No. 1 Pitt volleyball makes program history with sweep over No. 5 Stanford

Abby Schnable / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For the first time in program history, No. 1 Pitt volleyball defeated Stanford on Sunday. The two teams had met on four separate occasions, and the Panthers never got the upper hand. But in front of a packed crowd at Fitzgerald Field House, the Panthers knocked off the No. 5 team in the country.

The Cardinal have good memories in Pittsburgh. They won the national championship in 2019 at PPG Paints Arena. Stanford couldn’t channel that energy at Pitt’s home court, though, and the Panthers swept them 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-20).

“It was a big win for our program,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said. “We have tremendous respect for Stanford, and they've led the way in our sport for many years. We needed to be tough tonight. There were a few areas that we were a little bit below our standards — covering being one. The single biggest thing we wanted to do was be the long rally transition team. The last time I checked we were, we won that battle pretty substantially.”

The first set seemed like it’d be tight with both teams trading points, but the Panthers quickly took control courtesy of a 6-1 run. Fisher was forced to call a timeout when Stanford got within three points, and it helped, as Torrey Stafford got a huge kill when play returned. Pitt stifled Stanford’s offense, including holding leading hitter Elia Rubin to a negative hitting percentage. The momentum held, and Pitt took the first set by eight points.

An early challenge by Fisher gave the Panthers a 5-4 lead in the second set that set the foundation for them to take off. The Cardinal kept it within two points until they made three errors over four points. They finished the set with 12 total errors, seven of which were attacking errors, and four of those came from Rubin. A service error from Kami Miner gave Pitt the win in the second.

Stanford kept things interesting in the third set and never really gave the Panthers any breathing room. The most Pitt led by was five points, which didn’t even come until near the end of the game. Jordyn Harvey had one last chance for a comeback when she scored to make it 23-19, but Olivia Babcock quickly scored to put the Panthers at set point. The fans were loud when Stafford finished out the game with a hard hit.

“The environment just felt so much more electric today,” Babcock said. “Everyone just had such good energy throughout. I feel like it definitely reflected onto the court. We all had the same energy as the crowd. That's where we were able to find success because we were just having fun.”

Babcock had yet another impressive offensive game. The sophomore right side hitter led the team with 17 kills and a .361 hitting percentage. She also had a tough defensive assignment, going toe to toe with Rubin, who was held to minus-.038. The Panthers as a whole kept Stanford to a .090 hitting percentage.

“Number one was Liv matched up against Elia Rubin,” Fisher said. “That was a very good matchup for us. She's one of the best hitters in the country. Liv was able to make her very uncomfortable. Anytime you can really affect someone's best hitter, that helps. Then I feel good about how we prepared. We watched them a little earlier than we normally do in the week, so our team felt really comfortable about what they had to do.”

Star player

Stanford’s Miner is often referred to as the best setter in the nation, but Rachel Fairbanks contested that claim heavily Sunday. Pitt’s senior setter had a whopping 35 assists — which comes out to 11.7 per set. She helped her team to a .351 hitting percentage, while tallying a pair of kills herself.

Fairbanks was just one dig away from a double-double, but her were was the highest on the squad. She also added one of Pitt's two service aces and two blocks.

“I've played with Kami, and she's a wonderful person and player,” Fairbanks said. “I like playing with her, learning from her, learning from each other because I feel like our styles are pretty different. Our hitters make it so easy for me. I feel 100% of the time I have everyone available and everybody wanting the ball, so I feel like I can't go wrong.”

Top moment

Early in the third set, Babcock had a big serve that Rubin couldn’t quite control, causing the ball to be sent toward the net. Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones went up against senior setter Miner for the joust. Miner got her hands on the ball first, but Jones was more dominant, giving her the solo block and Pitt a 8-4 lead.

“That was amazing,” Babcock said. “I didn't know what I expected out of that play, but the fact that she pushed the ball so hard that Miner was on the floor was pretty impressive. I was proud of her. We work on jousting a lot, so the way she was able to execute was good.”

Key stat

The block was on fire for Pitt, which was especially important knowing how good Stanford’s pin hitters are. The Panthers finished with 13 blocks — it’s the seventh time this season they’ve had 10 or more blocks. Bre Kelley led with seven, followed by Babcock’s six. Babcock, Stafford and Jones each added a solo block.

“I feel like we really emphasize the idea of not letting your first time be your first time,” Babcock said. “We scouted them really well. I feel like going into this game, I felt like I had already played against these hitters, so it was just very comfortable. We had a good assignment, and I feel like we all executed it very well.”

Big picture

Stanford is the third-highest-ranked ACC team behind Pitt and No. 4 Louisville. The win over the Cardinal not only boosts their conference record to 7-1, but the Panthers are now 6-1 against ranked opponents — and 2-0 against top-five teams.

The NCAA committee also announced its midseason top 16 during the game. Nebraska debuted as No. 1, and Pitt sat at No. 2 despite the two teams being in the opposite positions in the AVCA rankings. Nebraska is also 2-0 against top-five teams and is 7-0 against ranked opponents. Both teams lost to SMU, but SMU was not ranked when it played the Cornhuskers.

Quotable

This was a statement win for the Panthers. Stanford’s nine national championships are the most of any program in the nation.

“Historically, volleyball has been like a group of eight main teams,” Fairbanks said. “Pitt as a school and our volleyball team, we're just really fighting to show that we belong. Beating Stanford helps.”

Up next

The big matches keep coming, with No. 4 Louisville coming to town to play in Petersen Events Center on Friday. It’s the first time the two ACC rivals are meeting this season. The Panthers were 2-1 against the Cardinals last season, with both of Pitt’s wins being reverse sweeps.