock finish with a triple-double, as she also made 14 kills and 10 digs along with her 12 service aces.

Babcock received numerous accoldes for her performance in 2023, including All-ACC Freshman Team, All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Freshman of the Year, AVCA All-East Coast Region Team, AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year, AVCA First Team All-American and AVCA National Freshman of the Year.

Stafford has also played exceptionally well in 2024, more impressive as she dealt with a benign tumor on her tibia in the offseason, which caused a stress fracture, leading to her having surgery in February.

She ranks No. 4 in the ACC with 3.84 kills per set and No. 5 in the conference with both 4.42 points per set and a .373 hitting percentage. That hitting percentage also ranks tied for No. 43 in the country and tied for the third highest for a pin-hitter in Division I.

Stafford has also stepped up her performances defensively, with a .968 reception rate and only 12 reception errors on the season facing 375 serve attempts. She also ranks third on the Panthers with 2.20 digs per set and fourth with 44.0 total blocks.

She finished last season as a Third Team All-American and earned All-ACC First Team, AVCA East Coast Region Team and All-ACC Freshman Team honors.

Fairbanks is showing the country that she deserves respect as one of the best setters in Division I.

She ranks second in the ACC and No. 32 in Division I with 10.34 assists per set and has led Pitt to hit .336 as a team, best in Divison I.

Her play has also allowed players like Babcock, Stafford, sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez and middle blockers in redshirt junior Bre Kelley and freshman Ryla Jones to excel.

Fairbanks earned First Team All-American, AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year and First Team All-ACC honors last season.

Make sure you bookmarkĀ Inside the PanthersĀ for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter:Ā @InsidePitt

Published
Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Follow Dominic Campbell on Twitter.

Home/News