PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (7-0, 0-0 ACC) handed in-state rival Penn State (8-1, 0-0 Big Ten) State its first loss of the season in three sets in front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night. The 11,800 fans in attendance broke the previous record of 8,865, set against Louisville in the Petersen Events Center last November. The Panthers were led by Torrey Stafford who notched 17 kills and eight digs and Rachel Fairbanks, recording 42 assists in the sweep. The Panthers have now won 21 straight sets this season.
Pitt fed off the crowd’s energy early in the match as kills from Stafford, Olivia Babcock and an ace from Valeria Vazquez Gomez helped the Panthers get out to a 4-0 lead. Penn State tried to minimize Pitt’s advantage, but the Panthers successfully sided out at a high rate, and once again went on another run behind the serve of Vazquez Gomez. Penn State was forced to take a timeout, down 8-16. Junior defensive specialist Dillyn Griffin made an immediate impact off the bench for the Panthers as she dialed up an ace and pushed Pitt to a 21-11 lead. A Nittany Lion hitting error, two Pitt kills and a block from Babcock and Bre Kelley allowed Pitt to take the first set, 25-15.
The Panthers and Nittany Lions went point for point to start the second set, as both teams were knotted up at nine a piece. A 6-2 run from the Panthers gave them the lead at the media timeout, 15-11. A surge in the Penn State offense forced Pitt to take its first timeout of the match, down 16-17. The Panthers responded well as Vazquez Gomez and Stafford recorded a kill and Fairbanks notched an ace, leading Penn State to take a timeout. A 4-2 run and a Ryla Jones kill gave Pitt the second set win, 25-19.
Pitt didn’t slow down in the third set as Penn State tried to stop the home team’s momentum, calling a timeout down 3-7. Shortly after, Fairbanks went on a 5-0 run, distributing the ball to four different Panthers to extend the Pitt lead to 17-7. The Nittany Lions won seven of the following eight points, causing Pitt to burn both of its timeouts. Once again, the Panthers responded well coming out of the break and went on a 7-4 run. Vazquez Gomez put the away the final kill as Pitt won the third set 15-18, and the match, 3-0.
NOTES
– Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford combined for 30 of Pitt’s 53 kills
– Rachel Fairbanks averaged 14 assists per set on the match, totaling 42
– Emmy Klika recorded 15 digs for a match high along with five assists
– Ryla Jones had a career-high seven kills while hitting .333
– The Panthers registered 18 block assists compared to Penn State’s eight
UP NEXT
The No. 1 Panthers are home at the Fitzgerald Field House this weekend. Pitt plays East Carolina on Friday night at 7 p.m. before taking on Marquette on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The match will be broadcasted on ACCNX.