The Pitt Panthers found themselves a little bit on the ropes last Sunday in Chapel Hill’s Carmichael Arena as the North Carolina Tar Heels narrowly won the second and fourth sets to force a decisive fifth, which was tied at 15-15 in the waning moments.
But then the Panthers answered, as Bre Kelley and Marina Pezelj combined for a block, followed by a Pezelj kill that sealed a well-earned victory.
While Kelley and Pezelj shined in big moments, the stat of the match was reigning National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock breaking her own program record for kills in a single match with 45. Babcock this week was named as one of 14 semifinalists for the AVCA Player of the Year award, and she’s fifth nationally in kills per set with 19.77. She’s also third nationally in points per match with 22.91.
The victory over the Tar Heels was Pitt’s eighth this season over a ranked opponent, and they extended their overall win streak to eight games on Friday night with a sweep of Virginia Tech. That Pitt is 20-3 on the season and 12-1 in conference play is impressive when considering that the ACC has the most teams in the current NCAA DI Volleyball RPI Top 10 — SMU, Stanford and Louisville join the Panthers there.
Pitt has already beaten Louisville and SMU (twice) this season, and its upcoming match against Stanford on Nov. 14 is shaping up to be a must-watch clash that could impact NCAA Tournament seeding.
Here’s our updated Power Rankings:
Just missed: Creighton, Wisconsin, TCU, Kansas, North Carolina, Miami
10. Arizona State
9. Purdue
8. Texas A&M
7. Louisville
6. SMU
5. Stanford
4. Texas
3. Kentucky
2. Pitt
1. Nebraska
And here’s the upcoming games you need to watch:
- Nebraska at Minnesota: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET — Peacock
- Indiana at Wisconsin: Sunday, 2 p.m. ET — Big Ten Network+
- Tennessee at Kentucky: Sunday, 5 p.m. ET — ESPN
- Colorado at TCU: Thursday, 9 p.m. ET — ESPN+
