Not many volleyball teams manage to pull a crowd of nearly 8,000 on a cold, windy night the day before Thanksgiving, but when it comes to No. 4-ranked Pitt volleyball, this is something to be taken in stride.
“Seeing that the crowd is having our back gives us a lot more fire,” senior setter Brooke Mosher said. “Especially, during those games when we’re down a little bit. It gives us a little bit of an edge.”
For the first time since 2020, Pitt volleyball (25-4, 17-2 ACC) swept No. 7 Louisville (24-5, 16-3 ACC) in straight sets — 25-23, 25-22 and 25-22. This sweep marks Louisville’s first loss on the road this season and puts an end to its ten-game winning streak.
“I thought we were incredible when it mattered most,” head coach Dan Fisher said. “I’m proud of us hanging tough when things weren’t going our way. We know there’s a lot of season left, but we’re feeling grateful.”
By the numbers
In all three sets, Pitt was down by at least two points, but it still managed to turn the tide and take all three in stride.
“Something we talk about often is being good after 20 [points],” junior opposite hitter Olivia Babcock said. “We knew we weren’t playing our best volleyball, but we also knew that was the time to flip the switch. It’s really just about how you finish.”
The Panthers rounded out the match with 51 total digs compared to the Cardinals’ 52. Three of Pitt’s top offensive weapons, Babcock, junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless and first-year outside hitter Marina Pezelj, contributed significantly to this stat, with eight, 11 and 12 digs each, respectively.
“Something we preach, and we practice, is to be all-around players — it’s something we pride ourselves on. We don’t have a bad defender out there,” Fisher said.
Give them their flowers
Babcock led the match in kills, points and tied redshirt senior middle blocker Bre Kelley in total blocks — 22, 26.5 and 5, respectively. The Cardinals — currently ranked second in the nation with 3.21 blocks per set — were outpaced by the Panthers 10 to six on Wednesday night. Babcock hit an outstanding 0.404 hitting percentage, while also earning eight digs and two service aces. Wednesday night’s victory marked the 12th game in which Babcock has earned 20 kills or more.
“We were able to go on really good service runs,” Babcock said. “I don’t think that whoever was serving shied off. I think we applied pressure on the service line and put them out-of-system, and I think that’s when our defense is probably at its best.”
Redshirt sophomore setter Haiti Tautua’a certainly applied the pressure, contributing three of Pitt’s seven service aces, all of which came during the first set. The Hawaiians serving helped the Panthers close out the first set on a 6-0 scoring run.
Redshirt senior setter Brooke Mosher set a new season-high with five kills on seven swings, hitting an impressive 0.714.
The road ahead
With the win secured against Louisville, Pitt is now one step closer to securing the ACC Championship. Louisville, now bumped from the top of the ACC, sits behind Pitt and Stanford (26-4, 17-2 ACC), who are tied for first place in the conference.
The only things that stand between the Panthers and an outright ACC title are a win against Georgia Tech and a Stanford loss to Louisville. An ACC title — while not necessary — would certainly bolster Pitt’s chances at a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and potentially a national title.
“You don’t want to get too high or too low,” Fisher said. “Last year, we were able to beat Louisville at Louisville, but then they got us in the tournament. And so we know that in a tournament run, every game is going to be a different story.”
What’s next for the Panthers?
The Panthers will travel to Atlanta and face off against Georgia Tech for their final ACC match of the season at 1:00 pm on Saturday. The game is available to stream on ACC Network.
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