No. 4 Pitt Sweeps No. 6 Badgers To Move To 4-0

Sunday, August 30

Pittsburgh, Pa.

12 PM

Pitt

4-0,0-0ACC

Wisconsin

1-3,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Wisconsin	13	21	16	0
Pittsburgh	25	25	25	3

Izzy Starck and Abbey Emch High Five vs. Wisconsin, 8/30/26

No. 4 Pitt Sweeps No. 6 Badgers To Move To 4-0

8/30/2026 2:50:00 PM | Volleyball

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PITTSBURGH – No. 4 Pitt improved to 4-0 on the season by routing No. 6 Wisconsin (1-3 record) Sunday 25-13, 25-21, 25-16. The victory was the Panthers' third over a ranked opponent this season and extended their home win streak to a nation's best 53 straight.

Pitt's defense was stifling, holding Wisconsin to an .079 hitting percentage. That is the lowest a Badger team has posted since hitting .050 in a loss to Minnesota on Oct. 12, 2016. Pitt used 11 blocks and 47 digs, while forcing 24 Wisconsin attack errors, to keep the Badgers off-balanced all match.

FIRST SET

Behind a strong defensive effort early, Pitt jumped out to a 9-2 lead, frustrating the Badgers' hitters and holding them to -.154 hitting early.
Pitt's lead grew to 10 and continued to expand. Following an Ayanna Watson kill, Wisconsin called timeout trailing 18-7.
Pitt won the opening frame 25-13 behind a .481 attack percentage.

SECOND SET

Pitt's block became a major factor early in the second set as the Panthers built a 10-6 advantage.
Pitt had seven blocks (with Maaike Heilig involved in four) in the second set by the time the lead was pushed to seven at 17-10.
Wisconsin closed the gap momentarily with a 3-0 run, but Pitt responded with the next two points.
The Badgers got to within three at 23-20 but Pitt was able to close out the frame 25-21.

THIRD SET

Wisconsin led 9-7 but Pitt turned the set around with a seven-point run sparked by a Heilig solo block that put the Panthers ahead 14-9.
The Badgers never threatened again as Pitt rolled to the 25-16 victory and the three-set sweep.

NOTABLE

Olivia Babcock led Pitt with 17 kills and hit .361. She also had two service aces, five digs and three blocks. She has had at least 12 kills, five digs, three blocks and two aces in three consecutive matches.
Setter Izzy Starck had her fourth straight double-double, finishing with 28 assists and 10 digs, to go with two kills, two blocks and an ace.
Blaire Bayless finished with nine kills and a career-best 14 digs. She added a team-high 22 receptions without an error and had three blocks.
Freshman Maaike Heilig had four kills and seven blocks. She has posted at least five blocks in each of the first four matches of her career.
Pitt hit .274 for the match and outblocked Wisconsin 11-5. The Badgers did not have a service ace, compared to Pitt's four.
Although Pitt and Wisconsin had squared off 10 times previously, this was the first contest played in Pittsburgh. The Panthers improved to 5-6 all-time against the Badgers.
Pitt has now won 23 straight matches inside the Petersen Events Center and has a nation's best 53-match home win streak. Pitt has also won 55 straight in the city of Pittsburgh, which includes two neutral site matches at PPG Paints Arena in 2025. The second longest home win streak in the country is Kentucky at 22 matches entering 2026.
Pitt has beaten 15 ranked opponents in the 23-match win streak inside the Pete. Pitt has lost just 14 sets during that win streak and has been pushed to five sets just four times
Pitt is 157-20 since the start of the 2021 season and 51-6 in non-conference regular season matches. Pitt is 19-5 against ranked opponents in non-conference regular season games during that stretch.
Olivia Babcock set the Pitt program record with 646 kills a year ago. Through four matches in 2025, she had 71 kills. In 2026, she has 75 kills through four matches – all while hitting .357.