Inside The Panthers

Pitt Volleyball Sweeps No. 23 USC

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball swept No. 23 USC in Los Angeles to stay undefeated.

Dominic Campbell

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Celebrates a Point in their win vs. No. 23 USC in Los Angeles
No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Celebrates a Point in their win vs. No. 23 USC in Los Angeles / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball team traveled to Los Angeles and took down No. 23 USC in a sweep to stay undefeated.

The Panthers (4-0) defeat the Women of Troy (3-2) for the second straight season, as they beat them in four sets in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center. This is also the Panthers' second ranked win of the season, defeating the then ranked No. 10 Oregon Ducks on Aug. 30 in Eugene, Ore. They are also the only Division I team to not drop a set this season.

Pitt took an early 4-2 lead, but USC fought back to get it back to 5-5. The two teams then went on 4-0 runs to keep it tied at 9-9, then after Pitt went up 11-9, both teams went on 5-1 runs, keeping Pitt up at 17-15.

The Panthers held the lead at 23-21 and then had set point at 24-23, but the Women of Troy battled back and it resulted in a long end to the first set, with seven set points between the two teams.

Pitt took advantage of a service error from USC senior setter Mia Tuaniga and sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomes finished the first set with a service ace of her own, 31-29.

The Panthers started the second set strong, up 5-2, but the Women of Troy went on a 7-3 run to take a 9-8 lead.

Pitt responded with an 8-2 run, to earn a 16-11 advantage, thanks to two kills each from sophomores in right side hitter Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford. Pitt would hold off USC and win the second set, 25-18.

The Panthers outhit the Women of Troy .395 to .212, as Babcock led with eight kills and Stafford had five kills herself.

Pitt opened the third set up with a 10-5 lead, thanks to three service aces, two from Babcock and one from Stafford. USC had three straight points out of the timeout, but Pitt scored five of the next six points to increase their advantage to 15-9.

The Women of Troy went on a 5-1 run to cut the deficit to one point at 16-15, but the Panthers would score nine out of the next 10 points to come out victorious in the third set and win the match.

Babcock led with a season-high 17 kills, while adding five digs and three blocks in the win. Stafford starred again, second on the team with 13 kills, four blocks and hitting .375 against USC

Middle blockers in redshirt junior Bre Kelley and freshman Ryla Jones had good performances for the Panthers in the victory. Kelley had five kills and hit .714, while Jones led with a eason-high seven blocks.

Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks had a season-high 38 wins vs. USC and also added eight digs. Senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika led with 11 digs herself, while sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez had eight klls and eight digs in the win.

Pitt will stay in California this weekend, facing a good Pepperdine team in Malibu on Sept. 13, with tip-off set for 9:30 p.m. (EST).

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Dominic Campbell

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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