PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (3-0, 0-0 ACC) returns to the West Coast to play No. 23 USC (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at the Galen Center on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET. This will mark the second straight season that the two programs will face each other. The Panthers conclude the trip with a matchup against Pepperdine (1-3, 0-0 WCC) in Malibu on Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET before taking on UC Santa Barbara (2-4, 0-0 Big West) in a neutral site game on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

The Panthers defeated the Trojans in the second round of the NCAA tournament last season in four sets at the Petersen Events Center. After dropping a set, Pitt won the last three sets. Olivia Babcock led the Panthers with 16 kills, 12 digs, three assists and two aces. Rachel Fairbanks recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs, adding four kills with a .429 hitting percentage.
The Panthers and Waves are 3-3 in the series. Pitt most recently defeated Pepperdine in a thrilling five-set match in 2019. The Panthers previously defeated the Waves in a dominant three-set sweep in 2018.

Pitt and UCSB have played a total of seven matches, winning the last two. The Panthers defeated the Gauchos in a three-set match in 2017, holding UCSB to 18 points or fewer in all three sets.

STRONG BEHIND THE LINE
• Three Panthers rank in the NCAA’s top 40 in aces per set.
• Valeria Vazquez Gomez (10th), Olivia Babcock (12th) and Rachel Fairbanks (38th) led the charge for Pitt.

STAFFORD’S STRONG START
• Torrey Stafford has started her second season fantastically. She leads the Panthers in points, points per set, kills and kills per set and is third in digs and digs per set.
• She ranks 10th in the NCAA in points per set (5.36) and 19th in kills per set (4.57).

PITT IS AT THE TOP
• For the first time in program history, the Panthers are ranked number one in the AVCA/Taraflex poll.
• The Panthers finished as high as No. 2 in the 2021 poll before reaching their first Final Four.
• Pitt spent the entire season in the top ten and finished the season ranked fourth.

PANTHER HOMECOMING
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford, Dillyn Griffin and head coach Dan Fisher return to their home state of California for a week.
• The four Panthers are from the Los Angeles area, while Fisher is from Santa Barbara.
• Fisher began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific, where he worked with the women’s and men’s programs before being named Associate Head Coach at the University of San Francisco.

DOING BUSINESS
• The Panthers have defeated all three of their opponents this year, most recently beating Buffalo at home.
• Nine panthers recorded at least one kill while Torrey Stafford scored seven points in the first set.
• Pitt dominated from the service line, collecting 10 aces, led by Cat Flood And Olivia Babcock with three each.
• Freshman middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi saw her first action in a Pitt jersey, adding two blocks and a kill.

THE DUCKS ARE GOING DOWN
• The Panthers defeated #10 Oregon in their season opener in straight sets.
• Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks led the charge with her first double-double of the season (34A, 11D).
• Second year winger Torrey Stafford came back strong from injury, recording a match-high 13 kills with a .333 hitting percentage and five digs.

THE BEACH CONQUERED
• Pitt dominated in the second game of the season, beating Long Beach State 3-0.
• Four freshmen made their college debut while being senior transfer setters Nisa Buzlutepe saw her first action against The Beach.
• The team was firing on all cylinders, hitting .351 for the game.
• Rachel Fairbanks achieved her second consecutive double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.

FRESH FACES
• The Panthers welcome five true freshmen to Ryla Jones, Bianca Garibaldi, Kiana Dinn, Mallorie Meyer and Dalia Vîrlan.
• Jones and Garibaldi joined the team in January, Dinn and Meyer arrived in Pittsburgh this summer and Vîrlan arrived just before pre-season.
• Garibaldi is from Argentina, Vîrlan is from Romania, while Jones (Washington, DC), Meyer (Nebraska) and Dinn (Kentucky) come to Pittsburgh from the United States.
• Pitt also recently signed a senior transfer setter, Nisa Buzlutepefrom Istanbul, Turkey.
• She has one year of eligibility remaining after three seasons at Texas A&M.

PANTHERS ARE HOT
• Pitt has made three straight Final Fours, two straight ACC championships and eight straight NCAA tournament appearances.
• The Panthers are the only team to appear in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Final Fours in the past three years and one of three teams to have appeared in the last four Elite Eights.

DYNAMIC DUO RETURNS
• Olivia Babcock And Torrey Stafford return for their second year in blue and gold.
• The two combined for 792 kills, 361 digs, 198 blocks and 66 aces last season.
• The duo started every game during the season together with senior libero Emmy Klika.

FAMILY TIES
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones has a strong connection to the sport as her sister, Rainelle Jones, played volleyball for the University of Maryland and her twin sister, Renee, plans to play for the University of Arizona.
• Rainelle currently ranks first in program history in total blocks and block assists at Maryland.
• Jones comes from an athletic family, as her father (basketball – University of Maryland), mother (basketball – University of Winnipeg), brother (basketball – Florida Southwestern) and sister (rowing – Drexel) all play or have played Division I sports.

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
• The 2024 team features four international student-athletes, including a sixth-year Puerto Rican Valeria Vazquez Gomezsenior turkish setter Nisa BuzlutepeArgentinian freshmen Bianca Garibaldi and Romanian newcomer Dalia Vîrlan.
• Vazquez Gomez, Garibaldi and Vîrlan have experience in the national team and hope to make a difference.