Pitt Volleyball Non-Conference Takeaways, ACC Preview

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball had an excellent non-conference and will now play ACC teams.

Dominic Campbell | Sep 27, 2024

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates after a point / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers volleyball team has had an excellent 2024 season and stayed perfect throughout their non-conference slate, preparing them for a strong ACC for the next two months.

First No. 1 Ranking for Pitt Volleyball

Pitt acheived their first ever No. 1 ranking back on Sept. 9, following the top three teams, No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Wisconsin all losing matches.

They've held onto that ranking for the third straight week and have three ranked matches, including two on the road against then ranked No. 10 Oregon in the season opener on Aug. 30 and then ranked No. 23 USC on Sept. 11.

Pitt dominated rival Penn State in the Keystone Classic, taking down the previously ranked No. 3 team on Sept. 18 in front of a program record crowd at the Petersen Events Center of 11,800 fans.

They also defeated Buffalo, East Carolina, Marquette and UMBC at home and Long Beach State, Pepperdine and UC Santa Barbara on the road, all wins that will play a big role in RPI later on in the season.

Sweeps, Sweeps and More Sweeps

Pitt won all 11 matches in a sweep, never dropping a set, the only team to do so in Division I. They've only gone to extras twice, in the second set vs. Oregon, 27-25, and in the first set vs. USC, 31-29.

The Panthers have only allowed an opponent to score 20 or more points in six of the 33 sets they've played. They've also held all but two of their 10 opponents below a .200 hitting, as they rank No. 2 in the ACC and No. 6 in the country with a .133 opponent hitting percentage.

A 10-0 record is one of the best starts in program history, with an 11-0 start in 2019 and the program record of 23-0 in 2018, which also included an 11-0 start in the ACC.

Exceptional Team Play Leading to Wins

Staying undefeated and sweeping all 10 opponents doesn't come without great play, and as a team, the Panthers are playing like the No. 1 squad in the country.

Pitt leads Division I with a .365 hitting percentage, and the ACC with 14.63 kills per set, 2.30 service aces per set and 13.47 assists per set, ranking No. 4, No. 5 and No. 7 in the country, respectively, in those categories.

They also lead the ACC with 19.43 points per set, 0.70 opponent aces per set and 9.37 opponent digs per set. They rank second and fourth in the confererence with 10.07 opponent kills per set and 9.57 assists per set, respectively.

Star Players Excelling Once Again

Pitt brought back five starters, including four All-Americans from last season and it's a big reason as to why they've began 2024 so well.

Senior Rachel Fairbanks shows that she is one of, if not the best setter in the country, as she's averaging 11.14 assists per set, best in the ACC and seventh best in Division I.

Sophomores in outside hitter Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock both make Pitt one of the toughest teams to defend against, with their great athleticism and ferocious swings accounting for a large number of points.

Stafford dealt with a benign tumor on her tibia in the offseason, which caused a stress fracture, leading to her having surgery in February.

She has come back and put together a National Player of the Year resume, with her 4.67 kills per set best in the ACC and seventh in Division I and her 5.29 points per set second best in the ACC and No. 11 in Division. She also leads Pitt with a .969 reception rate.

Her best stat is her .409 hitting percentage, which while only ranking sixth best in the ACC and tied for No. 34 in Division I, is the second best clip for a pin hitter (non-middle blocker) in the country.

Babcock is the reigning National Freshman of the Year and is continuing to play like it. Her 5.59 points per set is best in the ACC and fifth best in Division, 4.39 kills per set second best in conference and No. 22 in the country, .57 aces per set No. 4 in the ACC and No. 20 in Division I and her 1.18 blocks per set No. 9 in the conference.

Veterans and Newcomers Working Together to Win

Middle blockers in redshirt junior Bre Kelley, coming off a serious ankle injury, and freshman Ryla Jones have adequately replaced Chiamaka Nwokolo and Emma Monks from last season.

Kelley, who is still not at 100%, is hitting .538 and is averaging 0.96 blocks per set. Jones is averaging 1.30 blocks per set, sixth best in the ACC, and is coming off her first ACC Rookie of the Week honor.

Sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez and senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika have both excelled in defense for the Panthers. Klika leads with 3.13 digs per set and is second best with a .958 reception rate, while Vazquez Gomez is third with a .954 reception rate and fourth with 2.15 digs per set.

Vazquez Gomez has had great success from the service line as well, with 0.50 aces per set, sixth best in the ACC. Serve specialist in graduate outside hitter Cat Flood is third on the team averaging 0.45 aces per set.

Senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe transferred late from Texas A&M and is the second setter behind Fairbanks, with both sophomore Haiti Tautua'a and freshman Kiana Dinn currently injured.

Sophomore outside hitter Blaire Bayless is still fighting for playing time and if her solid performances continue, she'll get those chances.

Liberos/defensive specialists in freshman Mallorie Meyer and junior Dillyn Griffin are both working as serving speciaists. Freshman middle blockers Bianca Garibaldi from Argentina and Dalia Vîrlan from Romania are both growing in their first season with the team.

ACC Preview for Pitt Volleyball

Pitt had a good non-conference schedule, which had a few ranked squads and mid-majors who will compete to win their conference/make an NCAA Tournament.

This helps the Panthers' RPI, which is crucial for them hosting in the NCAA Tournament, through to the Final Four, which they've done in 2021 and 2023. Hosting your own matches makes it much easier to win matches, as you're playing in your own gym and having a huge support behind you.

While the non-conference normally is where the Panthers have to bolster their resume before the NCAA Tournament, the ACC is one of the strongest conferences this season.

The additions of Stanford and Cal from the Pac-12, plus SMU, who won the American last season, makes for an even stronger ACC than in years past.

Pitt will have two more ACC games, going from 18 to 20, due to these new teams joining. They also go down from four to three home-and-away opponents, keeping Georgia Tech and Louisville, but also having SMU, their new travel buddy, who will also play teams on the road and at home that Pitt does in the same weekend.

Nine of the 20 games for Pitt come against ranked opponents in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll, 45% of their conference matches. They only had four ranked matches in the ACC last season, around 22.2%.

Pitt faces a great No. 13 Georgia Tech team in Atlanta on Sept. 29 in their second ACC match, No. 23 SMU twice in four days, home on Oct. 9 and road on Oct. 12, No. 3 Stanford at home on Oct. 20 and No. 5 Louisville on Oct. 25 at the Petersen Events Center.

They also No. 18 Florida State and No. 25 Miami on the same weekend, Nov. 15 and Nov. 17, respectively, face Louisville on the road on Nov. 27 and then host Georgia Tech in the regular season finale on Nov. 30.

The Panthers will have great tests before the NCAA Tournament, but if they keep playing like they do, not many teams stand a chance the rest of the regular season.

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Published Sep 27, 2024

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

Follow Dominic Campbell on Twitter.