PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Panthers (19-1, 9-1 ACC) hit the road to play Virginia (17-4, 7-3 ACC) and Virginia Tech (7-13, 1-9 ACC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., respectively. 

Pitt holds a dominant lead in the overall series, 18-3, winning 11 straight matches against Virginia. The Panthers and the Cavaliers compete after Pitt defeated Virginia at the Fitzgerald Field House last season in three sets. Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 15 kills while Rachel Fairbanks dished out 20 assists. 

The Panthers look to add to their 15-6 series lead on Sunday in Blacksburg. Last season, Stafford and Babcock combined for 19 kills, seven digs and five blocks to pace Pitt offensively.

MISS 1,000

• Valeria Vazquez Gomez is two kills away from recording her 1,000th career kill.

• She is also 50 digs away from reaching the 1,000 career digs mark. 

• With the two kills and 50 digs, Vazquez Gomez will become the eighth player in program history to join the 1,000 kill + 1,000 dig club. 

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

• Rachel Fairbanks earned a weekly conference honor (ACC Co-Setter of the Week) for the third time this season after two wins over No. 4 Louisville and Notre Dame.

• She averaged 10.33 assists per set, 2.00 digs per set, 0.33 aces per set and 0.33 blocks per set in two wins on the weekend. 

• Fairbanks notched 46 assists, nine digs and two blocks in the five-set victory over No. 4 Louisville, setting the Panthers to a .262 hitting percentage.

• She concluded the weekend by recording a season-high 47 assists, nine digs, three aces and a block in the win over Notre Dame, setting Pitt to a .279 hitting percentage.

LUCK OF THE PANTHERS

• Pitt defeated Notre Dame in four sets on Sunday afternoon.

• Torrey Stafford recorded her second double-double of the weekend with a match-high 17 kills and season-high 14 digs. 

• Rachel Fairbanks registered a season-high 47 assists on the day. 

SILENCED THE CARDS

• Pitt defeated No. 4 Louisville for the third straight time on Friday night.

• The Panthers have outlasted the Cardinals in five sets in all three contests.

• Bre Kelley recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and 10 blocks, hitting .500.

• Olivia Babcock tied a match high with 22 kills while hitting .326.

• Torrey Stafford (15K, 13D) and Valeria Vazquez Gomez (10K, 11D) both notched double-doubles.

BALLER BABCOCK

• Babcock was named the AVCA Player of the Week for the second time in her career for her performances against Cal and Stanford.

• She averaged 7.0 points per set, 5.5 kills per set, 1.83 blocks per set and 1.33 digs per set for the week. 

• She notched a match-high 16 kills, hitting a season-high .577, five blocks, two aces and two digs in the match against Cal. 

• Babcock recorded a match-high 17 kills, hitting .361 against No. 5 Stanford in the sweep and added six blocks, six digs and an ace.

PANTHER DOMINANCE

• Three Panthers earned ACC weekly honors after two sweeps against Cal and No. 5 Stanford.

• Rachel Fairbanks (Setter), Olivia Babcock (Offensive Player) and Bre Kelley (Defensive Player) notched the awards after impressive play.

HISTORY MAKERS

• The Panthers defeated No. 5 Stanford for the first time in program history in three sets. 

• Olivia Babcock had a match-high 17 kills, and Pitt held the Cardinal to a season low -0.48 hitting percentage. 

• This marked the second straight match that has been sold out in the Fitzgerald Field House. 

BEAR DOWN

• Pitt handily defeated Cal in the Fitzgerald Field House in three sets. 

• Eight Panthers recorded a kill in the match and hit .430 as a team. 

SENSATIONAL STAFFORD

• Torrey Stafford is hitting .373 for the season, good for 43rd in the nation and first amongst outside hitters. 

• The next closest outside hitter is 73rd in the nation and hitting .353.

KELLEY ON THE RISE

• Middle blocker Bre Kelley has recorded at least five blocks in eight of the last nine matches. 

• Her ACC Defensive Player of the Week award last week was the first of her career. 

• Her ten blocks against No. 4 Louisville tied a career high and are a season high.

• She has hit at least .400 in 12 of the last 13 matches and is hitting .479 on the season.

