Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Clemson in ACC Opener

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball swept Clemson in their first ACC match.

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates a well deserved point / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball started off ACC play with a sweep of Clemson on the road Friday night, as they look to defend their conference title.

The Panthers (11-0 overall, 1-0 ACC) improve to 14-1 all-time and 14-0 against the Tigers (8-4 overall, 0-1) since they joined the ACC in 2013. This is also makes it four straight seasons and 11 out of 12 seasons that the Panthers started with a win in ACC play.

The win also keeps the Panthers undefeated, the only ranked team in the country without a loss, and their 11th sweep, the only Division I team to not drop a set.

Clemson kept it close early at, 5-4, but a 5-1 run gave Pitt a 10-5 lead, thanks to two kills and a service ace from sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock.

The Tigers didn't give up so easily, going on an 8-4 run out of a timeout to force Panthers head coach Dan Fisher to call a timeout of his own.

They tied it up at 15, but three straight points from Pitt, including a kill and a service ace for Babcock forced Clemson to take their final timeout down 18-15.

Clemson did cut it back to one at 22-21, but Pitt would finish off the set with three consecutive points, with a kill from Babcock and both sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez and redshirt junior Bre Kelley combining for the block on set point.

The Panthers opened the second set with a 5-0 run, forcing a timeout by the Tigers. The Panthers increased their lead to 12-4, but the Tigers kept with it, keeping it within five points at 13-8

Pitt used a 5-1 run to build a 16-8 advantage and held off Clemson for a 25-15 set victory. Babcock had four kills and three total blocks in the second set.

The strong performance for the Panthers continued into the third set, building a 10-1 lead, with three kills from Babcock and two blocks and a kill from Bre Kelley. The Panthers would gain a double digit lead and then win the third set, 25-13, to get the sweep.

Pitt held Clemson to a .094 hitting percentage, their fourth lowest mark of the season and the fourth time they've held an opponent to under .100 hitting.

Babcock led with 15 kills, hit .406, tied her season-high of three service aces, plus six digs and three total blocks.

Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford had another fantastic game, with 10 kills and hit .500, adding nine digs and tying Babcock with three service aces.

Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks got her third double-double of the season, as she led with both 27 assists and 10 digs, while making four kills as well. Kelley had a season-high of seven total blocks and added four kills

Pitt will travel to Atlanta to face No. 13 Georgia Tech with a 1:30 p.m. tip-off Sunday afternoon with an ACC Network broadcast.

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