Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Morehead State in NCAA Tournament

Pitt Volleyball dwept Morehead State in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates Point Against Penn State / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball opened up their NCAA Tournament with a convincing sweep of Morehead State in the First Round at the Petersen Events Center.

The Panthers (30-1) make it nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances and nine straight First Round victories since 2016. It is also the third win all-time for the Panthers vs. the Eagles, last beating them on the road in a sweep.

Panthers head coach Dan Fisher chose to sit redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley vs. the Eagles. Freshmen Ryla Jones and Dalia Vîrlan both got the start in the match in her place.

Pitt opened up the first set with a 4-1 lead, but Morehead State battled back to make it 6-5 and then Pitt would make it 10-6.

The Eagles still kept with it, going a 5-2 run and keeping it close at 15-14, putting the Panthers on notice.

Pitt would deal with Morehead State the rest of the way, going on a 10-3 run and taking the first set, 25-17.

Sophomores in right side hitter Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford led Pitt in the first set. Babcock made seven kills and hit .600, while Stafford made five kills and hit .429. Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks made 14 assists and Pitt hit .407 in the period.

Morehead State kept it close early on in the second set, 10-8, but Pitt used a 5-1 run to increase their lead to 15-9 at the media timeout.

Pitt would go on to win the second set, 25-15, with Fisher using a 6-2 rotation later on, putting sophomore Blaire Bayless at right side and senior setter Nisa Buzletepe in the match.

Stafford led the Panthers in the second set, with six kills and two blocks. Sixth year outside Valeria Vazquez Gomez had five kills in the period and Fairbanks added four service aces.

Fisher started freshman middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi to start the third set, her first action in two months since the road sweep of Syracuse on Oct. 6.

The Panthers started the third set with a 9-5 lead, but the Eagles would respond with a 6-3 run to trim the deficit to 12-11, forcing a timeoutfrom Fisher.

Pitt would come back out and dominate, finishing the period on a 13-4 run, winning the third set 25-14 and getting the sweep.

Babcock had two service aces in the match, pushing her up to 68 service aces on the season, setting a new Pitt record for aces in a season. She passed Dee MacAulay. who set the previous record of 67 back in 1989.

She also finsihed with 12 kills and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season and her second double-double in the NCAA Tournament in the career.

Stafford led with 14 kills and hit .312, Fairbanks led with 33 assists and made eight digs and senior libero/defensive Emmy Klika led with 12 digs.

Pitt will face No. 8 Oklahoma in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 7 with a 7:00 p.m. start at the Petersen Events Center. Oklahoma reverse swept UTEP prior to Pitt's match.

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