Inside The Panthers

Pitt's Olivia Babcock Earns National Honors

Pitt Panthers volleyball right side Olivia Babock earned national honors.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Volleyball RS Olivia Babcock Makes the USA Team for the NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup
Pitt Volleyball RS Olivia Babcock Makes the USA Team for the NORCECA Final Six Pan American Cup /

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers volleyball sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock had an incredible weekend, earning AVCA National Player of the Week honors.

Babcock led with 16 kills. hit .577, while also adding five total blocks, two service aces and two digs against Cal on Oct. 18. She also led with 17 kills, hit .361, along with six total blocks, six digs and a service ace vs. Stanford on Oct. 20.

She averaged 7.0 points per set, 5.5 kills per set, 1.83 blocks per set and 1.33 digs per set in both games, also earning ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time.

She leads the ACC with 4.39 kills per set, 5.83 points per set and 0.78 service aces per set, while ranking second and third in Division I with aces per set and points per set, respectively. She also ranks No. 9 in the ACC with 1.24 blocks per game, as she is in clearly in conversation for National Player of the Year.

Her best game of the season came against Boston College on the road on Oct. 4, a four-set victory.

Babcock finished with a triple-double, with 14 kills, 12 service aces and 10 digs in the victory. This was the first triple-double for her at Pitt and the first for the program since Rachel Fairbanks had 10 kills, 28 assists and 13 digs in the sweep over BYU In the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center.

Those 12 service aces set the record for the most in a single match in Pitt history. The previous record for service aces in a match sat at eight total, which Diana Andreyko in a five set win vs. Florida State on the road on Sept. 3, 2005 and Wendy Hatlestad in a sweep vs. Savannah State at home on Sept. 13, 2002.

She also holds the record for most service aces in a match in NCAA Division I this season. She broke the previous high of 11 that Nicholls State junior outside hitter Leah Linares Castro had in the four-set victory in the season opener vs. South Carolina State on Aug. 30.

Babcock had an incredible freshman season in 2023, playing a large role in Pitt earning a share of the ACC Title and making it back to the Final Four for a third straight time.

Her enthralling top spin serve led to 51 service aces, ranking No. 2 all-time in a season in Pitt history in the 25-point scoring era (2008-present) and No. 6 all-time, while her 0.44 service aces per set is level with the best in a season.

She also made 420 kills and 3.62 kills per set, which rank No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, while her 119 block assists, also rank ninth best in the 25-point scoring era for Pitt. She also finished fifth on the team with 159 digs, 1.37 per set, and led the team in points at 536.5.

Babcock earned numerous accoldes, 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.

She also earned ACC Offensive Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week honors for her performance in the sweep of then ranked No. 8 Georgia Tech on the road on Nov. 10.

Babcock led the Panthers with 15 kills against the Yellow Jackets and had an incredible .652 hitting percentage. She also finished second with four total blocks, added three digs and tied with sophomore libero/defensive specialist Griffin for two services aces, best on the Panthers.

She also made the USA Women's Volleyball Team as they play at the NORCECA Women’s Final Six Pan American Cup, June 26-30 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The team won silver and Babcock served as the only rising sophomore on the team.

If Babcock continues to keep up her fantastic play, she'll once again feature as not just a First Team All-American, but potentially National Player of the Year.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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