Pitt volleyball has its best chance yet to make it to the National Championship game. It has failed in its previous four tries, but this time feels as if the team almost has no excuses if it doesn’t make it to the National Championship game.
If Pitt wants to make its first National Championship game appearance, it needs to do these three things:
Share the wealth
The national narrative around Pitt volleyball is that it is just a one-man show — the Olivia Babcock show. But that’s not the case, and Pitt needs to prove that to start the game.
The outside hitter duo of junior Blaire Bayless and first-year Marina Pezelj is a dangerous one — Pitt needs to utilize that. And the best part for Pitt is that they are both playing some of their best volleyball right now.
In the Elite Eight, Pezelj tabbed a career-high in kills and points with 14 and 16, respectively. If that wasn’t good enough for Pitt fans, she also nabbed 12 digs for the Panthers, while earning a hitting percentage of .323.
And Bayless, she’s Ms. Consistent for Pitt volleyball. In every game, whatever the team needs, she does. She always earns a solid hitting percentage, gets the kills, digs and blocks the team needs, and goes about her day.
“I trust my skills a lot more this season,” Bayless said. “Having that consistent role on the team has just allowed me to grow with the girls on the court.”
She might not be the most flashy player for Pitt volleyball, but she gets the job done. And for her, there’s no better chance to show her workmanlike playing style than in the National Semifinal.
“I need to be able to do it all and be that person on the court that my team can rely on to work in all skills,” Bayless said. “And that’s been my focus [for] this season.”
And then, there is redshirt senior Bre Kelley. She’s mainly known for her defensive prowess, as she won ACC Defensive Player of the Year this season, but her offense is also stellar.
In Pitt’s Sweet Sixteen matchup, she notched eight kills on 10 attacks and an .800 hitting percentage. Pitt’s passing must help her out to get a large volume of swings, but if it is passing well, there is no reason not to look Kelley’s way.
For Pitt, the best part about sharing the wealth to the plethora of weapons is that it opens up space for its junior opposite hitter, Babcock. And when Babcock is open, it results in a kill the majority of the time, no matter what team she’s facing.
Show that you have been here before
Making it to the Final Four for five straight seasons has its perks, obviously, and this year, unlike past seasons, Pitt needs to take advantage of that. It has four players who have played in one Final Four, and Babcock, who has played in two.
“Since [Pitt has] so many people [who] have been here before, we were able to prepare the newer players coming into this experience what to expect,” Babcock said. “We’re also able to just remind them constantly that even though there will be a lot of media … stay locked in at the goal at hand.”
Pitt is a team that has been here before. Texas A&M is not. The environment Pitt is playing in on Thursday night should not feel like a foreign one to it — it should seem like the Panthers are used to it.
Blaire Bayless’ key to victory: Be gritty
Pittsburgh is a town built by gritty, blue-collar people. So how can the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team advance to it’s first National Championship in program history? Well, it must play like what the city was built on — grit.
“We’ve been gritty all season, and that’s something we really pride ourselves on,” Bayless said. “This is the time to be the grittiest we’ve ever been.”
Pitt volleyball’s fifth opportunity to advance to the National Championship game is tonight at 6:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
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