Pitt Volleyball Takes Down Two Top-15 Opponents

The No.4 Pitt Panthers continue their dominate start to the volleyball season, debuting at home with two wins over ranked teams. The Opening Spike Classic was held at the Petersen Events Center, with Pitt playing No. 15 Kansas on Aug. 28 and No. 6 Wisconsin on Aug. 30.

Pitt defeated Kansas in four sets, being led by star player Olivia Babcock with 19 kills and three blocks. Penn State transfer setter Izzy Starck put up another monster statline with 45 assists and 12 digs.

Despite Wisconsin being ranked nine spots higher than Kansas, Pitt only needed three sets to get their second top-ten win of the season. Babcock led with 17 kills and outside hitter Blaire Bayless led with 14 digs.

Pitt is now 4-0 on the season, has only dropped two sets, has defeated three ranked opponents and has won 23 straight matches in the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers started the season defeating No. 3 Kentucky in four sets, which was clearly a tone-setter for the rest of the season.

Underestimated?

Pitt volleyball has proven it's somehow possible to be underestimated when ranked No. 4 in the country. While there's still a long season ahead, Babcock and the rest of the returning team looks to be just as good as last year while Starck has been a perfect addition.

After the Opening Spike Classic, Pitt will go on the road to play BYU, Utah and then No. 22 Tennessee at the Showdown at the Net. The Panthers will make their long awaited match debut in the new Victory Heights Arena on Sept. 11 when they host Jacksonville.

The biggest regular season match on Pitt's schedule will be against No. 5 Stanford. The Cardinal were also at the Opening Spike Classic, handily beating Wisconsin in four sets.

Stanford was projected to be the best team in the ACC in the preseason according to the Coaches Poll, one spot above Pitt. Stanford will return to Pittsburgh to play in Victory Heights on Sep 27; by then, both teams could be ranked in the top-three nationally.

With Pitt volleyball, it's almost like waiting for December to see if they can finally make it past the national semi-finals and compete in the championship game for the first time. While they have been dominant in the regular season before, a bad match against top competition on the biggest stage has stopped them five years in a row from winning their first national title in school history.

This season has started like no other with three ranked wins already. The team has a real chance to be ranked No. 1 in the country by the end of the season, and by then the national title is theirs to lose.

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