PITTSBURGH — In a battle between the ACC and the SEC champions, only one team could continue their quest of a championship. The top-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers and the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats met at the Petersen Events Center for a Regional Final matchup that decided which team would be moving onto the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship.
The first set was a precursor for the rest of the match as it displayed both teams battle their way through a highly-contested set. While Pitt swept the Wildcats, 3-0, each set was tight, gritty and competitive.
“Kentucky is an incredible team, they are incredibly coached, they are fighters, there is no quit in them,” Pitt volleyball head coach Dan Fisher said following the match. “There is a reason their program always go deep in the tournament. I know the score says 3-0 but it certainly did not feel like that easy at any moment.”
The Panthers led by two as many as three times in the early portion of the set before they took off with a 5-0 run that pushed their lead to 19-13.
Following the Wildcats’ timeout, they answered with a 7-3 run and fought back to a one-point deficit behind Brooklyn DeLeye’s seven first-set kills. Fortunately for the Panthers, they managed to close the set out after that run with back-to-back kills from Olivia Babcock who finished the first set with six kills.
The Wildcats started the second set on fire as they instantly jumped out to a 4-0 lead and forced a Panthers’ timeout, then led 6-1. The Panthers finally responded with a 4-0 run and then kept battling as they eventually crawled back to trail by just one when the score was 14-13.
After the Panthers fought back in the set, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to reach the 20-point plateau and forced the second timeout of the set by the Panthers as they trailed by five. Then, just like the Wildcats did in the first set, the Panthers started to mount a comeback as they went on a 4-1 run and pulled back within three.
Following a Wildcats’ timeout, Rachel Fairbanks provided the extra spark that the Panthers needed when she stuffed an attack at the net resulting in a huge pop from the crowd. The Panthers eventually capped off a 7-0 run and re-claimed the lead in the set, 23-22.
After capturing the lead, the Panther closed off the crazy second set on a 9-1 overall run in which they received a long service run from Mallorie Meyer. The Panthers eventually won the set by a score of 25-23 and took a 2-0 lead in the match. Fisher stated that Meyer’s contribution to the run was a huge factor in them being able to pull off the comeback.
“Volleyball is a funny game and that was not their strongest rotation and we knew it,” Fisher said about the comeback in the second set. “Mallorie was serving great and as she did [two nights ago], she just provided an incredible spark.”
With the momentum in hand, the Panthers jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead in the third set due to three kills from Bre Kelley, a transfer from Florida, who had her season ended by an injury in a game against the Wildcats a season ago. Kelley finished the match with five kills in the set and eight total kills.
While she played her best in the third set, Kelley credited her teammates and the team plays when it came to her incredible play in the match-clinching set.
“When we can pass, it is pure gold with this team,” Kelley said. “I think we can play any ball no matter what but I think that when our passes are locked in, we just connect on all levels.”
The Wildcats quickly tied it back up at three and then the two teams traded bursts of points as the set was tied four more times until a kill from Fairbanks pushed the Panthers lead to 15-12. Babcock followed this up with a kill and an ace that forced a Wildcats’ timeout and pushed the Panthers’ lead to five.
Following, the Panthers won the race to 20 and maintained a five-point advantage in the third set due to a huge block from Kelley. She followed it up with another kill and had the Panthers in sight of the finish line.
Leading the third set 22-16, the Panthers closed the match out due to three errors from the Wildcats and a clinching kill from Torrey Stafford.
“Credit to Pittsburgh and their abilities tonight,” Kentucky volleyball head coach Craig Skinner said after the match. “They’ve proven to be a great team all year.”
The Panthers were led by Babcock in the victory as she finished with 13 kills and seven digs. She was named to the All-Regional Tournament Team following the match and received her second consecutive Most Outstanding Player award as well.
“It is just all about the people that I am surrounded by, there is no me without this team,” Babcock told reporters following the match. “I feel like everyone just trusts each other and I feel like the team has put a lot of trust in me to do my job and it makes it a lot easier for me to feel confident .”
The Panthers also received solid contributions from Valeria Vazquez Gomez, who finished with seven kills, and Torrey Stafford, who finished with six kills in the win over Kentucky.
The Wildcats were paced by the play of DeLeye’s play, who was named to the All-Regional Tournament Team, as she finished with a match-high 22 kills in the loss. Megan Wilson added seven kills and five digs for the Wildcats.
With the win, the Panthers continue their quest of a National Championship and advance to their fourth-straight Final Four. With a few days off until the team travels to Louisville for the National Semifinal, Fisher is going to allow his team to enjoy this moment for a short time before they turn the page and start to prep for their next battle.
“The main message is just enjoy the moment for about a day and then we have to take care of business,” Fisher said. “We’re going to have to prepare to be in games like we were tonight where it is going to be really hard and we’re going to have to earn every point.”
The Panthers will play their Final Four matchup at the KFC Yum! Center on Dec. 19, 2024 and the National Championship game, if the Panthers make it that far, will be played on Dec. 22, 2024.
