PITTSBURGH – The No. 9 Pitt volleyball team (4-1, 0-0 ACC) will travel to No. 24 Marquette (2-3, 0-0 Big East) as it takes on the Golden Eagles on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. CT before playing Loyola Chicago on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. CT. The match against Marquette will be the third straight top-25 matchup for the Panthers.
Pitt and Marquette will play for the ninth time in program history. The two competed regularly before Pitt left the Big East Conference. During conference play, the Golden Eagles won five of eight matches, and defeated Pitt the last five outings. The most recent meeting between the programs was Nov. 16, 2012 as Marquette defeated the Panthers 3-1 in Milwaukee.
Marquette advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 last season, eventually losing to eventual national champion, Texas. The Golden Eagles finished the 2022 campaign 29-4 and 17-1 in Big East play.
The Panthers and Loyola Chicago will compete for the first time. The Ramblers come into the match with a 2-4 record but upset ACC foe Duke and then No. 16 Purdue 3-2 in West Lafayette. The Ramblers finished their 2022 season 25-9, winning the A-10 and advancing to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Their season ended after a 3-0 loss to Kentucky.
84 LUMBER SWEEP
• The Panthers swept then No. 15 Kentucky in the 84 Lumber Series this past weekend, defeating the Wildcats 3-0 on Friday in Lexington and 3-1 on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
• Olivia Babcock led the squad alongside Rachel Fairbanks who registered her first double-double of the season (25A, 15D).
BABCOCK STAYS HOT
• Freshman Olivia has impressed in her first five matches of her college career.
• She set a new career-high with 13 kills and seven blocks against No. 15 Kentucky while hitting .458.
• Babcock was awarded ACC Co-Freshman of the Week honors after a 24 kill, nine block weekend, all while hitting .479.
• This weekend comes after she was named to the Ellesyn Invitational All-Tournament Team after her impressive first weekend in blue and gold.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
• The Panthers welcome the highest ranked freshman class in program history (No. 8) in Torrey Stafford, Blaire Bayless, Olivia Babcock and Haiti Tautua’a.
• All four student-athletes are rated Top 70 in their…
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