No. 2 Pitt Sweeps Cal In ACC Opener To Move To 11-0

Friday, September 25

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM

Pitt

11-0,1-0ACC

California

10-2,0-1ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
California	19	16	20	0
Pittsburgh	25	25	25	3

Olivia Babcock Celebrates vs. Cal, 9/25/26

No. 2 Pitt Sweeps Cal In ACC Opener To Move To 11-0

9/25/2026 9:48:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Press Conference Photo Gallery

PITTSBURGH – The No. 2 Pitt volleyball team remained unbeaten in 11 matches to start the 2026 season, defeating Cal in the ACC opener for both teams Friday, 25-19, 25-16, 25-20. The Panthers won their ACC opener for the sixth straight season, while Cal drops to 10-2 on the year and 0-1 in ACC play.

Pitt had 11 blocks in the three-set match, nine coming from sophomore middle Abbey Emch. The Panthers held an opponent below .200 attacking for the eighth time this year as Cal posted a .194 hitting percentage. Pitt established itself with a .464 opening set and finished at .303.

SET ONE

Pitt broke a 3-3 tie with three straight points and Cal was never able to get back on equal footing.
The Golden Bears did stay within striking distance and was only down three at 18-15. But Pitt closed out the set strong for the 25-19 win.

SET TWO

Abbey Emch and Olivia Babcock combined on three blocks early as Pitt jumped out to a 6-1 lead.
At 9-4, Babcock had a pair of aces during a four point spurt that pushed the lead to nine at 13-4.
Cal never threatened again as the Panthers closed out the frame 25-16.

SET THREE

Pitt again built an early lead, scoring seven of the first nine points in the frame.
Cal slowly fought back, eventually tying the score at 17-17.
Pitt responded with a three-point run and Olivia Babcock had four kills down the stretch for the 25-20 victory.

NOTABLE

Olivia Babcock had a match-high 18 kills with a .429 attack percentage. She added a season-high five aces to go with five blocks and two digs. She is now two aces shy of the program's career record of 175.
Blaire Bayless added 10 kills, adding five digs and two blocks. She also had nine serve receives without an error.
Izzy Starck came up one dig shy of a double-double with 32 assists, nine digs and four blocks.
Abbey Emch had a season-high nine blocks, one shy of a career-high, and added three kills and two digs.
Pitt had 11 blocks compared to just five for Cal, but the Golden Bears were the first team this year to outdig the Panthers, 42-35.
Pitt has now won 18 consecutive sets and has not dropped a set in four matches inside Victory Heights.
The Panthers now boast a 57-match home win streak, easily the longest current streak in the country. Pitt tied Long Beach State (1996-99) for the eighth longest in NCAA Division I history. It is the team's 39^th straight home victory in ACC play.
Pitt sold out Victory Heights with an announced crowd of 3,005 for the fourth straight match to open the building.
Pitt has the nation's best record of 164-20 since the start of the 2021 season.
Pitt has not lost an ACC home match since dropping a four-set contest to then-No. 1 Louisville on Nov. 24, 2021.
Pitt head coach Dan Fisher is 436-76 (.852) in his career, the best win percentage in the country by an active head coach and fourth-best all-time.
Olivia Babcock has 182 kills through the first 11 matches of 2026. Last year, when she broke the program's single-season record, she had 171 kills at the same point.
Pitt improves to 4-0 all-time against Cal.