Pitt Duo Makes USA Volleyball Nations League Roster

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers will have two volleyball stars playing at the highest level for their country this summer.

Pitt junior right side hitter Olivia Babcock and former middle blocker Serena Gray (2021-22) both made the 14-player roster for the U.S. Women’s National Team, that will compete at the opening week of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) from June 4-8 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Babcock and Grey serve as the first Pitt players to ever make an active VNL National Team roster.

The VNL consists of the top 18 teams in the world, which includes three weeks of preliminary play and every team playing four matches a week. Eight teams earn a spot in the final round and compete for the VNL title.

Babcock starred last season for the Panthers, winning the AVCA National Player of the Year Award, the first player in program history that did so. She also won both AVCA East Coast Region and ACC Player of the Year Awards.

She excelled in her first season with the program in 2023, winning both AVCA National Freshman of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year, the first Pitt player to achieve both feats.

Her play has made Pitt into one of the best teams in the country, winning the ACC Title the past two seasons and making the Final Four both campaigns.

Babcock has experience with the USA before. She won the gold medal with at the 2023 Girls U19 Pan American Cup in Puerto Rico, playing alongside fellow Pitt teammate, outside hitter Blaire Bayless.

She also played at the 2024 NORCECA Women's Pan American Cup Final Six with the best college players in the country and was the only freshman on the team that finished in second place.

Gray spent her first three seasons at Penn State from 2018-20 before transferring to Pitt for her final two seasons.

She made All-ACC First Team both seasons, was an AVCA Honorable Mention in 2021 and earned AVCA First Team All-American honors in 2022.

Gray played a big role in Pitt making their first two trips to the Final Four and winning a share of the ACC Title in 2022.

She also has experience playing for her country in previous years. This features a silver medal at the 2016 NORCECA U18 Continental Championship, a bronze medal at the 2023 NORCECA Pan American Cup, a gold medal at the 2023 NORCECA Pan Am Cup Final Six and a silver medal at the 2024 NORCECA Pan American Cup.

Gray played professionally with Béziers Volley in France in 2023-24, LOVB Salt Lake this past season and is playing in the Athletes Unlimited Pro League.