PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball team (24-1, 14-1 ACC) defeated No. 22 Florida State (18-7, 10-5 ACC) on Friday evening, 25-18, 25-15, 25-15 in front of another sold-out crowd. Olivia Babcock led the way with 19 kills, four blocks, four digs and an ace. Rachel Fairbanks set the Panthers to a team .473 hitting percentage and notched 36 assists, three digs, two aces and a block.
The Panthers got out to an early 8-2 lead, but Florida State decided not to use the early timeout, resulting in Pitt holding a 15-7 advantage at the media break. Three kills from Torrey Stafford and a Florida State attacking error forced the Seminoles to take a timeout, down 10-19. Florida State forced Pitt to make a few offensive errors down the stretch, but a kill from Babcock and a final unforced error on the side of the Seminoles gave Pitt the 25-18 first set lead.
Similar to the first set, Pitt didn’t waste timeout getting out to an early lead at 9-6. Pitt kept the 3-0 lead at 11-8 but shortly after went on a 7-2 run as Stafford rattled off four straight to force Florida State to take a timeout, down 10-18. Babcock recorded three kills off three assists from Fairbanks in the end of the set to allow Pitt to take the second, 25-15.
Pitt claimed a dominant 6-0 lead at the beginning of the third set, but Florida State didn’t back down and trimmed the Panther lead to two at 11-9. The Panthers won four of the next five points as they were up 15-10 at the media timeout. A kill from five Panthers in the remaining 10 points was enough for Pitt to win the third set, 25-15, and the match, 3-0.
NOTES
– This is the third time in four matches Olivia Babcock has recorded at least 18 kills
– Tonight marks the seventh match that Pitt has hit above .400
– Bre Kelley hit a match-high .750 with six kills and five blocks
– Torrey Stafford hit .562 on ten kills, five digs and a block, ace and an assist.
UP NEXT
The No. 1 Panthers will be back at the Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. for senior day. The match will be streamed on ACCNX.
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