No. 1 Panthers Head South, Play Wake Forest and NC State This Weekend

PITTSBURGH – No. 1 Pitt (25-1, 15-1 ACC) heads south to play Wake Forest (13-14, 5-11 ACC) and NC State (14-10, 9-7 ACC). The Panthers play the Demon Deacons on Friday night in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m. before taking on the Wolfpack on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Panthers lead the overall series against Wake Forest, 12-1 and have not lost a match since 2016. The All-American duo of Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 25 kills and seven digs in the sweep of the Demon Deacons last season. Rachel Fairbanks set Pitt to a blistering .416 hitting percentage, notching 33 assists and 11 digs for a double-double. 

Once again, Pitt controls the series over NC State with 15 wins to only two losses. The Panthers have won seven straight matches, with five of those being in the form of a sweep. Pitt dominated the Wolfpack defensively both at the net and in the back court last season. The Panthers notched 14 total blocks in the effort, and Emmy Klika recorded 14 digs. 

BIG TIME BABCOCK

• Olivia Babcock earned her second AVCA National Player of the Week award of the season after her impressive performances against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.

• This was the third time of her career Babcock has been honored.

• She is the only player in program history to have more than one national weekly award to her name as Pitt great Kayla Lund is the only other Panther to add the accolade to her resume.

ACC NODS

• Rachel Fairbanks and Olivia Babcock were named ACC Setter and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively, after two sweeps against No. 22 Florida State and Miami.

• Fairbanks averaged 12.00 assists per set and 2.17 digs per set this past weekend.

• She set Pitt to a .438 team hitting percentage for both matches.

• Babcock averaged 8.08 points per set, 6.50 kills per set, hitting .525, 1.17 blocks per set, 1.17 digs per set and 1.00 ace per set.

BABCOCK MAKES HISTORY

• Olivia Babcock is now the all-time program leader for most aces in a single season in the 25-point scoring era with 56 aces. 

• She reached the feat with her third ace of the night against Miami and ended with five for the match.

• Babcock passed Lindsey Zitzke who recorded 53 aces in the 2011 season. 

WEATHERED THE STORM

• The Panthers swept Miami…