Volleyball, cross country, women’s soccer tally successful weekend and look forward to future battles

Volleyball

The Pitt women’s volleyball team is still undefeated in sets and matches. The Panthers have won all 18 sets they have played and are now 6-0 heading into their biggest match of the season. 

Pitt easily swept Pepperdine (25-18, 25-8, 25-15) and UCSB (25-16, 25-17, 25-19) in Malibu, California, over the weekend. No set was ever in jeopardy for the Panthers, who continued to play like their No.1 ranked selves in SoCal.

Sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Babcock had an outstanding weekend in Malibu, hitting over .400 in both games. Babcock hit .407 against the Waves, earning 14 kills on her 27 attacks. Against the Gauchos, the AVCA 2023 Freshman of the Year hit .419 tabbing 15 kills on her 31 swings. 

Pitt, offensively, hit over .300 as a team in both of its games in Firestone Fieldhouse. The Panthers hit .305 against the hosting Waves on Friday and .373 against UCSB on Saturday.

The program and Babcock hope to have similar results Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 3 Penn State in the Petersen Events Center. The Nittany Lions have the all-time edge against the Panthers with a 5-2 record. Catch the highly anticipated matchup on ACCN.

Cross country

This weekend, Pitt cross country traveled to University Park to compete in Penn State’s Spiked Shoe Invitational. 

The women’s team, who raced a 6K, came in fifth place overall in a field of 22 teams.

Junior Winnie Incorvaia came in first for the Panthers with a time of 20:43.7 and placed tenth overall.

Senior Sadie Carey-Tharp came in second for Pitt, placing 19th overall with a time of 20:57.4. The two runners also took first and second in the teams’ home opener respectively and are putting together a strong start to the season.

The men’s team, on the other hand, competed in a 5.2-mile race. Sophomore Luke Simpson came in first for the Panthers and 14th overall with a pace of 25:19.6. Senior Sam Otis placed second for the Panthers and 16th overall with a time of 25:29.5.

The two runners posted solid showings, reflecting a strong start to their seasons. The Panthers will compete next in the Lehigh Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on Oct. 5. 

Women’s soccer

Pitt women’s soccer (7-1-1, 1-0 ACC) kicked off conference play this Saturday with an ACC home-opening victory against Louisville (5-2-2, 0-1 ACC). Senior forward Samiah Phiri dominated the pitch and netted the final two goals to solidify the Panthers’ 3-1 win. 

The matchup heated up in the 11th minute when Pitt senior midfielder Keera Melenhorst scored the day’s first goal. The Cardinals responded later in the half to even the score off of a penalty kick, and the teams went into the locker rooms tied.

In the second half, the Panthers dominated in every way. Pitt’s overall possession was 58% and took 27 shots to the Cardinals five. Phiri heated up in the second half as well. The senior got her first goal of the night in the 72nd minute and her final one to seal the win just ten minutes later. 

The Panthers continue ACC play at home this Thursday against North Carolina. North Carolina holds an all-time 7-1 edge over Pitt. The last time the pair faced off, the Panthers upset the Tar Heels to advance to the ACC semifinals for the first time in program history. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Sept. 19.