SWEPT THE STANGS

• Pitt defeated SMU in straight sets behind 18 kills on a .571 hitting percentage from Olivia Babcock.

• She added a match-high four aces, seven digs and three blocks. 

• The Mustangs were held to a season low .109 hitting percentage and were aced 10 times, the most in a single match this season. 

• Rachel Fairbanks recorded a match-high 37 assists, setting Pitt to a blistering .427 hitting percentage. 

MR. 300

• Head Coach Dan Fisher captured his 300th win at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team against Boston College.

• Fisher now has the most all-time wins at Pitt with 306, passing Shelton Collier with 295 wins (1980-1988).

RECORD BREAKER

• Olivia Babcock recorded a program best 12 aces in a single match against Boston College.

• Her 12 aces passed her previous career high of five and the long-standing program record set in 2005 by Diana Andreyko with eight aces.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE SHOW

• Babcock notched the first triple-double of her career with 14 kills, 12 aces and 10 digs against Boston College.

• She is the first Panther to reach the milestone since Rachel Fairbanks did so in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against BYU (28A, 13D, 10K).

• Babcock is the first player to record that style of triple-double since the 2021 season. 

WELL-OILED MACHINE

• Pitt ranks among the top 10 in the country for hitting percentage (1st – .333), opponent hitting percentage (1st – .116), aces per set (8th – 2.05), blocks per set (9th – 2.85), kills per set (10th – 14.00) and assists per set (10th -13.18).

DYNAMIC DUO

• Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock have impressed in their sophomore campaigns after earning All-American status as rookies.

• Babcock ranks among the top 35 in the nation in points per set (4th – 5.64), aces per set (6th – 0.67) and kills per set (23rd – 4.35) while Stafford ranks 43rd in hitting percentage (0.373), 45th in kills per set (4.04) and 52nd in points per set (4.59).

• Babcock or Stafford have either led or tied for the team high in kills in each match this season.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS

• The Panthers earned their 13th sweep of the season against Syracuse.

• Torrey Stafford hit for an impressive .560 hitting percentage, and senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe recorded a season-high 37 assists and added seven digs and a block. 

SOARIN’ HIGH

• Pitt defeated Boston College in four sets in Chestnut Hill, holding the Eagles to a -.010 hitting percentage. 

• Bre Kelley recorded a season-high nine blocks, and Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 28 kills. 

• Dalia Vîrlan registered a career-high six kills in the match and hit .455 on 11 attempts. 

PANTHERS STING YELLOW JACKETS

• Pitt dominated in a 3-0 sweep of then No. 13 Georgia Tech, holding the Yellow Jackets to less than 20 points in each set. 

• This was the first time this season Georgia Tech has been held to a sub .200 hitting percentage (-.043).

• Pitt hit a blistering .493, its second highest team hitting percentage of the season behind a .516 clip against Buffalo. 

• The Panthers recorded a season-high 12 blocks in the three-set win.

ACC OPENER WON

• Pitt took care of business in the ACC opener against Clemson. 

• The Panthers held the Tigers to a .094 hitting percentage and hit an efficient .326.

• Olivia Babcock had a match-high 15 kills and hit .406 in the sweep.

CAREER DAY 

• Five different Panthers recorded career bests against UMBC on Sept. 25. 

• Cat Flood (6K), Dalia Vírlan (4K), Bianca Garibaldi (2K), Ryla Jones (1SA) and Blaire Bayless (2SA) all impressed in the sweep of the Retrievers. 

PANTHERS SWEEP GOLDEN EAGLES

• Pitt looked sharp against Marquette, sweeping the Golden Eagles.

• The Panthers hit .398, and three Panthers (Olivia Babcock, Torrey Stafford and Valeria Vazquez Gomez) recorded at least 10 kills.

• Rachel Fairbanks recorded 39 assists, six digs, three blocks and two digs.

• Emmy Klika picked up a season-high 18 digs.

PITT DOMINATES PIRATES

• The Panthers once again swept East Carolina behind Olivia Babcock’s match-high 19 kills.

• Senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe recorded 30 assists, and Cat Flood tied her career high with three aces. 

QB1 DOING QB1 THINGS

• Rachel Fairbanks was named the ACC Co-Setter of the Week for the first time this season (9/23).

