Pitt Volleyball Sweeps No. 22 Florida State

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball swept No. 22 Florida State.

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps No. 3 Penn State in the Keystone Classic at the Petersen Events Center / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball played well yet again against a ranked opponent, as they swept No. 22 Florida State at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers (24-1 overall, 14-1 ACC) win their ninth straight match dating back to Oct. 18 and remain on top of the ACC. They also improve to 14-6 in the all-time series vs. the Seminoles (18-7 overall, 10-5 ACC), 8-1 at home and get revenge for losing in Tallahasse, Fla. last season.

Pitt also now has nine top 25 wins on the season, including three on the road vs. against then ranked No. 10 Oregon in the season opener on Aug. 30, then ranked No. 23 USC on Sept. 11 and then ranked No. 13 Georgia Tech on Sept. 29, all sweeps.

They also have home top 25 win vs. both then ranked No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 18 in a sweep and then ranked No. 4 Louisville in five sets on Oct. 25 at the Petersen Events Center. They also swept then ranked No. 15 SMU on Oct. 9, then ranked No. 5 Stanford on Oct. 20 and then ranked No. 25 North Carolina on Nov. 8 at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers came out playing their brand of volleyball, taking a 6-1 lead and then increasing it to 10-4 and 15-7 by the first media timeout.

Pitt would stay in the lead, increasing it to 22-12 and holding off a late rally from FSU to win the first set, 25-18.

They outhit the Seminoles .429 to .167, with just three errors. Sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock led with seven kills and hit .545, while fellow sophomore in outside hitter Torrey Stafford made five kills and hit .625.

Florida State kept it competitive to start the second set, leading 6-5, but Pitt would respond, taking a 9-6 lead on a 4-0 run and forcing a Florida State timeout.

The Seminoles stayed in it down just three, but a 5-0 scoring run, capped off with a service ace from Stafford, gave the Panthers an 18-10 lead and burned the Seminoles' second timeout. The Panthers would later take the set, 25-18.

Pitt outhit Florida State, .650 to .160, making just one error and 14 kills on 20 swings. Babcock excelled with eight kills and made two blocks and Stafford made three kills and added a block.

The Panthers began the first set with a 6-0 lead and looked like they would go on to win the third set easily, with a 10-5 lead.

The Seminoles responded with a strong block, which led to attack errors from the Panthers, and cut the led to 10-9 on a 4-0 run.

Pitt would respond with a 7-1 run, thanks to three kills from sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez and two kills from redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley.

The Panthers would continue their strong play through the rest of the set, which allowed them to win the third set, 25-15.

Babcock finished with 19 kills and hit .519, while also making four digs and four blocks in the win. Stafford made 10 kills and hit .562, while adding five digs, while senior setter Rachel Fairbanks made 36 assists, two aces, three digs and one block in the sweep as well.

All three players earned AVCA National Player of the Year award semifinalist nominations, with 14 players in the country making the list.

Panthers head coach Dan Fisher praised their performances in the win, but isn't surprised that they all have had such a great season.

"I think it's, by my estimation, very deserving and I think there's an argument each one of them is the best in the country at their position," Fisher said.

Pitt will host Miami on Nov. 17 with a 1:00 p.m. start to concludee the weekend.

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