PITTSBURGH – Rachel Fairbanks has put pen to paper for her first professional season with LOVB Atlanta, announced on Sunday morning. LOVB begins its inaugural season this week and is the second professional volleyball league established after PVF (Pro Volleyball Federation) did so last year. Fairbanks signs shortly after Valeria Vazquez Gomez agreed to a contract with the Omaha Supernovas of the PVF in late November.
Fairbanks, the most decorated setter in program history, is a First Team All-American for the second consecutive season. The three-time All-American, All-ACC and AVCA East Coast Region player is only the second Panther in program history to earn ACC Setter of the Year honors in 2023. She averaged a career-best 10.67 assists per set, good for fourth in program history for assists per set in the 25-point scoring era, and led Pitt to a team 0.332 hitting percentage, the best in the nation. Her 1,067 assists this season is the sixth most in the 25-point scoring era, and Fairbanks eclipsed 3,000 assists in the win over Oregon in the Regional Semifinal, becoming the eighth player in program history to accomplish the feat.
She led the Panthers to four National Semifinal appearances and three ACC Championships and helped Olivia Babcock, Bre Kelley and Torrey Stafford to become 2024 AVCA All-Americans. Babcock became the first Panther in program history to become the 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year this season.
Source: Pitt Athletics/pittsburghpanthers.com