• This marked the fifth Setter of the Week award of her career since switching to a one setter offense. 

• She averaged 13.5 assists per set and set the team to a .391 hitting percentage in the wins over then No. 3 Penn State, ECU and Marquette. 

THE ROOKIE IMPRESSES

• Ryla Jones earned her first ACC Freshman of the Week honor after an impressive three match stretch.

• She recorded seven kills in the sweep of No. 3 Penn State, hitting .636 on 11 attempts and added a match-high six blocks. 

• Against East Carolina, she notched a career-high eight kills, hitting .800 on 10 attempts and added five blocks. She followed that up with three kills and four blocks in the sweep of Marquette.

SWEET SWEEP

• The Panthers swept No. 3 Penn State in the Petersen Events Center in front of a record-breaking crowd (11,800). 

• Torrey Stafford and Rachel Fairbanks shined, recording 17 kills and 42 assists, respectively.

• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones had a then career-high seven kills on a .636 hitting percentage. 

• Senior libero Emmy Klika recorded 15 digs.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER AWARD

•Olivia Babcock was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in her career after her impressive week in California. 

• On the weekend, she averaged 6.17 points per set, 5.11 kills per set, 2.22 digs per set, 0.78 blocks per set and 0.67 aces per set on the weekend, hitting .347.

• This is the eighth conference weekly honor she has received after being named ACC Freshman of the Week six times last year.

BATTLED THE TROJANS, AND WON

• Pitt recorded its second top 25 win with a 3-0 sweep over then No. 23 USC in Los Angeles on Sept. 11. 

• California natives Torrey Stafford, Olivia Babcock and Rachel Fairbanks impressed in their hometown, as the sophomore pin hitters combined for 30 kills while Fairbanks recorded 38 assists.

• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones led the Panthers with seven blocks and added four kills.

DOWN GO THE DUCKS

• The Panthers defeated No. 10 Oregon in its season opener in straight sets. 

• Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks led the charge with her first double-double of the season (34A, 11D).

• Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford came in hot after returning from injury, recording a match-high 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage and adding five digs.

CONQUERED THE BEACH

• Pitt dominated in its second match of the season, beating Long Beach State in a 3-0 sweep fashion.

• Four freshmen experienced their college debut while senior transfer setter Nisa Buzlutepe saw her first action against The Beach.

• The team was clicking on all cylinders, hitting .351 for the match. 

• Rachel Fairbanks recorded her second straight double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs. 

FRESH FACES

• The Panthers’ roster features five true freshmen in 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 came right before preseason. 

• Garibaldi hails from Argentina, Vîrlan is from Romania while Jones (Washington, D.C.), Meyer (Nebraska) and Dinn (Kentucky) come to Pittsburgh from the States.

• Pitt also signed senior transfer setter, Nisa Buzlutepe, from Istanbul, Turkey.

• She has one year of eligibility remaining after playing three seasons at Texas A&M. 

PANTHERS ARE HOT 

• Pitt is coming off three straight Final Fours, back-to-back ACC Championships and eight consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

• The Panthers are the only team in the last three years to appear in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Final Fours and one of three to compete in the last four Elite Eights.

PITT IN RED, WHITE AND BLUE

• Olivia Babcock and Blaire Bayless competed with Team USA once again this summer.

•Babcock played with the Senior National Team in Anaheim, Calif., the only rising sophomore in NCAA volleyball to do so.

• Bayless trained with the U-19 National Team, winning the gold medal at the NORCECA U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Canada.

FISHER IN HIS 12TH SEASON 

• Head coach Dan Fisher is in his 12th season at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team.

• He is building upon his unprecedented success and seek his sixth ACC Championship and first National Championship.

• Fisher currently holds a 306-68 overall record, good for a .818 winning percentage. 

FAMILY TIES

• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones has deep ties to the game as her sister, Rainelle Jones, played volleyball for the University of Maryland and her twin sister, Renee, is committed to play at the University of Arizona.

• Rainelle is currently first in program history in career total blocks and block assists at Maryland. 

• Jones comes from an athletic family as her dad (basketball – University of Maryland), mom (basketball – University of Winnipeg), brother (basketball – Charleston Southern), sister (rowing – Drexel) also all play or have played Division I sports.