No. 5 Pitt Volleyball Defeats Georgia Tech

PITTSBURGH — No. 5 Pitt Panthers volleyball battled ACC rival Georgia Tech at Fitzgerald Field House and came away with a four-set win.

Pitt has now won 12 games in a row after starting 0-2, following losses to No. 1 Nebraska on Aug. 22 and then ranked No. 16 Florida on Aug. 24 at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Lincoln, Neb.

Georgia Tech started out the match with a 4-1 lead, thanks to three service aces, including back-to-back from freshman outside hitter Anna Fiedorowicz and another from sophomore middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi, who played at Pitt as a freshman in 2024.

The Panthers responded with a 7-1 run to gain a 8-5 advantage, with freshman outside hitter Dagmar Mourits making two kills and two blocks.

Georgia Tech went on a 4-1 run, as graduate student middle blocker DeAndra Pierce made a kill and a block, leading Pitt head coach Dan Fisher to take a timeout.

Both teams traded points to 13-12, then Pitt embarked on an 8-0 run, taking a 21-13 lead and forcing Georgia Tech to take both of their timeouts. Junior right side hitter Olivia Babcock led with three kills and a block, while Mourits and redshirt senior middle blocker Bre Kelley combined on two blocks.

The Panthers eventually took the first set, 25-17, with Babcock adding another kill and a service ace for a 1-0 lead in the match.

Babcock had an incredible first set, with seven kills on eight swings for a .875 hitting percentage, along with two blocks and the ace. Junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless added three kills, while Mourits led the way with four blocks for Pitt.

Pitt started out the second set with leads of 5-2 and 10-6, as Babcock had four kills, while sophomore middle blocker Ryla Jones had two blocks.

Georgia Tech rallied back and tied it up at 13-13 on a 7-3 run, with Garibaldi adding a kill, a block and an ace, while Pierce and freshman outside hitter Lameen Mambu adding two blocks each.

The Panthers went on a 3-0 run, but then the Yellow Jackets tied it up back at 16-16, then the Panthers took an 18-16, lead, before the Yellow Jackets again tied it up, 18-18.

Babcock and Bayless had back-to-back kills, forcing the first timeout from Georgia Tech, then Bayless added another kill and Kelley had one of her own, making it 22-18 Pitt and forcing Georgia Tech to take their second timeout.

Pitt would go on and win the set on a 7-1 run, 25-18, with freshman outside hitter Marina Pezelj coming in and adding a kill and a service ace.

No. 5 Pitt Panthers Volleyball Celebrates a Point in their Four-Set Win Over Georgia Tech — No. 5 Pitt Volleyball Celebrates a Point in their Four-Set Win Over Georgia Tech at Fitzgerald Field House on Oct. 5, 2025 | Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

Babcock led with five kills and a block, while Kelley and Bayless each had four kills and a block each in the second set.

The Yellow Jackets came out with a 4-1 lead in the third set, before the Panthers tied it up on a 5-1 run, 6-6.

Pitt kept it tied at 9-9, but Georgia Tech went on a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead at the media timeout. Garibaldi added two kills and a block, Pierce had a kill and a block, while Mambu had two blocks on the run for Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets built up their lead to 19-13, but the Panthers cut the deficit to 19-17 on a 4-0 run, as the Yellow Jackets took both of their timeouts. Bayless had a kill and a block and Kelley had two blocks on the run.

Pitt cut the deficit to as close as 20-19, but Georgia Tech went on a 5-2 run to take the third set, 25-22.

This marked the first set that the Yellow Jackets hit a positive mark, at .296, after hitting in the negatives in the first two sets, while the Panthers hit .138 in that third set.

Georgia Tech started out the fourth set with leads of 4-2 and 7-5, before Pitt went on a 5-2 run and led 10-9, as Babcock added three kills.

The Yellow Jackets took back the lead on a 3-1 run, 12-10, then the Panthers had a 3-1 run of their own, 13-13, before the Yellow Jackets took a 15-14 lead at the media timeout.

Georgia Tech held onto their lead, 18-16, with Mambu adding two kills, forcing Pitt to take their first timeout. Babcock had two kills on a 3-1 run for Pitt, tying it up at 19-19, and forcing Georgia Tech to take their first timeout.

Garibaldi put up a kill and a block to make it 22-20 to the Yellow Jackets, with the Panthers taking their final timeout, then the Panthers responded with three of the next four points to tie it up at 23-23, as the Yellow Jackets took their final timeout.

Bayless came through with the kill to give Pitt match point, then Jones smashed the overpass for the match-winning kill.

Babcock led the way for the Panthers with 25 kills and hit .404, while adding six digs and three blocks. Bayless had one of her best games for the Panthers this season, with a career-high 16 kills and leading the team with a .429 hitting percentage.

Pitt (12-2 overall, 4-0 ACC) makes it eight straight wins over Georgia Tech (6-7 overall, 1-3 ACC) since Nov. 19, 2021 and they improve to 20-2 over their ACC foe since joining the conference in 2013.

This also marked the first matchup vs. the Yellow Jackets that didn't go to five sets in Pittsburgh since a sweep on March 8, 2021. The last time the Yellow Jackets won was a five-set victory on Oct. 10, 2021.

Pitt Volleyball Press Conference After Georgia Tech Win

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