University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
23-1,13-1ACC
North Carolina
16-6,11-3ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | 20 | 14 | 19 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
11/8/2026 4:32:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The No. 2 Pitt Volleyball Team posted its eighth victory over a ranked opponent this year, sweeping No. 20 North Carolina Sunday inside Victory Heights Arena, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19. The Panthers won their ninth straight match and improved to 9-0 inside Victory Heights in their first year inside the facility with nine consecutive sweeps.
Pitt hit .389 as a team and held North Carolina to just a .174 attack percentage. The match, which featured the No. 1 (Pitt) and No. 3 (UNC) blocking teams in the country, ended in a stalemate at the net with both teams posting seven blocks. Olivia Babcock led all players with 15 kills and added nine digs. Izzy Starck had 32 assists and 15 digs as Pitt outdug the Tar Heels 46-29.
With the win, Pitt improves to 23-1 on the season and 13-1 in ACC play. North Carolina falls to 16-6 overall and 11-3 in the ACC.
FIRST SET
North Carolina took an 8-6 lead through the early stages of a nip-and-tuck set but Pitt's middles started to find a rhythm offensively, while the blocking game began to affect the UNC attack. Ayanna Watson served up an ace that gave Pitt a 12-10 lead and then Olivia Babcock terminated a pass that sent Carolina searching for answers with a timeout.
Pitt's first block of the match sent the set into the technical timeout with the Panthers holding a 15-12 advantage. UNC had three consecutive attack errors as Pitt built a 21-16 lead and rolled to the 25-20 win. Izzy Starck had 11 assists and five digs in the first frame, directing Pitt's offense to a .414 attack percentage.
SECOND SET
Pitt played from ahead early and a Trinity Thompson ace, her fourth of the weekend, put Pitt in front 5-3. Still leading 10-8, the Panthers reeled off a 4-0 run that provided some cushion. Pitt then tacked on three consecutive blocks and North Carolina used a timeout, trailing 17-9. The Panthers continued to pour it on, winning the set 25-14.
THIRD SET
Tied at 5-5, UNC's Julia Bohlinger rung up a pair of aces and the Tar Heels went ahead 8-5. At 10-7, Pitt rallied with an Abbey Emch kill, followed by two in a row from Ayanna Watson.
Slim leads teetered back-and-forth until a miraculous save by Izzy Masten led to a Pitt point for a 16-14 advantage. At 19-17, Olivia Babcock had a pair of kills and then Watson and Abbey Emch dialed up a block to give Pitt a five-point lead. The Panthers went on to close out the match, 25-19.
NOTABLE
- With her 15 kills, Olivia Babcock now has 1,970 kills for her career, leaving her 30 shy of 2,000.
- Blaire Bayless tied a career-high with eight kills in the second set (on just nine swings), set a career-high with four assists, and finished the match with 13 kills and a .458 attack percentage.
- Ayanna Watson added eight kills, four digs, two aces and two blocks.
- Abbey Emch had a team-high five blocks along with her four kills.
- Pitt is now 9-0 inside Victory Heights and has won all 27 sets played inside the first-year facility. Pitt is hitting .380 in the nine matches inside Victory Heights.
- Pitt has hit .336 or better in nine straight matches. Pitt has hit at least .300 in 18-of-24 matches this year.
- North Carolina entered the match allowing opponents to hit just .161 for the season, but Pitt's .389 was the highest attack percentage the Tar Heels have allowed to an opponent.
- Pitt improved to 19-6 all-time against North Carolina, with 11 consecutive victories.
THE ACC PICTURE
Louisville continues to lead the ACC standings with an unblemished 14-0 record. Pitt holds onto sole possession of second place at 13-1 with SMU just a game behind at 12-2.
Pitt and Louisville will meet Sunday inside Victory Heights at 8 p.m. in a match that will go a long way towards determining an ACC champion.
While Sunday's match with Louisville looms large for Pitt, the Panthers can not look past a trip to California to face a prideful Stanford program on Nov. 24.
Louisville, though, still has four matches against ranked ACC foes with three of those on the road. Louisville has home-and-home matches with SMU and a pair of road contests at Pitt and at North Carolina.
UP NEXT
- Pitt turns around on short rest to host Notre Dame Wednesday at 7 p.m. before Sunday's showdown with Louisville at 8 p.m.
- Wednesday's match against Notre Dame will air on the ACC Network and Sunday's match with Louisville can be seen nationwide on ESPN2.
