Preview: Pitt Volleyball Battles Kentucky in Elite Eight

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball will battle No. 3 Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

Dominic Campbell | Dec 14, 2024

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps No. 13 Georgia Tech on Sept. 29, 2024 in Atlanta /

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt volleyball faces No. 3 Kentucky in the Elite Eight, where they'll have to play their best if they want a shot in the Final Four.

Pitt Volleyball Regular Season Review

Pitt finished with a 29-1 overall record and a 19-1 record in the ACC, winning them the conference title outright. This is their third straight ACC Title and their sixth in the last eight seasons.

They also held on to the No. 1 spot in the AVCA for the final 13 weeks of the season, accrued 11 ranked victories and dropped just 10 sets all season, least in Division I.

This allowed them to earn their first ever No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. It is the third time they've earned a top four seed, allowing them to host through to the Final Four.

Pitt had all seven starters make the All-ACC Teams, with sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock winning ACC Player of the Year and head coach Dan Fisher earning ACC Coach of the Year Honors.

The Panthers had four All-ACC First Team honorees in senior setter Rachel Fairbanks, redshirt junior Bre Kelley and sophomores in outside hitter Torrey Stafford and Babcock.

They also had two All-ACC Second Team honorees, in graduate student Valeria Vazquez Gomez and senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika, and middle blocker Ryla Jones made the All-ACC Freshman Team.

Pitt NCAA Tournament Review

Pitt is in their ninth straight NCAA Tournament, and after making the past four Elite Eights and three Final Fours.

They easily took care of Morehead State in the First Round in a sweep on Dec. 6, making it nine straight Second Round appearances.

Stafford led with 14 kills and hit .312, Fairbanks had 33 assists, eight digs and tied a season-high with five aces, Klika led with 12 digs and Babcock made 12 kills and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season and second career double-double in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt also swept No. 8 Oklahoma in the Second Round on Dec. 7, making it five straight Sweet 16 appearances

Babcock led with 13 kills, Fairbanks made 36 assists, Stafford made both 10 kills and led with nine digs and Kelley made six kills, hit .545 and five blocks.

The Panthers faced their toughest challenge yet in the No. 4 Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16 on Dec. 12, also at the Petersen Events Center.

They swept them in the season opener on the road on Aug. 30, but the Ducks came to play in this one, showing their improvement over the three months since they last faced off.

Pitt won the first set and third set and Oregon would build big leads in the second set and fourth set, holding off late rallies from Pitt to win those periods. Pitt would take a lead in the fifth set and after Oregon battled back, they went on a late run to get the victory.

Babcock finished with a career-high 31 kills and 12 digs for her third career/season double-double. She also hit .290 and made three blocks in the win.

Her 31 kills are the most in a Pitt NCAA Tournament match and in the 25-point scoring era (2008-Present) in Pitt history. It is also tied for the seventh most in a match in Pitt history.

Fairbanks made 54 assists and added 12 digs for a double-double. Those 54 assists rank second most in an NCAA Tournament match in Pitt history, her season-high and the second most in her career.

Kelley finished with 12 kills, hit .400 and made eight blocks and two solo blocks, which rank tied for third most and second most in an NCAA Tournament match in Pitt history.

Pitt finished with 71 digs, third most in a match in their history, with five players finishing with double-digit digs.

Kentucky Volleyball Preview

Kentucky comes into this matchup 23-7 overall and finished 14-2 in the SEC, to win the conference title.

They were 6-6 and 9-7 at one point earlier on in the season, but have won their past 14 matches to feature as one of the last eight teams in the NCAA Tournament.

Six of their losses they suffered came against Texas, Purdue, Penn State, Louisville, Nebraska, and Stanford, with all six teams makin the Sweet 16 and the latter four making the Elite Eight.

Kentucky swept Cleveland State in the First Round and defeated No. 6 Minnesota in four sets at home in the Second Round.

They then defeated SEC rival No. 7 Missouri in four sets in the Sweet 16, their third win over them this season, to make their first Elite Eight since they won their first ever National Title in the 2020-21 season.

Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye leads the Wildcats, as she earned SEC Player of the Year honors and is the focal point of their attack. She leads the team with 5.53 points per set, 4.80 kills per set and .52 service aces per set, using her top spin serve to attack opponents. She also hits an effective, .293.

Kentucky also has one of the better setters in the nation in senior Emma Grome, who is averaging 11.27 assists per set and is second on the team with 2.28 digs per set. Kentucky also hits .274 as a team, thanks to her control of the offense, helping her earn All-SEC First Team honors.

Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Molly Tuozzo helps the Wildcats excel in back row defense. She leads the team with 3.89 digs per set, averages 1.09 assists per set too and earned All-SEC Second Team honors.

Senior outside hitter Megan Wilson also contributes for Kentucky in the attack. She averages 2.31 kills per set, hits .251 and is third on the team with 84 blocks.

Another senior that helps the Wildcats out a great deal is senior Eleanor Beavin, who averages 2.12 digs per set and has 37 service aces on the year.

The Wildcats have two first-year players who have starred for them this season, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors, which includes redshirt freshman middle blocker Brooke Bultema and true freshman outside hitter Asia Thigpen.

Bultema leads Kentucky with 1.00 blocks per set, hits. 290 and also makes 2.07 kills per set. Thigpen has hit .265 and has averaged 1.79 kills per set and 1.46 digs per set this season.

Redshirt freshman middle blocker Jordyn Dailey is another strong presence for the Wildcats. She leads the team with a .328 hitting percentage, and has 78 total blocks on the season.

Pitt Volleyball History vs. Kentucky

Pitt swept Kentucky last season on the road on Sept. 1, 2023 and then defeated them in four sets at home at the Petersen Events Center on Sept. 3, 2023, giving them two important wins against a good non-conference opponent.

They are 5-3 all-time as well, with five of the matches coming in the 1980s.

How to Watch: No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 3 Kentucky (Sweet 16) (NCAA Tournament)

Pitt and Kentucky will face off in the Elite Eight at 5:00 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. ESPN2 will broadcast the match and ESPN+ will also stream it.

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Published Dec 14, 2024