Even in Defeat, No. 3 Pittsburgh Got What it Wanted Out of Nebraska

In what could have been a preview of a Final Four match later this season, the Panthers said their match against Nebraska didn't disappoint.

The Huskers met with the Pittsburgh Panthers to open the 2025 season at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the first time. | Amarillo Mullen

You couldn't have ordered up a tougher match to start the season — on the road against the No. 1 team in the country, on their campus, in the largest building they could find. That building, of course, was a sold-out Pinnacle Bank Arena Friday night, and ironically enough, it's exactly what No. 3 Pittsburgh ordered.

"Not just do we want to play in this environment, we want to be able to be good in it," Pitt coach Dan Fisher said. "I think for some of our players that haven't been in front of this big of a crowd consistently, I think we'll learn some valuable lessons."

Nebraska opposite hitter Virginia Adriano prepares to fire a kill during the fourth set of the first match of the AVCA First Serve vs. Pittsburgh. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Don't expect the Panthers to soak in the moral victory aspect of this one. Pitt, like Nebraska, is a current college volleyball Blue Blood, which made it all the more surprising in set two when Nebraska started to run away with it. After a 3-point win in set one, Nebraska wiped the floor with the Panthers in set two to win 25-11 — that just doesn't happen to a team like Pitt.

However, it's the adversity and "backs against the wall" situation Pittsburgh knew could happen with a trip like this to start the year. A lesser team would have folded and been swept, but Pitt's desire to be in that kind of situation to start the year showed itself by the team's resolve in set three. The Panthers bounced back with a 25-20 victory in the third set, and they pushed the Huskers in the fourth before falling 25-23.

Members of the Husker Volleyball team celebrate after a Rebekah Allick kill in the second set of the first match of the AVCA First Serve vs. Pittsburgh | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"I feel like it definitely took some adjusting to because obviously (we're) a new team, first time really playing together," reigning AVCA Player of the Year Olivia Babcock said. "I felt really confident about our ability, and I think how we responded from second to third was really good."

Nebraska really limited Babcock through the early sets. She clawed out 21 kills in the match, but it came on an eye-opening .121 hitting percentage with 14 errors. Babcock couldn't find any answers early, and she credited the Nebraska block for causing her fits.

Nebraska middle blocker Rebekah Allick block a kill attempt from Pitt's Sophia Gregoire during the first match of the AVCA First Serve. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"They were definitely making a lot of good digs, and they set up a really good block," Babcock said. "It was a lot of their block set up, but also a lot of me just not finding solutions and just making errors instead of playing the long rallies."

Some added pressure could possibly be credited to the fact that one of Babcock's best friends was staring at her from the other side of the net in Harper Murray. After the match, Murray detailed how close she is with the Panther standout. Babcock echoed the sentiment, but said a lot of the good vibes between the two go away once the ball is in play.

"We just have a really good connection," Babcock said. "Obviously on the court our relationship's much different because I definitely don't want to be looking at her and smiling, but off the court I just love spending time with her."

Harper Murray notches a kill against No. 3 Pitt at the AVCA First Serve Showcase. She had a team-high 15 kills in the 3-1 win. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The time the two spent on the court Friday night certainly favored Murray, who recorded a team-high 15 kills on .278 hitting. The Husker efficiency carried the day for the convincing 3-1 win, and now Nebraska gets a day off before another top-10 showdown against No. 6 Stanford.

The Cardinal knocked off No. 16 Florida in four sets after dropping the first. The AVCA First Serve Showcase continues Saturday with two more matches in Lincoln as No. 14 Kansas takes on Vanderbilt and No. 12 Creighton welcomes in No. 2 Penn State.

First serve for Nebraska's match against Stanford is set for Sunday, Aug. 24, at 3:30 p.m. CDT and will be televised by ESPN.

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

• Aug. 9 Red 3, White 1
• Aug. 16 Nebraska 3, Alumni 1
• Aug. 22 Nebraska 3, Pittsburgh 1
• Aug. 24 vs. Stanford (AVCA First Serve Showcase at Pinnacle Bank Arena) 2:30 p.m. ESPN
• Aug. 29 at Lipscomb 6 p.m. ESPN+
• Aug. 31 vs. Kentucky (Broadway Block Party in Nashville) 11 a.m. ABC
• Sept. 5 vs. Wright State 7 p.m.
• Sept. 7 vs. California 1 p.m. BTN
• Sept. 12 vs. Utah 6 p.m. FS1
• Sept. 13 vs. Grand Canyon 6 p.m. NPM
• Sept. 16 at Creighton 6:30 p.m. FS1
• Sept. 20 vs. Arizona BTN
• Sept. 24 vs Michigan 6 p.m. BTN
• Sept. 27 vs. Maryland 3 p.m. NPM
• Oct. 3 at Penn State 7 p.m. FOX
• Oct. 4 at Rutgers
• Oct. 10 vs. Washington 8 p.m. BTN
• Oct. 12 at Purdue
• Oct. 17 at Michigan State
• Oct. 19 at Michigan 1 p.m.
• Oct. 24 vs. Northwestern NPM
• Oct. 25 vs. Michigan State 7:30 p.m. BTN
• Oct. 31 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 2 vs. Oregon 1 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 6 vs. Illinois 7 p.m. FS1
• Nov. 8 at Minnesota 2:30 p.m. NBC
• Nov. 14 at UCLA BTN
• Nov. 16 at USC 2 p.m. B1G+
• Nov. 20 vs. Iowa FS1
• Nov. 22 at Indiana
• Nov. 28 vs. Penn State 5:30 p.m. BTN
• Nov. 29 vs. Ohio State BTN

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

---

---

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.