Pitt Volleyball Worthy of No. 1 Ranking

The Pitt Panthers volleyball team is worthy of their No. 1 ranking in the country.

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

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers volleyball team faced their biggest challenge of the 2024 season so far in rival No. 3 Penn State, but once again, showed why they are the No. 1 team in the country in a convincing sweep.

The Panthers dominated almost the entire match vs. the Nittany Lions, never once falling behind in the score, and did so in front of a sell-out, program record crowd at the Petersen Events Center of 11,800 fans, breaking the previous record of 8,865, almost a 3,000 increase.

This victory not only served as the most important win for Pitt this season, taking down one of the best teams in the country, but also reignites the Keystone Classic, in what will likely serve as one of the best matchups every season in volleyball.

Penn State won their seventh National Title in 2014, back-to-back with 2013 and their sixth in eight seasons, after they won four straight from 2007-10. No one at that time thought of Pitt as a serious opponent, but 10 years on, and it's clear who runs the commonwealth.

Panthers head coach Dan Fisher took over the program in 2013 and has led this team to eight straight NCAA Tournaments, four straight Elite Eights and three straight Final Fours, the only Division I team to do the latter.

The Nittany Lions haven't reached that same success in the past 10 years, with just one Final Four appearance in 2017 the furthest they've gotten since that last National Title.

Pitt also defeated Penn State in their last matchup in the rivalry, a four-set victory in the Second Round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, en route to their first ever Final Four.

The Panthers played better in every aspect, leading the Nittany Lions in all categories, and performances from each player that outshined those on their rival's.

Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford starred for Pitt in what is becoming a National Player of the Year candidate-like season. She led the team with 17 kills and hit .571, the most efficient in her collegiate career with 28 attacks, while also adding eight digs.

Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks is continuing to show why she is one of the best at her position in the country, with 42 assists and her fellow Panther teammates hitting .506 when she set them. Her 42 assists in the victory are a season-high and the sixth-most in her career.

Her play also led to great performances from both Pitt middle blockers in freshman Ryla Jones and redshirt junior Bre Kelley.

Jones had a season-high seven kills on 11 attacks to hit .636, while adding a team-high six total blocks. Kelley herself made six kills on 10 attacks and had three total blocks too.

Fisher praised Fairbanks for her play throughout the match, but also her setting to both Kelley and Jones.

“…That’s one of her best things is just, not just location wise, but who to set, in what moments," Fisher said. "I thought she streaked the middles at good times. Very solid.”

Reigning National Freshman of the Year in Panthers sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock finished wth 13 kills, as well as five digs and four total blocks, working well with Kelley/Jones to get some easy points on Nittany Lions swings.

Sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez finished tied for second with Stafford with eight digs, while adding nine kills, including her last three on the final three points of the match.

Pitt also hit .385, while holding Penn State to a season-low hitting percentage of .204, which is also the highest an opponent has hit against them in 2024.

The Panthers also stay undefeated at 7-0 and serve as the only Division I team to not drop a set so far, erring quite close to perfection.

Only one other team in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll is undefeated in No. 10 Kansas after they defeated No. 6 Purdue at home and No. 5 Nebraska swept No. 2 Stanford.

No other team has played even close to the level Pitt has this season and they've shown they deserve the top spot in the rankings for the forseeable future.

They lead the ACC in both opponent aces per set and opponent digs per set and rank top three in Division I in service aces per set, hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage.

Senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika led the Panthers with 15 digs and played an important role with her passing and her defense in the backrow, keeping her team in rallies/points alike.

She loved the teamwork in the win and that each player that came in did what they needed to do, leading to great play all-around.

"I don't know if it felt easy, but it just felt like everything was kind of clicking for us," Klika said on the win over Penn State. "The vibe was great on the court, the energy from the bench from the coaching staff and within whoever was on the court. It just felt like it was seamless. So I wouldn’t say the volleyball was easy, but I think we were just working with every single swing.”

This win is an important one for the program in so many ways, but for the players and coaches, they still have their main goals ahead of them.

Those include winning the ACC Title, earning a top 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament to host through to the Final Four, and of course, winning a first ever National Title.

With four All-Americans and five starters returning, young players stepping up, veterans leading, play at its best in team history and almost every player on the team having the experience of a long NCAA Tournament run, that goal of finishing on top is exactly what Fisher and his team want and know they can do.

“...our players, we have girls, that’s their goal," Fisher said on winning a National Tite. "We have girls that came back for a fifth, sixth year for that reason and our fan base knows the talent we have so that’s definitely is what we wanna do.”

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