Pitt volleyball has a chance to show the nation it is still here, and it is a problem.
After starting the season 0-2, the Panthers are now 4-2, gaining momentum and looking more and more like their 2024 selves. Pitt has only lost two sets since losing six in its first week of action — one of which occurred with Pitt’s star, junior opposite hitter Olivia Babcock, on the bench.
Junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless has played like a legitimate star for the past four games. Sophomore middle blocker Ryla Jones looks just as good as redshirt senior middle blocker and Second-Team All American in 2024, Bre Kelley. And Pitt’s back row is full of players who refuse to let the ball hit the ground.
Seriously, just watch Pitt’s back row defense in this clip.
For Pitt, its match against No. 3 Kentucky on Wednesday is no small task, but a great one for it. Why? It will truly show us how much Pitt has improved since its first game of the year against Nebraska, when it lost in four sets.
Don’t get me wrong — TCU and Arizona State were strong opponents for the Panthers, but Kentucky is a step above that. The Wildcats boast a roster that is built to make it far in the NCAA Tournament. They have one of the best players in the nation, junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye. Paired with her is Purdue transfer and First-Team All Big Ten player, senior outside hitter Eva Hudson.
The Wildcats have no shortage of weapons, and it will be interesting to see how the Panthers match up against that.
Against Nebraska, Pitt’s weapons couldn’t compete — Babcock held the entire offense on her shoulders, accounting for 50% of the Panthers’ kills. But against Kentucky, it’s time for Bayless, Jones and Kelley to show that this offense is not one-dimensional.
In the first two games of the season, Bayless hit .058 and only tabbed six kills in her six sets played. Since then, the Plano, Texas native has a hitting percentage of .359 and 44 kills in the 14 sets she has played since then. She’s an entirely different player since then and has a chance to showcase that in front of a home Texas crowd.
“I’m excited to go home and get a hometown crowd going,” Bayless said. “There’s going to be a lot of Pitt at the game, and I am just really excited for the energy in that atmosphere.”
The setter to middle blocker connection has also completely flipped since the first four games of the season. Kelley and Jones had hardly any involvement in the offense, combining for a total of 24 kills in the first four games. But in the past two games, the duo has combined for 33 kills.
“The [setter-middle] connection has been way better,” Fisher said after Pitt’s four-set victory over Jacksonville. “I think [Ryla] and Bre did a nice job with the setters, but also, if there was a tight one [to the net], they were able to put it away.”
The efficiency with which the duo played over the past weekend was also remarkable.
Jones hit .773 over the weekend and earned 18 kills — a far cry better than the seven kills and .227 hitting percentage she came into the weekend with.
Kelley wasn’t too far behind Jones this past weekend as she hit .520 over the weekend and tabbed 15 kills. Before this weekend, she had a total of 17 kills and a .216 hitting percentage in the four games.
If the duo in the middle continues hitting like this, Kentucky and any other team that is unlucky enough to face Pitt is in a heap of trouble.
Wednesday’s matchup for Pitt is clearly not a cakewalk, but it will tell us a lot about the outlook for the Panthers in 2025.
Pitt will look to show the nation how its opponents still have to get past it to earn a National Title, and Kentucky will look for sweet, sweet revenge after Pitt ended its season in the Elite Eight last season.
“The whole team is looking forward to getting that chance to be in another big arena and play a really great team and try to make a statement,” Bayless said.
The match against Kentucky is part of the Shriners Children’s Showdown at the Net in Fort Worth, Texas. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. and air on ESPN.
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