PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (27-1, 17-1 ACC) heads to No. 3 Louisville (25-3, 17-1 ACC) for the second of two matches against the Cardinals in the regular season. The highly anticipated match will take place on Wednesday evening at the KFC Yum! Center at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ACC Network.

Pitt has won its last three matches against the Cardinals, all in five sets. The Panthers defeated Louisville in reverse sweeps last season, the second of which secured a spot in the 2023 National Semifinals, Pitt’s third straight. At least one of the two programs has won or had a share of the last seven ACC championships and advanced to four straight Elite Eight appearances. Louisville narrowly owns the series record, 20-17.

OMAHA BOUND!
• Graduate outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez heard her name in the PVF draft, selected by the Omaha Supernovas with the sixth pick in the fourth round.
• She joins Pitt volleyball alumni Courtney Buzzerio, Kayla Lund, Leketor Member-Meneh, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Layne Van Buskirk in the competition.

THE RIVALRY
• One of the two teams has made at least a share of the ACC Championship in the past seven seasons.
(Pitt-2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
(Louisville – 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022)
• The Pitt Panthers and Louisville Cardinals have advanced to the final three Elite Eights.
• Five of the last seven matches between the two teams went to five sets.
•Louisville defeated Pitt in the 2022 Final Four in five sets before the Panthers defeated the Cardinals in reverse order in the 2023 regional final.

BIG BABCOCK
• Olivia Babcock earned her second AVCA National Player of the Week award of the season after her impressive performances against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.
• This was the third time Babcock was honored in her career.
• She is the only player in program history to have more than one national weekly award to her name, as Pitt great Kayla Lund is the only other Panther to add the award to her resume.

ALL-ACC BUTTONS
• Rachel Fairbanks And Olivia Babcock were named ACC Setter and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively, after two sweeps against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.
• Fairbanks averaged 12.00 assists per set and 2.17 digs per set.
• She set Pitt at a team hitting percentage of .438 for both games.
• Babcock averaged 8.08 points per set, 6.50 kills per set, hit .525, 1.17 blocks per set, 1.17 digs per set and 1.00 ace per set.

BABCOCK MAKES HISTORY
• Olivia Babcock is now the all-time program leader for most aces in a single season in the 25-point era with 62 aces.
• She accomplished the feat with her third ace of the night against Miami, finishing with five for the match.
• Babcock passed Lindsey Zitzke, who recorded 53 aces in the 2011 season.

AMAZING THREESOME
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock And Torrey Stafford have been named semifinalists for the 2024 AVCA Division I Player of the Year award.
• Pitt’s three nominees lead the nation, and Nebraska is the only other team with more than one (2).
• All three were named AVCA All-Americans last season and are on track to earn the award again.

WELL OILED MACHINE
• Pitt ranks among the top 20 in the nation in hitting percentage (1st – .347), opponent hitting percentage (1st – .115), aces per set (6th – 2.07), blocks per set (6th – 2, 93), assists per set (10th -13.21) and kills per set (18th – 14.08).

SENSATIONAL STAFF
• Torrey Stafford is hitting .375 for the season, good for 41st in the nation and first among all Division I outside hitters.
• No other Power Four outside hitter ranks in the top 150 in strikeout percentage.

KELLEY WARMS UP
• Middle blocker Bre Kelley has recorded at least five blocks in 12 games this season.
• Her ACC Defensive Player of the Week award (10/21) was the first of her career.
• Bre’s .800 hitting percentage against NC State is a career-high (eight kills on 10 attempts).
• Her 10 blocks against No. 4 Louisville tied a career high and is a season high.

DYNAMIC DUO
• Torrey Stafford And Olivia Babcock have impressed in their sophomore campaigns after earning All-American status as rookies.
• Babcock ranks among the nation’s top 25 in aces per set (2nd – 0.71), points per set (3rd – 5.87) and kills per set (16th – 4.54), while Stafford ranks 41st ranks in hitting percentage (0.375), and 77th in points per set (4.38) and 86th in kills per set (3.77).
• Babcock or Stafford have led or tied for the kill-heavy team in every game this season.

VOLLEYBALL TAHN
• Nine Pitt volleyball games have sold out this season (Penn State, Cal, Stanford, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Miami and Georgia Tech).
• Eight of those nine took place at the Fitzgerald Field House, while the win over the Nittany Lions took place at the Petersen Events Center in front of a record crowd of 11,800 people.

LEADER OF THE PACK
• The Panthers defeated NC State in straight sets at Reynolds Gym.
• Olivia Babcock led the way with 17 kills (hit .577), eight digs, three aces, two blocks and two assists.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded 33 assists and paced the Panthers at a .437 team hitting clip, the highest opponent hitting percentage NC State has allowed this season.

TOOK THE DEACS
• Pitt beat Wake Forest in Winston-Salem for its 16th ACC victory.
• Torrey Stafford recorded a match-high 16 kills with a hit of .483, while adding 10 digs, three blocks, three assists and an ace.

WEATHER THE STORM
• The Panthers defeated Miami on the final day, keeping the Hurricanes from reaching the 20-point mark.
• The win marked the 22nd sweep of the season.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded 36 assists and 10 digs for the double-double, and Olivia Babcock scored 20 kills, five aces, three blocks and three digs and hit .531.
• Bre Kelley recorded nine kills on 12 swings and hit a career-high .750 (while recording at least 10 attempts).

FIGHT THE SEMINOLS
• Pitt earned its ninth top 25 win of the season against then-No. 22 Florida State in a sweep.
• Olivia Babcock led the Panthers with 19 kills and Torrey Stafford added 10 kills, along with a .563 hitting percentage.

COUNT THEM!
• Pitt earned its eighth top 25 win of the season against No. 25 North Carolina.
• Five of those eight wins have come against ACC opponents (No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 15 SMU, No. 5 Stanford, No. 4 Louisville, No. 25 North Carolina).
• The Panthers are 3-0 against top-five teams this year (No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Louisville, No. 5 Stanford).