ATLANTA – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (12-0, 2-0 ACC) downed No. 13 Georgia Tech (8-3, 0-2 ACC) in three sets (25-11, 25-17, 25-8) at O’Keefe Gymnasium Sunday afternoon. The Panthers hit a blistering .493 in the match, and Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock combined for 32 of Pitt’s 40 kills. Rachel Fairbanks notched 32 assists, and Babcock recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10 digs, hitting .478.
The Panthers had a hot start in the beginning of the first set, getting out to an early 12-3 lead, forcing the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout. Pitt’s momentum didn’t slow down at the break as Stafford recorded another five points behind the service line, and Babcock notched a pair of kills. A service error gave Georgia Tech its fourth point, but a Georgia Tech hitting error and Vazquez Gomez kill caused the Yellow Jackets to take their final timeout, down 4-19. Three kills from Pitt and two hitting errors late in the set from Georgia Tech allowed the Panthers to win the first set in commanding fashion, 25-11.
Georgia Tech responded well and went point for point with Pitt until 11-11. A 4-0 run behind a kill a piece from Bre Kelley and Stafford and two Yellow Jacket errors allowed the Panthers a 15-11 lead at the media timeout. Pitt won three of the following next four points and forced Georgia Tech to take its final timeout, down 12-18. A 7-5 Pitt run secured the 25-17 second set win. Stafford recorded six kills on a .714 hitting percentage during the stretch.
Pitt continued its momentum from set two and got out to a 9-4 lead. Georgia Tech had no choice but to call a timeout. Pitt did not step off the gas and won seven of the following nine points, and the Yellow Jackets called a timeout, down 6-16. Fairbanks recorded an ace out of the break, forcing a Georgia Tech attack error to extend Pitt’s lead to 12. A 4-0 service run from Vazquez Gomez and a final attack error from the Yellow Jackets was enough for Pitt to win the decisive third set, 25-8, and the match, 3-0.
NOTES
– The Panthers earned 56 points in the match, doubling Georgia Tech’s 28
– Olivia Babcock registered her first double-double of the season with 12 kills and 10…
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