Three keys for Pitt volleyball to advance to National Championship

Pitt volleyball is 0-3 in the Final Four, and the Panthers want to change their luck in the Final Four during their fourth try in as many years.  

Pitt has a chance to add a win to that record on Thursday night at 6:30, as it takes on Louisville in its home arena in the Final Four.

If Pitt wants to make its first National Championship appearance, it needs to thrive in these three areas or the Panthers’ losing streak in the National Semifinal could rise to four. 

The importance of the pin hitters 

Pitt has some of the best pin hitters —outside and opposite hitters —  in the nation, and there is no secret about it. Sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Babcock is a finalist for AVCA National Player of the Year and earned First Team All-American honors for her performance in 2024. Her sophomore running-mate outside hitter Torrey Stafford also saw her name on the highly sought-after First Team All-American list. 

Sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez wasn’t an All-American in 2024, but she brings valuable experience to the young core of pin hitters. 

This season, the Panthers have the best collection of pin hitters it has ever held. In past Final Fours, the Panthers pin hitters have struggled mightily. 

During Pitt’s three National Semifinal appearances, the highest a pin hitter has hit is .182 —Vazquez Gomez against Nebraska in 2023. Stafford’s current hitting percentage for this season is nearly double that —.359, the best among all Power Five pin hitters. 

The Panthers’ pin hitter’s combined hitting percentage in the past three Final Fours is an abysmal .128 hitting percentage, and based on past trends that head coach Dan Fisher observed, that is never going to cut it in the National Semifinals.

“Usually, the teams that win the finals or make it past the Final Four have a pin hitter that really goes off,” Fisher said.

This season is the first time that all three of Pitt’s pin hitters return from the previous season’s Final Four and the three need to change the trend of poor pin hitter play if Pitt wants to win.

Passing changes the team

Pitt is a deadly force even when the team is not passing its best. It beat No. 4 seed Oregon in the Sweet Sixteen despite allowing 11 aces. But when it passes well, Pitt is practically unstoppable.

“When we can pass, it’s just pure gold with this team,” redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley said after Pitt’s win against Kentucky. “I think we could put any ball away, no matter what. But I think that once our passers are locked in and they grit through whatever is going on the game,  we just connect on all on all levels.”

Louisville’s job is much more difficult if Pitt can get its passing going. If senior setter Rachel Fairbanks has all three hitting options available, it’s practically a guessing game for the Cardinals’ No. 1 block in the Nation.

When Pitt’s passing isn’t clicking, it is beatable. In the Oregon game, where the Panthers allowed a season-high in aces, the Panthers didn’t want to pass, but against Kentucky the opposite was true.

“Our coaches were just saying alright, stop thinking, want the ball instead of not want[ing] it,” Vazquez Gomez said. “So I think you could tell in the Kentucky game that everyone wanted to be served and pass the ball, and you could see the changes in the passing numbers.”

The Panthers expect opponents to have similar strategies to Oregon and Kentucky, making their serves as hard as they can for the Panthers to receive and live with the errors they make from the service line. 

“Teams try to serve us off the court because they know that when we pass well we are going to kill them,” graduate student serving specialist Cat Flood said.

The Panthers passing well, especially in serve receive, is key if they want to play on Sunday.

Shut down the home crowd early 

Despite earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Pitt is practically playing a road game against Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center, the same arena Pitt beat Louisville just over three weeks ago. 

This time around, Louisville fans will care more than they did on Nov. 27 since an appearance in the National Championship is at stake rather than an ACC Championship. 

Pitt starting fast and not letting these fans get involved in the game is critical. The Panthers always care about a fast start, but a fast start in a road environment in the Final Four has even more importance to it.

“It’s always gonna be important to start fast and just keep that energy, propelling you through the rest of the game,” senior libero Emmy Klika said. “Also it kind of calms the nerves, getting that first point, or, being up in the first five points, you kind of settle into the game a little bit faster.”

Pitt’s fourth Final Four in as many years is tonight at 6:30 p.m. If the Panthers can accomplish these three keys, then a first National Championship appearance on Sunday seems highly probable.