University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
24-1,14-1ACC
Notre Dame
6-18,3-12ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 16 | 11 | 18 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
11/11/2026 9:45:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – No. 2 Pitt shook off a sluggish start offensively, sweeping Notre Dame to set up a showdown with No. 3 Louisville Sunday to determine the ACC leader. The Panthers cruised to a 25-15, 25-11, 25-18 victory and improved to 24-1 on the season and 14-1 in ACC play. Notre Dame was held to .046 hitting as the Fighting Irish dropped to 6-18 overall and 3-12 in the ACC.
Pitt hit just .216 in the opening set and .326 for the match. While a .326 attack percentage is excellent for most teams, it was the Panthers' lowest efficiency rate in its last 10 matches. Pitt entered the match hitting .380 over the first nine matches inside Victory Heights.
The Panthers made up for the offensive struggles by recording 11.0 team blocks and outdigging Notre Dame 40-22. Six different players had at least four digs, led by Izzy Starck with nine. Maaike Heilig had a career-high nine blocks to lead the defensive effort at the net.
FIRST SET
Notre Dame handled Pitt's firepower early, building a 7-5 lead. But the Panthers found a rhythm offensively, tied the score at 8-8 on a Maaike Heilig kill, and pulled ahead 11-8 with a 5-0 run.
Pitt extended the run to 9-1 going into the technical timeout, leading 15-9. The Panthers maintained a comfortable lead throughout the remainder of the set, holding on 25-16.
SECOND SET
Pitt took an early four-point lead behind a relentless block at the net and built it to six points at 10-4 on two more blocks. By the technical timeout, Pitt's lead ballooned to seven at 15-8.
The Panthers continued to pull away, winning the second frame, 25-11.
THIRD SET
Looking to stave off a sweep, Notre Dame led 6-5 early and stayed strong, taking an 11-9 advantage. The Fighting Irish still led by two at 14-12 but Pitt turned the set around with a 6-0 run. That turned into a 10-1 spurt and a 22-15 lead. The Panthers closed out the match, 25-18.
NOTABLE
- Olivia Babcock had a match-high 16 kills and hit .500 over the course of 28 swings. She remains just 14 kills shy of 2,000 for her career. Babcock added six digs, four blocks and two aces.
- Ayanna Watson had 13 kills, including seven in the third set. She also had six digs.
- Along with her nine digs, Izzy Starck had 34 assists and two aces.
- Marina Pezelj was perfect in 19 serve receive attempts and added four digs and two assists.
- Abbey Emch was terminal, finishing with seven kills on just nine swings.
- Haiti Tautua'a filled up the stat sheet in limited action with five assists, two digs, a block and an ace.
- Pitt had twice as many kills as Notre Dame, 46-23. The Panthers also had five service aces.
- Pitt improved to 10-0 in Victory Heights and is yet to lose a set in the building.
- Pitt has now outdug 22-of-25 opponents on the season.
THE ACC RACE
Pitt improved to 14-1 on the season in ACC play. Louisville (14-0 in the ACC) and SMU (12-2 in the ACC) will square off Thursday evening prior to Pitt and Louisville meeting Sunday night at 8 p.m. inside Victory Heights on ESPN. With a Louisville win over SMU, Pitt will look to move into a tie with the Cardinals Sunday night atop the ACC standings. If SMU defeats Louisville, then Sunday night's contest will be for sole possession of first place in the ACC.
NEXT UP
- No. 2 Pitt and No. 3 Louisville will square off inside Victory Heights Sunday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
- Following that match, Pitt will go on a three-match road trip, playing at Virginia on Nov. 20 and at Virginia Tech on Nov. 22. The Panthers will then make the cross country flight to face Stanford two days later on Nov. 24.
- Pitt will return home to close out the regular season on Nov. 28 against NC State at 1 p.m.
