PITTSBURGH – No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball dominated another ACC opponent, defeating Virginia in three straight sets.

Pitt (20-1 overall, 10-1 ACC) earned their fifth straight victory with their victory, as they defeated both Cal and No. 5 Stanford two weeks ago and defeated No. 4 Louisville and Notre Dame in four sets and five sets , respectively last weekend.

This also improves the Panthers to 19-3 in the all-time series versus the Cavaliers (17-5 overall, 7-4 ACC), 12 straight wins and 8-1 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Pitt started the first set with a 9-0 lead, with Virginia eventually responding with two of the next three points, 10-2. Pitt then resumed their dominance with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 21-2, including a great serving performance from sophomore right side hitter Olivia Babcock, who had three straight aces.

The Cavaliers would get some points late, but the Panthers held on for the 25-9 set victory. The Panthers outscored the Cavaliers, .444 to -.032, and sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford led with eight kills and a .636 hitting percentage.

Pitt opened the second set with a 7-0 lead, with two kills each from sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez, redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley and Babcock.

They would use the 6-2 rotation in the second set, bringing in both senior setter Nisa Buzletepe for starting senior setter Rachel Fairbanks and sophomore outside hitter Blaire Bayless for Vazquez Gomez.

The Panthers again defeated the Cavaliers 25-9 to win the second set. They outscored their ACC foe, .500 to -.036, with Babcock recording five kills and a block in the period.

Pitt started well again, taking an 8-1 lead, with Babcock making two blocks and one kill. Virginia responded by cutting their lead to 12-8, Pitt scored three straight points and Virginia then scored four points to keep the score at 15-12.

The Panthers would take control of the rest of the third set, winning it on a 10-3, 25-15 run, and also winning the match.

Pitt outscored Virginia in the game, .393 to -.011, making it four ACC opponents they have held with a negative hitting percentage.

Babcock and Stafford both led Pitt with 11 kills, with Stafford hitting .455 and Babcock hitting .375. Stafford was second with eight digs, while Babcock led with five blocks and added five digs.

Vazquez Gomez had six kills, joining Pitt in the 1,000 career kill club, the 19th player to do so and ninth in the modern scoring era (2008–present). She was also tied for the team lead with Babcock with three service aces.

Fairbanks led with 28 assists and added two service aces and seven digs. Senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika led the Panthers with 13 digs and also added five assists.

Pitt closes out their weekend when they hit the road against Virginia Tech on November 3 with a 1:00 PM start.

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