No. 1 Pitt sweeps No. 22 Florida State in dominant fashion

To earn the No. 1 ranking a team needs to have not one, probably not two, but multiple dangerous hitters to earn that coveted spot. Pitt has dangerous hitters all over the floor. 

“I say this kind of often, but they really make my job easy. Liv, Torrey, Valeria, Ryla, and Bre literally every single one of them,” senior setter Rachel Fairbanks said. “They just see the game so well, and they know what to do.”

Alongside their setter, sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford, redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley and sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Babcock put on an impressive performance against No. 22 Florida State, with each player earning upwards of six kills. 

Babcock had 19 kills and a .519 hitting percentage, Stafford had 10 kills and a .562 hitting percentage and Kelley had six kills and a .750 hitting percentage.  

First Set:

The Panthers won the first set 25-18, behind a dominant Babcock, earning seven kills on 11 swings. Her sophomore running mate, Stafford, tallied five kills on eight swings and redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley also added three kills. 

Pitt didn’t make its first error until the 23-18 point and senior setter Rachel Fairbanks assisted all of the Panthers’ kills in the first set. Florida State kicked it into high gear at the end of the first set, but it still wasn’t enough since it fell behind 15-7 early in the first set.

Second Set:

The second set featured more back and forth to start. Neither team had a 2-0 run until a block by Babcock after a kill by sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez made the score 7-6 and Pitt to its first lead of the set because of a 2-0 run. 

Following a timeout called by Florida State, Pitt re-entered the game with a vengeance and maintained a comfortable lead over the Seminoles for the rest of the set. Olivia Babcock continued her hot hitting streak throughout the second set, earning eight kills on her eight attempts. 

“It’s not easy to have a perfect set,” Fisher said about Babcock’s eight-for-eight run. “So [it was] a really strong night for us.”

An ace by Vasquez Gomez sealed the deal for the Panthers, taking the set 25-15. The Panthers held the Seminoles to a .160 hitting percentage and hit an impressive .650 in the second set. 

Third Set:

Pitt started out the first set on a 6-0 run, but Florida State —already down 2-0— didn’t give up and stormed back, eventually trailing 10-9. But the Panthers regrouped and once more took advantage. Pitt went on a 15-6 run to finish the third set and won 25-15.

Babcock had her worst set of the top-25 matchup, committing the same amount of errors as kills, four. But she did add her first ace of the match by forcing a Florida State passer to pass the ball well into the stands. 

“We had a few hitting errors at the end, but until then, we were virtually unstoppable,” Fisher said. “And so when you hit .473, obviously you have a pretty good set.”

With tonight’s sweep, the Panthers are now 9-1 against ranked teams and are also a perfect 13-0 at home this season. Pitt’s last loss at home was in September of 2023, good for 29 consecutive wins at home.

“It’s pretty rare to be a team in November-December that’s still getting better. And so I think it’s happening, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Fisher said. 

Next, the Panthers host Miami on Sunday for senior day at 1 p.m., the match is watchable on ACCNX.