PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 Pitt volleyball team (3-0, 0-0 ACC) returns to the West Coast to play No. 23 USC (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET at the Galen Center. This will be the second consecutive season the two programs will play each other. The Panthers will finish the trip with a late-night matchup Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ET in Malibu against Pepperdine (1-3 0-0 WCC) before facing UC Santa Barbara (2-4, 0-0 Big West) in a neutral site match on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.

The Panthers defeated the Trojans in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season in four sets at the Petersen Events Center. After dropping one set, Pitt won the final three sets. Olivia Babcock led the Panthers with 16 kills, 12 digs, three assists and two aces. Rachel Fairbanks recorded a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs and added four kills with a .429 hitting percentage.
The Panthers and Waves are tied 3-3 in the series. Pitt last defeated Pepperdine on the road in 2019 in a hard-fought five-set match. Before that, the Panthers defeated the Waves in a dominant three-set sweep in 2018.

Pitt and UCSB have played seven games in total, winning the last two. The Panthers defeated the Gauchos in a three-set match in 2017, holding UCSB to 18 points or less in all three sets.

HARD BEHIND THE LINE
• Three Panthers are ranked in the top 40 in the NCAA in aces per set.
• Valeria Vazquez Gomez (10.), Olivia Babcock (12.) and Rachel Fairbanks (38.) led the attack for Pitt.

STAFFORD’S STRONG START
• Thomas B. has had an incredible start to her sophomore season, leading the Panthers in points, points per set, kills and kills per set and is third in digs and digs per set.
• She ranks 10th in the NCAA in points per set (5.36) and 19th in kills per set (4.57).

PITT IS AT THE TOP
• For the first time in program history, the Panthers finished first in the AVCA/Taraflex poll.
• The Panthers finished second in the 2021 poll before reaching their first Final Four.
• Pitt was in the top ten all season last year and finished the season ranked fourth.

PANTHER HOMECOMING
• Rachel Fairbanks, Olivia Babcock, Thomas B., Dillyn Griffin and head coach Daniel Fischer return to their home state of California for a week.
• The four Panthers are from the Los Angeles area, while Fisher is from Santa Barbara.
• Fisher began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific, where he worked with the women’s and men’s programs before being named associate head coach at the University of San Francisco.

TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS
• The Panthers have swept all three of their opponents this year, most recently beating Buffalo at home.
• Nine Panthers recorded at least one kill, while Thomas B. scored seven kills in the first set.
• Pitt dominated from the service line, collecting 10 aces, led by Cat flood And Olivia Babcock with three pieces each.
• Freshman middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi made her first appearance in a Pitt jersey and added two blocks and a kill.

DOWN GO THE DUCKS
• The Panthers defeated #10 Oregon in straight sets in their season opener.
• Experienced setter Rachel Fairbanks led the attack with her first double-double of the season (34A, 11D).
• Second-graders as outside attackers Thomas B. came back hot after returning from injury, recording 13 kills with a .333 hitting percentage and adding five digs.

Conquering the beach
• Pitt dominated its second game of the season, easily defeating Long Beach State 3-0.
• Four freshmen made their college debut as senior transfer setters Nisa Buzlutepe made her first appearance against The Beach.
• The team was in full swing, posting a .351 batting average in the game.
• Rachel Fairbanks recorded her second consecutive double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.

FRESH FACES
• The Panthers welcome five true freshmen in Ryla Jones, Bianca Garibaldi, Kiana Dinn, Mallorie Meyer and Dalia Virlan.
• Jones and Garibaldi joined the team in January, Dinn and Meyer came to Pittsburgh this summer and Vîrlan arrived just before the preseason.
• Garibaldi is from Argentina, Vîrlan from Romania, while Jones (Washington, DC), Meyer (Nebraska) and Dinn (Kentucky) come to Pittsburgh from the States.
• Pitt also recently signed an experienced transfer striker, Nisa Buzlutepefrom Istanbul, Türkiye.
• After playing three seasons at Texas A&M, she has one year of eligibility remaining.

PANTHERS ARE HOT
• Pitt has made three consecutive Final Fours, two consecutive ACC championships and eight consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
• The Panthers are the only team in the last three years to appear in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 Final Fours and one of three teams to appear in the last four Elite Eights.

DYNAMIC DUO RETURNS
• Olivia Babcock And Thomas B. return for their second year in blue and gold.
• The two combined for 792 kills, 361 digs, 198 blocks and 66 aces last season.
• The duo started every game throughout the season together with the experienced libero Emmy Klika.

FAMILY TIES
• Freshman middle blocker Ryla Jones is closely connected to the game as her sister Rainelle Jones played volleyball for the University of Maryland and her twin sister Renee has committed to play at the University of Arizona.
• Rainelle currently ranks first in Maryland program history in total blocks and block assists.
• Jones comes from an athletic family, as her father (basketball – University of Maryland), mother (basketball – University of Winnipeg), brother (basketball – Florida Southwestern) and sister (rowing – Drexel) all play or have played Division I sports.

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
• The 2024 team includes four international student athletes, including a Puerto Rican sixth-grader Valeria Vazquez Gomezolder Turkish Setter Nisa BuzlutepeArgentine newcomer Bianca Garibaldi and the Romanian newcomer Dalia Vîrlan.
• Vazquez Gomez, Garibaldi and Vîrlan have experience in the national team and want to make an impression in goal.