Pitt Volleyball Advances to Regional Final With Sweep of Minnesota
PITTSBURGH — Something sweet was in the air at the Petersen Events Center on Thursday night. It was the sweet smell of victory as top-seeded Pitt swept No. 4 Minnesota to advance to the regional finals for the sixth-straight season.
The Panthers used a marquee performance from their star Olivia Babcock, and the home floor advantage from an electric crowd at the Petersen Events Center to three-consecutive set wins of 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22.
“They pushed us, they made us uncomfortable,” Pitt head coach Dan Fisher said. “We weren’t quite as crisp offensively as we normally are but we found a way and we are just grateful to still be dancing.”
Babcock led all players with 10 kills leading into the third set, but really took over in the closing frame as she nearly doubled her total and finished with 19 kills, including kills on the final three points of the match.
Pitt started the match off in typical fashion, turning to Babcock to start the scoring off, and she delivered with a loud opening rip that resulted in her first kill of the night. Bre Kelley, along with Babcock, combined for a block to follow that up to give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead.
After Minnesota got onto the board due to a service error, the Panthers continued their hot start and rifled off four-straight points which included another kill by Babcock and another combined block by her and Kelley.
The Panthers eventually held a 10-3 lead, but the Golden Gophers came biting back and used an 8-3 to cut the deficit to just two at 13-11, which forced a Panthers’ timeout.
The Panthers managed to re-claim the momentum moments later with another 4-0 run, which made the score 18-12. Kelley started the run off with a hammering strike to the middle of the floor, Babcock followed with another kill of her own and Marina Pezelj closed the run off with a kill on a very long rally.
The lead shrunk to five after a Golden Gophers’ block but that did not derail the Panthers as they went onto close the first set out on a 5-1 run and won the set 25-16.
The second set was much more competitive as the Golden Gophers jumped out to a 5-3 lead after two-straight aces from Stella Swenson. Babcock ended the small Minnesota run with a kill and the two teams begun to trade points until Blaire Bayless tied the set up at 7-7 on back-to-back kills.
The set ended up being tied 13 times, and it experienced five lead changes. After the Golden Gophers went up 10-9, the Panthers went on their first scoring run of the set and took a 12-10 lead but it would not hold.
The Golden Gophers re-claimed the lead at 14-13 on an attacking error but the Panthers followed with what ended up as the deciding run of the set, as they went on a 7-3 run that was highlighted by three kills from Bayless and two from Babcock.
Minnesota responded well to the momentum-shifting run though, and nearly made it 21-20, but a pancake turned to kill from Brooke Mosher stopped that and really turned the tide for the Panthers mentally.
“I think it was great because one thing that I felt like was off tonight was our vibe,” Babcock said. “I feel like making a big play, especially at such a big moment because we want to focus on being good after 20, was definitely a momentum shift. After that play was made, I was pretty confident.”
“I can’t recall ever seeing a pancake kill,” Fisher added. “Maybe on a highlight from some international game but never in a game where I’ve coached.”
The play by Mosher made the set’s score 22-19, but the Golden Gophers screamed back with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 23-23 and forced a Panthers’ timeout. Following the timeout, Pezelj put the Panthers at set point then Abbey Emch and Bayless closed the set out with a block above the net.
Pitt carried that momentum into the third and final set as it used kills from Kelley and Bayless, and an ace from Mosher, to claim an early 3-1 lead. That lead eventually grew to 7-4 behind four-straight kills by Babcock.
Despite the Panthers, and Babcock, looking like they had complete control of the match, the Golden Gophers again responded as they used a 3-0 run to tie the set up at 7-7.
A 3-0 run later in the set helped the Panthers re-establish a small lead at 12-9 and it put the pressure back on the Golden Gophers who opted to use a timeout to gather themselves.
After the Golden Gophers tied to set up at 17-17, the two teams would find themselves tied at 18-18, 19-19, 21-21 and 22-22 before Babcock sent the Panthers to the next round of the tournament with three-straight kills that ended the match.
“It was just the small-ball plays. At the beginning [of the set,] we were more disciplined and we were making those plays,” Babcock said of the back-and-forth third set. “In the middle, it kind of slipped up but at the end, we were just like ‘okay, we are going to have to make those plays now, no matter what,’ and I think that is exactly what happened.”
Despite the fact that Pitt has now swept its way to the regional final, the matches that the Panthers have played this tournament have been very close which may end up benefitting the Panthers down the stretch.
“I think we are really battle tested, in now way does it feel like we swept out was through,” Babcock said. “All of these teams are playing their hardest and if you look at the scores, it is not like we’re blowing teams out. … I feel like it’s just testing us about how we can play at the end and I think that is something that is going to be really important moving into these next three rounds.”
Regardless of how close the matches have been up until this point, Pitt is off to its sixth-consecutive Elite Eight and will play the winner of No. 3 Purdue and No. 2 SMU on Saturday evening at the Pete for a spot in the Final Four.
