Pitt sports gear up for big weekend ahead, major meets and rivalry matchups rearing Pitt’s way

Pitt sports are set for a weekend filled with competition. Volleyball takes on two Sunshine-State foes, basketball hosts its annual Backyard Brawl and cross-country and swimming and diving travel to big events. 

Women’s volleyball

No. 1 Pitt women’s volleyball (23-1, 13-1 ACC) continued their impressive season last weekend, beating both North Carolina (25-14, 25-22, 25-16) and Duke (25-10, 25-11, 25-13) at the Fitzgerald Field House. This weekend, they welcome two Florida ACC foes in No. 22 Florida State (18-6, 10-4 ACC) and Miami (18-7, 9-5 ACC). 

Florida State comes into the match on a two-game win streak after beating Wake Forest and NC State last weekend. The Seminoles are led by senior Audrey Koenig, the outside hitter who has tallied 387 points and 322 kills so far this season. Next to her is senior Khori Louis, the middle blocker who leads the ACC in hitting percentage with .413 and has earned 313.5 points for the Seminoles this fall. 

The No. 1 Panthers will give the Florida State front a massive challenge, as they lead the ACC in team hitting percentage with .336 behind sophomore right-side hitter Olivia Babcock. Babcock currently leads the conference in kills with 328 and has dominated with 50 aces in 2024. 

Miami enters the weekend on a four-game win streak, but faces two huge opponents. Before coming to Pittsburgh, the Hurricanes travel to Dallas to take on No. 10 SMU on Friday night. Senior outside hitter Flormarie Heredia Colon will lead the ‘Canes through this tough weekend, coming into the matches second in the ACC in both kills and points with 367 and 420.0 respectively. 

Of course, the leader in both of these statistics is Babcock, who was named an AVCA Player of the Year Semifinalist this week, along with Pitt senior Rachel Fairbanks and sophomore Torrey Stafford. In the match against Duke, Stafford posted 13 kills, five digs, four assists and three blocks, and the Panthers will need another big outing from her this weekend to stack another pair of victories. 

Fans can support the Panthers this weekend at the Fitzgerald Field House on Friday at 5 p.m. against Florida State and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. against Miami. Both matches are broadcast on ACCNX.

Men’s basketball

Pitt men’s basketball (3-0, 0-0 ACC) has started strong, going undefeated to kick off its season at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers hope to continue their successful start with school rival West Virginia (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) coming to town. 

Friday night will mark the 193rd matchup between the two schools, found just 75 miles apart. The Panthers have won 89 of their matchups against the Mountaineers, giving West Virginia an advantage in the series, but the Panthers secured the latest win with an 80-63 victory at the WVU Coliseum last December.

The Mountaineers come into the game off of a six-point win over Massachusetts behind 6’7 senior Tucker DeVries, who led the team with 17 points, eight rebounds and a .429 shooting percentage. DeVries, who was recently named a member of the John R. Wooden Preseason Top 50 Watchlist, will surely give Pitt some trouble, and it is up to the Panthers defense to slow the sharp shooter.

Pitt had a strong defensive showcase in their last outing against Gardner-Webb, in large part due to redshirt senior forward Zack Austin’s four blocks and the team’s 41 rebounds. Senior guard Ishmael Leggett leads the Panthers, averaging 19.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. He shares the back court with sophomore guard Jaland Lowe, who leads the team with eight steals and averages 16.3 points. Both guards came into the season with high expectations on both ends of the court and hope to continue the success found thus far.

The Mountaineers pose a big challenge, but the Panthers have used their first three games to shake off the rust of the offseason and seek to kick off the season 4-0 as they did last year. The matchup takes place on Friday night at 8 p.m. and is broadcast via ACCNX. 

Cross-country

This weekend, the Panthers will travel to University Park, Pennsylvania, to compete in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships for their penultimate meet at Penn State.

Pitt cross-country has thus far had a consistent season. The men’s and women’s teams both came first in the Panther Opener, the first and only home meet of the season and have consistently placed in the top 20 all season. Two weeks ago at the ACC Championships in Cary, North Carolina, the men’s team finished in 13th and the women’s team followed suit in 16th out of the 17 and 18 team fields respectively. 

Pitt is sending eight members of the women’s team to the meet, including standout runner senior Winnie Incorvaia who has come in first for Pitt every meet so far this season. There will be 32 other teams competing against the Panthers. 

Eight members of the men’s team will also race against a field of 30 other teams. Women’s Mid-Atlantic Region No 1. West Virginia and men’s Mid-Atlantic Region No. 1 Villanova will be among those competing against the Panthers, which will be tough competition.

Live updates and breaking news will be available on FloTrack. The women’s 6k is expected to begin at noon, while the men’s team will begin the 10k at 1 p.m. 

Swimming and Diving 

This weekend, the diving team will travel to Austin, Texas, as the Panthers prepare to lasso in success at the Texas Diving Invitational. 

The diving team last took on Georgia Tech when sophomore Mariana Osorio Mendoza and junior Rachel Dickerson posted strong showings for the Panthers. Osorio Mendoza placed first in the women’s 1-meter and placed second in the women’s 3-meter diving competitions. Dickerson placed third in the women’s 3-meter. 

First-year Noah Bernard was the high scorer of the meet, coming in first for the 1-meter and second for the 3-meter. Post-meet, Bernard was named the ACC Men’s Diver of the Week. 

Currently, Texas sits at a No. 2 ranking across the Division 1 men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, making tough competition for the Panthers.