PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (8-0, 0-0 ACC) defeated East Carolina (7-2, 0-0 AAC) in three sets for its eighth straight sweep of the season. The Panthers remain as the only team in the nation to have not dropped a set. Pitt was led by Olivia Babcock with a season-high 18 kills, five blocks, two digs and an ace.
The Panthers started a bit slow in the first set as Pitt and East Carolina were tied early at 9-9. Pitt turned it on and created a run behind the serve of Nisa Buzlutepe. Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Bre Kelley supplied a kill a piece to force an East Carolina timeout at 13-9. The Panthers went on another substantial run as two kills from Babcock, and a kill a piece from Vazquez Gomez and Kelley caused the Pirates to take their final timeout, as Pitt held the 19-11 advantage. Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones impressed offensively and helped Pitt to a 5-2 run to take the first set, 25-13.
Pitt and East Carolina battled at the beginning of set two as Pitt held a narrow 4-3 lead early. The Pirates looked to keep up with the Panthers, but Pitt extended its lead to 12-8 as Babcock continued to dominate in the front row. The Pirates responded with a 6-2 run of their own to be down by only one at the media timeout, 15-14. East Carolina sided out consistently throughout the following stretch, forcing Pitt to take a timeout at 19-19. A Babcock kill and Pirate error resulted in East Carolina taking its final timeout, down 20-21. It came down to the wire, but Cat Flood came in clutch at the end of the set, dialing up an ace to give Pitt a…
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