For the first time in its history, Pitt’s women’s volleyball team is number one in the nation, and the Panthers have been holding onto that top spot.
The NCAA determines the ranks of D1 college volleyball schools based on the sets they win, and how many points were scored in each set. Pitt’s record this year is 9-0.
Torrey Stafford is the outside hitter for the team. Despite being only a sophomore in college, she is already getting nominations to get the National Player of the Year award. Stafford is leading the team in kills, with a total of 98 throughout the six in-section matches the team has played.
Another outstanding player for Pitt is senior setter Rachel Fairbanks. As a junior last year, she had a career high of 933 assists. She has stood out on the team since her freshman season.
Sophomore Olivia Babcock made the national USA volleyball team as a freshman. She was one of the youngest players on the team and still managed to help bring the team to a silver medal. She is 6 feet, 4 inches and an opposite hitter for both Pitt and the USA team. She currently has 31 blocking assists this current season for Pitt.
In one of the biggest games of the season so far, top-ranked Pitt shut out number three Penn State at home in mid-September. This game featured a record-breaking crowd for Pitt, with an attendance of 11,800 people at the Petersen Events Center. This has been one of the most streamed games throughout their season so far.
Although the Panthers have made an appearance in 22 national championship tournaments, they have yet to bring home a title. They made it to the final four in 2023 but lost against Nebraska.
Holding the top ranking for so long this year is creating hope for this year’s tournament.
