PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – ACC play begins for number two Pitt volleyball this weekend having not lost a conference match at home since November of 2021.
Second-ranked Panthers host the West Coast teams starting with Cal on Friday at 7p and then prime-time 8:30p on Sunday against number 12 Stanford.
“I’m excited to be challenged right away,” said first-year Pitt setter Izzy Starck. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to play in the ACC for the first time.”
Panthers come into the weekend 10-0 but haven’t played in 12 days after a chunk of the schedule with five games in seven days in three different regions of the country.
Panthers head coach Dan Fisher said they’ve had time to make corrections and take a look at themselves. He also believes they remain sharp because of the internal competition ‘we have some pretty good players in this gym’.
It’s also the first conference games in the new arena, Victory Heights.
“It’s turned out even better than I imagined,” Fisher said. “There is not a bad seat in the house. It’s really, really loud. We learned that the first time we got in here in the Spring, just with 20 of us. With a packed house, it’s pretty hard to hear. Big home court advantage.”
“I think it’s going to be insane,” said National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock. “I think the weekend we had in here was such a good environment. It was unlike any Pitt environment I’ve been in before and I think the fact that it’s surrounding us in all angles is helping with that. You can hear them, so loud.”
“When the energy on our court is getting low, they are starting to pick it up and be louder for us. They are able to carry us when moments are getting hard, especially going into a tough weekend.”
“I know both games are sold out,” Starck said. “That’s super-exciting, I know having that home support in a loud gym against great opponents is going to be a lot of fun.”
“I think this is going to be a great season,” Babcock said. “I don’t want to jinx anything, but I’ve feeling really good about the group we have.”
What Olivia Babcock said about atmosphere at Victory Heights
What Olivia Babcock said about atmosphere at Victory Heights
