MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (5-0, 0-0 ACC) dominated in a 3-0 sweep against tournament host Pepperdine (1-5, 0-0 WCC) on Friday night. Once again, Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock led the offensive charge, combining for 28 kills. Rachel Fairbanks notched 28 assists and seven digs as Pitt hit a blistering .305.
The beginning of the first set was highly contested, as Pitt held a narrow lead at 6-5 before picking up momentum. The Panthers proceeded to go on a 9-5 run as Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Bre Kelley, Stafford and Babcock all recorded at least one kill, giving Pitt the 15-10 advantage at the media timeout. The Waves attempted to go on a run of their own, but an efficient side out percentage from the Panthers, and a pair of Pepperdine errors forced the Waves to take a timeout, down 14-20. An efficient Pitt attack and a final kill from Stafford allowed Pitt to take the first set, 25-18.
Pitt came out of the break on fire, as a kill and 5-0 run from Vazquez Gomez forced Pepperdine to take an early timeout, down 2-6. The Panthers picked up the service pressure as Cat Flood and Babcock recorded an ace shortly after. Pepperdine did not have an answer and called its final timeout at 12-4. Another Babcock ace and 4-0 run extended Pitt’s lead to 17-4. Senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe came in and immediately made a difference, racking up three points from the line and added an assist to Babcock, securing the set two win, 25-8.
The Waves responded after set two, as both teams were tied 5-5 early in the third. The trio of pin hitters continued to impress, pushing…
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