No. 1 Pitt sweeps No. 5 Stanford volleyball
🧹 Pitt sweeps Stanford
After exchanging scoring runs, outside hitter Torrey Stafford's 12th, and final, kill completed Pitt's sweep over Stanford (25-17, 25-16, 25-20). The victory marks the Panthers' fifth-ranked win and sweep of the season. Additionally, the win snapped Stanford's 4-0 match win streak against the home team.
Pitt was in the driver's seat from the jump, keeping the Cardinal's offense in purgatory in the first two sets. Facing the nation's best team in opponent's hitting percentage, Stanford's hitting percentage didn't eclipse .100 until the final set. The Cardinal's final hitting percentage of .090 is their lowest of the season.
Kelley and Babcock led the way in blocks with seven and six, respectively. Babcock dominated offensively as well with 17 kills, her third-most in a match this season.
The Panthers improve to 17-1 and have won 53 out of 57 sets this season. Stanford falls to 14-3 and will potentially fall out of AVCA rankings top five for the first time this season.
📈CATCH UP: See the final stats here
👀 Can Pitt hold on for sweep?
Beating Stanford in the first two sets by more than eight points in each, the Panthers are xxx points away from executing their fifth-ranked sweep of the season.
However, the Cardinal has climbed back into Set 3, going on a 4-1 run following an early timeout and only down 18-15. Stanford has been swept in both losses this year.
Take flight 🛫
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB)
💻 »
👀 Pitt takes 2-0, wins Set 2 25-16
The Panthers are just one set away from another sweep, taking Set 2 versus Stanford 25-16.
Similar to Set 1, Pitt dominated the Cardinal offensively, going on two 3-0 and a 5-0 scoring run. Babcock and Bre Kelley continued the block party on defense as well, each with six blocks in the match — a tied season-high for Babcock. Stanford continues to find a rhythm on offense, hitting a season-low of .068.
Babcock leads both teams in kills with 10.
😳 Pitt up eight in Set 2
Going on both a 3-0 and 5-0 run, Pitt is having its way against Stanford in Set 2.
The Cardinal hasn't found many answers to combat the Panthers' strong defense, currently hitting just .039 in the match. If the hitting percentage holds, it will be Stanford's worst hitting percentage in a match all season.
🚨 Top-16 rankings released
The NCAA DI women's volleyball committee revealed its in-season top-16 rankings between the first and second sets of the Pitt-Stanford match. The rankings for results through Oct. 19.
Here are the top-16:
- Nebraska
- Pitt
- Penn State
- Louisville
- Stanford
- Creighton
- SMU
- Texas
- Wisconsin
- Oregon
- Kansas
- Purdue
- Utah
- TCU
- USC
- Minnesota
🔵🟡 Pitt runs away with Set 1, wins 25-17
Pitt broke away from Stanford early in Set 1 and didn't look back, winning 25-17.
The Panthers held the upper hand from the get-go. Just one lead change the entire set, Pitt collected four blocks before the first 15 points and continued to smother Stanford, holding them to a .065 hitting percentage.
Offensively, Rachel Fairbanks led the team in assists with 13 while Torrey Stafford and Olivia Babcock racked up five kills each.
Lock down defense 🔒👀
— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB)
📺ESPN
🔥 Pitt first to 15
Behind Pitt's block party, the Panthers are the first to 15 points in Set 1, leading 15-11.
With three early blocks, Pitt raced out to an 11-6 lead to force Stanford into a timeout. The Cardinal battled back after the short break, though, going on a 3-0 to make things interesting, but the Panthers were still able to reach 15 first. Pitt leads the block battle 4-1.
OLIVIA. BABCOCK.
— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB)
📺 ESPN
🔁 Starting rotations
🔵🟡 Pitt:
- Valer Vazquez Gomez
- Torrey Stafford
- Olivia Babcock
- Ryla Jones
- Rachel Fairbanks
- Dillyn Griffin
- Bre Kelley
🌲 Stanford:
- Kami Miner
- Anna Pringle
- Elia Rubin
- Jordyn Harvey
- Elena Oglivie
- Lizzy Andrew
- Sami Francis
🍿 Pitt-Stanford starting soon
No. 1 Pitt and No. 5 Stanford matchup for the first time in 30 years. Two squads that have cemented themselves as top teams in the country sitting in the top five of the AVCA rankings all year, the Panthers and the Cardinal aren't new to facing a ranked opponent. They have combined for 10 ranked wins this season.
With Stanford holding a 4-0 series lead against Pitt, Sunday's affair gives the Panthers a chance to snap the Cardinal's win streak while Stanford could hand the No. 1 team its second loss of the season.
👀 Top 16 to be revealed during match
The NCAA Division I women’s volleyball committee will reveal its in-season top 16 rankings between the first and second sets of Sunday's Pitt-Stanford match, which starts at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
This is the first time that the in-season rankings will have 16 teams. Previously, the committee revealed its top 10. The new in-season reveal will show fans which teams could earn seeds when the tournament bracket is officially announced at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN.
