Inside The Panthers

Pitt Volleyball Ranks First in ACC Preseason Poll

Pitt Panthers volleyball ranked first in the ACC Coaches Preseason Poll ahead of the 2024 season.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates after a point
Pitt Volleyball Celebrates after a point / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers come into this upcoming volleyball season with high hopes, and look to stay on top of the ACC once again.

The ACC Coaches Preseason Poll came out, which put Pitt No. 1, with 13 first-place votes. ACC-newcomer Stanford came in second with three first-place votes and rival Louisville came in third with two first-place votes.

Pitt is coming off a 29-5 season, where they finished as co-ACC Champions with Florida State with a 16-2 conference record. They earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tourament and made their fourth straight Elite Eight and third straight Final Four.

Three Panthers also earned a spot on the All-ACC, featuring sophomores in right side hitter Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford plus senior setter Rachel Fairbanks.

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.Ā 

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.Ā 

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.

Stafford had an excellent freshman season herself in 2023, second on the team with 425.5 points and 372 kills, while also tallying 203 digs, 73 blocks and 15 service aces. She finished with AVCA Third Team All-American and All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Freshman Team and AVCA East Coast Region Team honors, as well as ACC Freshman of the Week honoree three times.

Fairbanks comes into 2024 as one of the best setters in the country. She had an incredible 2023 season, with 933 assists, 190 digs, 59 kills, 52 blocks and 22 aces. This led to her earning First Team All-American, AVCA All-East Coast Region Player of the Year, AVCA All-East Coast Region Team, ACC Setter of the Year and All-ACC First Team honors.

Pitt volleyball opens up their season on the road against Oregon on Aug. 30, who defeated Pitt last season and made it to the Elite Eight.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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