PITTSBURGH — Pitt Volleyball had a slow start in their matchup vs. No. 8 USC in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center, but a great finish to the second set led them to win in four sets to move on to the Sweet 16.
The Panthers (27-4) make it to their fourth straight Sweet 16 with the win over the Trojans (19-13). The win also serves as the first ever victory for the Panthers over the Trojans, as they lost their past three matches against them in the all-time series. It also increases the Panthers’ all-time record in the NCAA Tournament to 20-18.
USC came out the better of the two sides to start the first set, going up 6-4. Both teams would go on mini runs throughout the first set, as Pitt tied it up at 6, then USC went up 9-6 to force a timeout. Pitt would then score five of the next six points to take an 11-10 lead and then USC responded with four straight points to make it 14-11. Pitt then tied it up at 16 and then both teams found themselves tied at 20.
First-year right side hitter and ACC Freshman of the Year Olivia Babcock would get back-to-back kills to put the Panthers up 22-20. The Trojans responded, with All Pac-12 Team senior outside hitter Skylar Fields making back-to-back kills and another from graduate student opposite side hitter Kalyah Williams to earn a 23-22 advantage.
Panthers first-year outside hitter Torrey Stafford made a kill to get the Trojans lead to one, but senior middle blocker and Williams combined for the block to win the first set for their team, 25-23.
Pitt started the second set with a 4-0 lead with two kills from redshirt senior outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez, but USC responded to tie it up 4-4. Both teams would battle back and forth to keep it tied at 10, but USC redshirt sophomore middle blocker Tyrah Ariail made three straight kills and a block to give her team a 14-10 lead.
The Panthers had to get things back on track and they did so, using their block. They made three blocks over a 6-2 scoring run to level it up at 16.
Ariail gave the lead back to the Women of Troy with a kill, but made a costly service error that gave the Panthers the ball back.
Babcock continued to come through, making two kills and combining with graduate student middle blocker Emma Monks for back-to-back blocks to give Pitt a 21-18 lead.
USC would cut the lead to two at 22-20, but graduate student middle blocker Chiamaka Nwokolo would come clutch for Pitt. She made a kill, then after a solo block from Vazquez Gomez, made one of her own to win the second set 25-20 to tie the match up at 1-1.
Pitt would outblock USC, 7.5-3, doing what they do almost better than any team in the nation, while also holding USC to a -.026 hitting percentage in the second set.
“I think probably that streak where Olivia got a couple in a row, but I thought not just the block, but I thought our back defense was great…” Pitt volleyball head coach Fisher said on his team’s defense. “There was too many rallies to even remember.”
The Panthers broke a 4-4 deadlock to begin the fourth set, with a 13-3 run to take a 17-7 lead. The Trojans would try and cut into the big lead, but the Panthers held on for the 25-18 set victory to go up two sets to one.
Pitt volleyball hit .481 in the third set, while holding USC to a .147 hitting percentage themselves. Babcock led Pitt with four kills in the set.
The Panthers took a 5-2 lead to start the fourth set, but the Women of Troy would tie it back up at 5. Two consecutive kills for Stafford and service ace from Babcock gave the Panthers an 8-5 advantage, before more great play put them up 12-6.
The Trojans battled back with an 8-2 run to tie it up at 14 and looked like they might take momentum for themselves.
The Panthers ended the Trojans aspirations, scoring six straight points to take a 20-14 lead, with Babcock making a kill and a block during the run.
Pitt would finish off the fourth set, with Nwokolo, junior setter Rachel Fairbanks and Vazquez Gomez making kills to win it 25-18 and the match as well.
Babcock led the Panthers with 16 kills and 12 digs, becoming the 13th player in program history to have a double-double in an NCAA Tournament match.
She also led the Panthers with two service aces and finished second with six total blocks, tied for fifth most in an NCAA Tournament match in program history. Her six blocks came as six block assists, which ranks No. 3 best in an NCAA Tournament match in Panthers history.
Despite her early struggles, Babcock played much better in the later part of the second set and then the final two sets of the match. Her improved play proved crucial for Pitt’s turn around and it came in the biggest match of the season so far.
“I think midway through, I got really pissed off because I started to think about how important this was,” Babcock said. “Like obviously we went into this game of it being important, but I feel like the more I thought about it as the game progressed, I was like, ‘Wow. Every game from this point on is season ending.’ So, that’s when I was like, I have to obviously just go out and do my thing because I know that when I’m on my game, it tends to reflect on everyone else. So I feel like we all pick each other up. One person gets on their game and everyone else starts to get on their game. So I just feel like it needed to flip and I think it did.”
Fairbanks finished with a double-double herself, making a team-high 41 assists and 10 digs, third most on Pitt. Her 41 assists is the most in an NCAA Tournament for her and ties her for fourth most in a game in program history, along with former setter Kamalani Akeo (2015-18) against Dayton in the First Round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Her double-double in her fourth in the NCAA Tournament, which ties her for second most double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament in Pitt history along with former right side hitter Nika Markovic (2016-19).
Monks finished with eight total blocks against the Trojans, tied for second most in an NCAA Tournament for a Panther. She also made eight block assists, tied for most in an NCAA Tournament match, along with former middle blocker Sabrina Starks (2018-22) against Howard in the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Stafford finished with 13 kills and hitting .345, both second best on Pitt. She has come through for Pitt many times in high pressure matches in her first season with the program and did it once again against USC.
“I think it’s more of the pressure if you lose you go home,” Stafford said on stepping up her performances in big games. “We’re in the Pete, lot of fans, but I think it’s just more of like, you have to win. You’re going to the Championship.”
Vazquez Gomez demonstrated her versatility once again, with 11 digs and nine kills, second and third most on Pitt, respectively. Nwokolo made eight kills and led Pitt with a .500 hitting percentage.
Pitt volleyball will face No. 4 Washington State in the Sweet 16 next Thursday, Dec. 7 at 2:30 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. The winner of this match will face the winner of the other Sweet 16 match in No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 3 Creighton at 12:00 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House.
