PITTSBURGH — No, 4 Pitt Panthers volleyball put on another fantastic performance at home, sweeping Syracuse with ease at Fitzgerald Field House.
Pitt improves to 23-4 on the season, 15-2 in the ACC and 11-0 at home, while Syracuse falls to 13-14 overall, 5-12 in the ACC and 4-6 on the road, while also losing their eighth straight game.
The Panthers also improve to 48-13 all-time vs. the Orange, 20-4 at home, 17-4 since the two programs joined the ACC and eight straight wins vs. their northern foe.
Syracuse started off the better of the two teams, leading both 6-4 and 8-6 early in the first set. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Skylar George led Syracuse with three kills early on.
Pitt responded with a 19-3 run the rest of the way and won the first set convincingly, 25-11.
Junior right side Olivia Babcock led the Panthers with five kills on seven swings, adding a block, an an ace and two digs. Both outside hitters in junior Blaire Bayless and freshman Marina Pezelj had four kills on five swings as well.
Pitt hit an astounding .640 in that first set, holding Syracuse to a .103 hitting percentage.
The Panthers continued their great play in the second set, starting out with a 4-0 run and earning a 12-6 lead, forcing a timeout from the Orange. They then made it a 21-8 lead on a 9-2 run out of the timeout and won the second set, 25-9.
Pitt hit .375 in that set, while also holding Syracuse to a -0.156 hitting percentage, making four blocks in the period.
The Panthers had a great start to the third set, going up 8-2 thanks to three kills from Babcock and forcing a timeout from the Orange.
Pitt then kept up their lead at 13-7 and forced the second timeout from Syracuse up 22-14, before taking the third set and the sweep, 25-19.
The Panthers hit .435 in that set and again starred on defense with five blocks, as the Orange hit .000.
Babcock led Pitt with 10 kills and hit .350 in the match, adding four blocks, four digs and an ace.
Pezelj and Bayless each posted eight kills, as Pezelj hit .429 and made four digs, while Bayless hit .583.
Senior setter Brooke Mosher led the Pitt offense with 29 assists, while also adding eight digs, a block and an ace. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Mallorie Meyer led Pitt with 10 digs.
Middle blockers in freshman Abbey Emch and redshirt senior Bre Kelley made four kills each, while Emch led with five total blocks and Kelley made three.
Pitt hit .486 in the victory, the best hitting percentage in a match this season and their best since they hit .487 in a sweep over UMBC at Fitzgerald Field House on Sept. 25, 2024.
They also held Syracuse to a -.022 hitting percentage, their lowest opponent hitting percentage in 2025 and their lowest since they held Duke to a -095 hitting percentage in a sweep at Fitzgerald Field House on Nov. 11, 2024.
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