📝 Match preview
A plethora of ranked matchups under each team’s belts already, Pitt and Stanford both prepare for one their toughest challenges of the season yet. The Panthers enter their second top-5 ranked matchup of the year while Stanford readies for their third.
The Panthers and the Cardinal have assembled two of the most decorated resumes so far. Both have also been ranked in AVCA’s top five all season — at one point No. 1 and No. 2. So Sunday’s affair has a chance to shake things up.
Although the Cardinal has manhandled the Panthers in all four of their meetings between 1985 and 1994, outscoring them 12-1, Pittsburgh looks a lot different than they did 30 years ago.
And with Stanford becoming an ACC member this season, expect many more regular season meetings to come in the future.
2024 Campaigns
- 🔵🟡 Pitt
- Didn’t lose a set from the start of the season till Oct. 4 against Boston College
- 12 matches for a 36-set streak
- Has held the top spot in the AVCA rankings since Week 2
- Sophomore Olivia Babcock ranks third nationally in points per set (5.69)
- Going into Friday’s matchup against Cal, Pitt ranked among the top five in the country for hitting percentage (1st - .343), opponent hitting percentage (1st - .107) and aces per set (4th - 2.27)
- Has swept their ranked opponents in four out of five matchups
- No. 10 Oregon, No. 3 Penn State, No. 13 Georgia Tech and No. 15 SMU
- Didn’t lose a set from the start of the season till Oct. 4 against Boston College
3rd in the nation in points per set? Not bad, Liv 😏
— Pitt Volleyball (@Pitt_VB)
- 🌲 Stanford
- Most recently swept No. 12 SMU on Oct. 16, the team’s fourth consecutive sweep
- Junior Elia Rubin notched her 1,000th career kill in the win, the 23rd player in program history
- Six wins against ranked opponents — tied for second-most ranked wins in the country
- No. 18 Minnesota, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 24 Marquette, No. 6 Texas, No. 11 Kentucky, No. 12 SMU
- Alongside Pitt, Stanford is ranked in the top three in the ACC for points per set (3rd - 17.77), hitting percentage (2nd - .292), assists per set (2nd - 13.13) and leads the conference in kills per set (14.05)
- Last week, setter Kami Miner was named ACC Setter of the Week for the third time this season, while outside hitter Ipar Kurt was given ACC Freshman of the Week honors
- Most recently swept No. 12 SMU on Oct. 16, the team’s fourth consecutive sweep
No. 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣
— Stanford Women's Volleyball (@StanfordWVB)
📊 Team stats comparison
Through matches on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024
| STAT | Pitt | stanford |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 16-1 (6-1 ACC) | 14-2 (6-1 ACC) |
| AVCA Ranking | No. 1 | No. 5 |
| Team Hitting % | .348 | .292 |
| Opp. Hitting % | .099 | .194 |
| Assists per set | 13.0 | 13.12 |
| Service aces/errors | 123/102 | 93/206 |
| Digs per set | 12.4 | 13.41 |
| Blocks per set | 2.78 | 2.05 |
| Top individual kills | Olivia Babcock (220) | Elia Rubin (216) |
| Top individual assists | Rachel Fairbanks (449) | Kami Miner (560) |
| Top individual blocks | Bre Kelley (65) | Sami Francis (74) |
⚔️ Series history
Pitt and Stanford’s series history has been the definition of lopsided, though they haven't meet in a long time.
Squaring off for the first time in 30 years, Pitt and Stanford match up for only the fifth time ever on Sunday. The Cardinal is undefeated at 4-0. Even more one-sided, the Panthers haven’t won a set against Stanford since 1989. Stanford has outscored them 12-1.
Here’s a quick look at the year, final score and location of each matchup:
| Year | Final Score | Location | Match Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 3-0 | Pittsburgh | Regular season |
| 1992 | 3-0 | Stanford, California | NCAA 1st & 2nd Rounds |
| 1989 | 3-1 | Lincoln, Nebraska | FirsTier Invitational |
| 1985 | 3-0 | Normal, Illinois | RedBird Classic |
🏐 Power 10 rankings
NCAA Digital's Michella Chester released her Power 10 rankings entering Week 7, with the top six teams remaining the same. The full Power 10 rankings are below with both the Cardinal and Panthers in bold.
- Pittsburgh - Prev. 1
- Nebraska - Prev. 2
- Penn State - Prev. 3
- Louisville - Prev. 4
- Stanford - Prev. 5
- Creighton - Prev. 6
- Texas - Prev. 8
- Kansas - Prev. 7
- SMU - Prev. NR
- Purdue - Prev. 9
➡️ Click or tap here for a breakdown of each of Michella's picks
📺 How to watch Pitt and Stanford
- 🗓️ Date: Sunday, Oct. 20
- ⏰ Time: 3 p.m. ET
- 📺 TV: ESPN
- 📍 Location: Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh
- 📊 Follow: Live scores and stats