No. 1 Pitt sweeps No. 22 Florida State in dominant vogue

To earn the No. 1 rating a crew must haven’t one, in all probability not two, however a number of harmful hitters to earn that coveted spot. Pitt has harmful hitters everywhere in the ground. 

“I say this sort of typically, however they actually make my job straightforward. Liv, Torrey, Valeria, Ryla, and Bre actually each single certainly one of them,” senior setter Rachel Fairbanks mentioned. “They only see the sport so nicely, they usually know what to do.”

Alongside their setter, sophomore outdoors hitter Torrey Stafford, redshirt junior center blocker Bre Kelley and sophomore reverse hitter Olivia Babcock placed on a formidable efficiency towards No. 22 Florida State, with every participant incomes upwards of six kills. 

Babcock had 19 kills and a .519 hitting share, Stafford had 10 kills and a .562 hitting share and Kelley had six kills and a .750 hitting share.  

First Set:

The Panthers gained the primary set 25-18, behind a dominant Babcock, incomes seven kills on 11 swings. Her sophomore operating mate, Stafford, tallied 5 kills on eight swings and redshirt junior center blocker Bre Kelley additionally added three kills. 

Pitt didn’t make its first error till the 23-18 level and senior setter Rachel Fairbanks assisted all the Panthers’ kills within the first set. Florida State kicked it into excessive gear on the finish of the primary set, nevertheless it nonetheless wasn’t sufficient because it fell behind 15-7 early within the first set.

Second Set:

The second set featured extra backwards and forwards to start out. Neither crew had a 2-0 run till a block by Babcock after a kill by sixth-year outdoors hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez made the rating 7-6 and Pitt to its first lead of the set due to a 2-0 run. 

Following a timeout referred to as by Florida State, Pitt re-entered the sport with a vengeance and maintained a snug lead over the Seminoles for the remainder of the set. Olivia Babcock continued her scorching hitting streak all through the second set, incomes eight kills on her eight makes an attempt. 

“It’s not straightforward to have an ideal set,” Fisher mentioned about Babcock’s eight-for-eight run. “So [it was] a very robust evening for us.”

An ace by Vasquez Gomez sealed the deal for the Panthers, taking the set 25-15. The Panthers held the Seminoles to a .160 hitting share and hit a formidable .650 within the second set. 

Third Set:

Pitt began out the primary set on a 6-0 run, however Florida State —already down 2-0— didn’t quit and stormed again, finally trailing 10-9. However the Panthers regrouped and as soon as extra took benefit. Pitt went on a 15-6 run to complete the third set and gained 25-15.

Babcock had her worst set of the top-25 matchup, committing the identical quantity of errors as kills, 4. However she did add her first ace of the match by forcing a Florida State passer to go the ball nicely into the stands. 

“We had just a few hitting errors on the finish, however till then, we had been just about unstoppable,” Fisher mentioned. “And so while you hit .473, clearly you may have a reasonably good set.”

With tonight’s sweep, the Panthers at the moment are 9-1 towards ranked groups and are additionally an ideal 13-0 at dwelling this season. Pitt’s final loss at dwelling was in September of 2023, good for 29 consecutive wins at dwelling.

“It’s fairly uncommon to be a crew in November-December that’s nonetheless getting higher. And so I believe it’s taking place, and that’s what we’re attempting to do,” Fisher mentioned. 

Subsequent, the Panthers host Miami on Sunday for senior day at 1 p.m., the match is watchable on ACCNX.