University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Babcock, Starck Named To AVCA Preseason Player Of The Year Watch List
7/31/2026 1:00:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – University of Pittsburgh volleyball players Olivia Babcock and Izzy Starck have been named to the 2026 AVCA Division I Player of the Year Watch List. Babcock and Starck are two of the 10 players announced today to the watch list. The AVCA announced 10 apiece on Wednesday and Thursday for a total of 30 student-athletes recognized.
Babcock, a senior right side, is the two-time defending AVCA Player of the Year and has led Pitt to three consecutive NCAA national semifinal appearances in her career. She is one of the most decorated student-athletes in University of Pittsburgh history. Along with being a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year, Babcock is a two-time ESPY nominee for best college athlete in women's sports, the 2025-26 ACC Female Athlete of the Year, the 2023 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and a three-time first team All-American. In competition, Pitt's volleyball team has gone 92-12 in her first three years.
Along with the awards and team recognition, Babcock is the program's single season record holder in kills, kills per set, attacks, attacks per set and service aces. She ranks fifth in career kills at Pitt with 1,604, trailing the program record holder by 248 kills. In 2025, she twice broke the single match program kills record, posting 41 against Louisville and then 45 against North Carolina.
Starck, a junior setter, will play her first season at Pitt in 2026 after transferring from Penn State. She was limited to just four matches as a sophomore, but was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2024 and an AVCA Second Team All-American. She was a five-time Big Ten Setter of the Week and six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week on the way to being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team all-conference. She played in all 135 sets for the Nittany Lions, starting all 37 matches. Starck averaged 10.99 assists per set, led the team with a .283 hitting percentage, and added 342 digs, 99 blocks and 19 service aces.
Starck's 1,483 assists were the most by a Penn State player in a single season in the 25-point rally scoring era, posted 40 in a match 20 times and 50 in a match five times. She had a career-best 56 assists, along with 11 digs, in Penn State's reverse sweep of No. 3 Nebraska in the NCAA semifinal.
Pitt volleyball opens the new Victory Heights Arena with the annual Blue/Gold scrimmage on Aug. 8 at 2 p.m. A Fan Fest will take place beginning at noon. Pitt's regular season begins Aug. 23-24 at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Milwaukee before hosting the Opening Spike Classic Aug. 28-30, featuring Kansas, Stanford and Wisconsin. The Panther Challenge takes place Sept. 11-13 before ACC action starts at home against California and Stanford Sept. 25 and 27, respectively.
