University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Rachel Fairbanks Named To US Women’s National Team For Pan Am Cup
9/10/2026 5:29:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – Former Pitt volleyball player Rachel Fairbanks has been selected as a member of the US Women's National Team as they compete in the 2026 NORCECA Pan American Cup Sept. 11-18 in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
All 14 players on the US roster are making their 2026 national team debut, with seven of them playing with the senior team for the first time. Fairbanks competed at the Volleyball Nations League in 2025 as a member of the senior team.
Fairbanks played at Pitt from 2021-24, earning four trips to the NCAA semifinals. She is one of only two players in program history to be a two-time first-team All-American (along with current Panther Olivia Babcock) and added a third team All-American honor in 2022. She played in 127 matches over the course of her career with 3,093 assists, 115 aces, 781 digs and 150 blocks. Fairbanks ranks among the top 10 players in program history in career assists. In the 25-point scoring era (since 2008), she has three of the top 10 assist seasons in school history.
The USA opens play against Cuba Friday at 8 p.m. ET and will play host Mexico Saturday at 10 p.m. On Sunday, the USA will face Costa Rico at 6 p.m. and will then have a day off before meeting Guatemala on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The quarterfinals will be Sept. 16, followed by the semifinals on Sept. 17 and the finals on Sept. 18.
Head coach Erik Sullivan will lead the squad, assisted by Brandon Taliaferro and Paula Weisoff.
