No. 1 Pitt to Host SMU in Top-15 Battle

PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (14-0, 4-0 ACC) hosts new ACC member No. 15 SMU (12-3, 4-0 ACC) on Wednesday night at the Fitzgerald Field House at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ACC Network. The Panthers will then head to Dallas to finish the home-and-home series on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. 

The Panthers and Mustangs will compete for the first time this week. SMU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, sweeping Texas State before losing to eventual National Champion Texas. 

MR. 300

• Head Coach Dan Fisher captured his 300th win at the helm of the Pitt volleyball team against Boston College last Friday.

• Fisher now has the most all-time wins at Pitt with 301, passing Shelton Collier with 295 wins (1980-1988).

RECORD BREAKER

• Olivia Babcock recorded a program best 12 aces in a single match against Boston College.

• Her 12 aces passed her previous career high of five and the long-standing program record set in 2005 by Diana Andreyko with eight aces.

TRIPLE DOUBLE SHOW

• Babcock notched the first triple-double of her career with 14 kills, 12 aces and 10 digs against Boston College.

• She is the first Panther to reach the milestone since Rachel Fairbanks did so in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against BYU (28A, 13D, 10K).

• Babcock is the first player to record that style of triple-double since the 2021 season. 

WELL-OILED MACHINE

• Pitt ranks among the top ten in the country for hitting percentage (1st – .351), opponent hitting percentage (1st – .099), aces per set (4th – 2.33) and kills per set (10th – 14.16).

DYNAMIC DUO

• Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock have impressed in their sophomore campaigns after earning All-American status as rookies.

• Stafford ranks among the top 25 in the nation in kills per set (20th – 4.38) and points per set (22nd – 4.97) while Babcock ranks 3rd nationally in points per set (5.73) and 28th in kills per set (4.25).

• Babcock or Stafford have either led or tied for the team high in kills in each match this season.

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS

• The Panthers earned their 13th sweep of the season against Syracuse.

• Torrey Stafford hit for an impressive .560 hitting percentage, and senior setter Nisa…