No. 1 Pitt defeats No. 23 USC in a sweep

No. 1 Pitt volleyball is still dominant, even against USC, the No. 23 team in the county. 

The Panthers defeated the Trojans in a sweep (31-29, 25-18, 25-16), and besides the first set,  Pitt dominated the new addition to the Big 10. In Pitt’s first four games, head coach Dan Fisher’s squad has yet to drop a set.

First Set:

The Trojans showed the new No. 1 ranked Panthers that they weren’t afraid of them. The Women of Troy would not bow down to the No. 1 ranked team.

The two teams, who met back in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, went back and forth throughout the first set of the match. The back and forth lasted until the Panthers finally got a two-point separation, allowing Pitt to win the first set 31-29.

The Trojans got their first set point of the match at  27-26 after first-year middle blocker Ryla Jones made a mistake reading where the USC setter was going to set, leaving a wide-open lane for the Trojan hitter to go through. 

But Jones wouldn’t let this error haunt the Panthers, as she made a crucial kill to tie the game at 27 apiece. Pitt then killed off one more set point at 28-27 with a kill by sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez. Pitt then won the set after a serving error by USC senior setter Mia Tuaniga and an ace by Vazquez Gomez.

Second Set:

The second set started out just like the entirety of the first set, with back and forth action. But once the game was knotted up at 10, the Panthers hit a gear the Trojans couldn’t catch up to. 

Pitt went on a 9-3 run that included four kills by sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Babcock and two kills for both Vazquez Gomez and sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford, forcing a later-than-expected timeout by USC at 19-13.

The USC timeout was to no avail, as both the teams went back and forth as they did early in the set, helping the Panthers gain a two-set advantage and winning the set 25-18

Third Set:

Unlike the first and second sets of the game, the Panthers majorly controlled the third set.  Pitt controlled the third set by serving its way to a comfortable lead. Getting the Trojans out of system and aces by Stafford and Babcock troubled USC, giving Pitt a 10-5 advantage. 

But the Trojans didn’t fall too easily, they cut the Panthers’ lead to one at 16-15. But an 8-0 run by Pitt with graduate student serving specialist Cat Flood at the service line took all hope from USC.  The Trojans were down 24-16 until they got the serve back. Then the Panthers closed the game out with a kill by Jones.

Quick analysis:

Covers off of the block is an uncharted statistic in women’s volleyball, but the Panthers dominated that category. USC got their hands on a multitude of Pitt’s swings, but consistently, the Panthers kept the ball up on their side and kept on going at the Trojans’ block until they eventually got around the stout Women of Troy block. 

Along with covers off of the block, the overall team defense for the Panthers was a struggle for the Trojans to deal with, USC hit a measly.165 — the Trojans worst hitting percentage of the season thus far. Pitt also earned eight total blocks and 44 digs against the No. 23 team in the nation.

Stafford’s hot start continued against the Trojans. The Southern California native only committed one attacking error and hit .375 with 13 kills on the night. Defensively, Stafford added three digs and four blocks — a crazy start to her sophomore year.

Babcock had her best overall game of the season against the Trojans. The Los Angeles native finished hitting 250 with a team-leading 17 kills. The biggest struggle in Babcock’s game against the Trojans was her seven-hitting errors. Defensively, Babcock was stout and added five digs and three blocks.

Pitt volleyball continues its California trip for a game in Malibu against Pepperdine on Friday night at 9:30. The match will air on ESPN+.