Feature | First-year phenoms: The rise of Pitt volleyball’s dynamic duo of Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford

Pitt volleyball first-years Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford have established their spots as Pitt starters and ACC powerhouses. The pair all but rotate ACC Freshman of the Week this season, with Babcock winning five and Stafford winning two. 

Stafford received the PNC Player of the Week award on Oct. 31, given to two Pitt athletes demonstrating incredible talent. After the team’s most recent sweep against Georgia Tech, Babcock received both ACC Offensive Player of the Week and AVCA National Player of the Week. 

The duo are lethal on the court, leading the team in points with right-side hitter Babcock’s 382 and outside hitter Stafford’s 318. Babcock has a cumulative hitting percent of .322 and Stafford .250. These stats are imposing, but the fact that first-years made them is all the more impressive. 

Both players come to Pitt from California, as Stafford hails from Torrence and Babcock is a Los Angeles native. Stafford and Babcock actually competed against each other in high school. During club season, they both played for Sunshine Volleyball — one of the best club teams in the country. 

In Pittsburgh, the pair’s friendship grew both off and on the court. Babcock thinks they get along as roommates so well because of their spontaneous nature.

“If I were to say, do you wanna do this,” Babcock said, “she’s like sure. She says you wanna do this, I say sure.”

Stafford added that they are very similar people overall, which is why they are such great friends. 

“We knew it was gonna be easy,” the outside hitter said. “We were on the same wavelength.”

For Stafford and Babcock, the connection they had with the other Panthers set Pitt apart from the rest. Stafford appreciated the effort Pitt made to get to know her. 

“When I was talking to coaches, it was not only volleyball — it was getting to know me personally and my family,” Stafford said. “I talked to the team and I was like, okay, the culture here is really nice.”

Babcock similarly thought Pitt had a special culture, which attracted her to the team.

“I felt like there was no way that they’re actually a family,” the LA native said. “But then I went on my official visit and I already felt like a part of the team.”

Pitt recruiting coordinator and associate head coach Kellen Petrone is the person responsible for the Panthers’ 2023 recruiting class, which is the highest-ranked class in program history. The class was the eighth-highest ranked in the nation as well. 

Babcock and Stafford were joined in the recruiting class by outside hitter Blaire Bayless from Plano, Texas, and setter Haiti Tautua’a from Wai’anae, Hawai’i. Bayless was ranked No. 42 in her class. Tautua’a was also the highest-ranked player out of Hawai’i. Petrone and the Pitt coaching staff wanted to add the four to the roster immediately. 

“We knew we wanted them right away,” Petrone said. “We were all in. So as soon as we knew them as people, because we had already known them as players, we made offers faster than some of the other programs did.”

Besides the job of building the foundation of Pitt’s volleyball program, Petrone faced the obstacle of recruiting during post-COVID years. He noted Pitt’s excellence in recruiting in these circumstances.

“At the time, we were really doing Zoom recruiting better than anyone else,” Petrone said. “We were really innovative and creative. We were able to sell our program very well.”

Outside of athletics, Stafford and Babcock are adapting well to college life. Volleyball as a sport travels a lot for games. Stafford, a business major, found managing her time is not as hard as she thought. Pitt athletes are given plenty of resources to help their academic success. Stafford said Pitt athletics’ mandatory study hall helps her a lot. 

“I’m managing my time really well,” Stafford said. “Study halls help. We’re able to get a lot of work done.”

College classes offer lots of flexibility in an athlete’s schedule. Babcock, a psychology major, likes how her classes are not every day. 

“I feel like the reason high school was so stressful was you had your classes everyday,” Babcock said. “Here, I feel like it’s much easier to take pressure off yourself.”

As first-years on one of the best volleyball teams in the country, Babcock and Stafford maintain a calm attitude about their goals for their first season. Instead of focusing on how far they want to go in postseason play or how many kills they want to rack up, Stafford is focusing on her play overall. 

Babcock, on the other hand, wants to create a more personal environment for her team. She believes establishing the bonds she has with her teammates is imperative for getting better. 

“I just want to build trust with the team,” Babcock said. “I want to have that connection so they can come to me for anything. I want to be seen as a reliable friend, because I feel the same way towards them.”

Stafford also notes how, since they have played at this high level for the whole season, they feel less like first-years than they would at other schools. 

“I feel like, since we played those big matches and have so much experience, we’re not really freshmen,” Stafford said.

The future is undoubtedly bright for these Panther first-years. With three more years of eligibility, how many more accomplishments can they rack up? Volleyball fans will just have to wait and see.