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Pitt Volleyball Takes Down Rival Penn State

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Dominic Campbell  |  Last updated Sep 17, 2025 9:30 PM ET
Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — No. 5 Pitt Panthers volleyball took one of their biggest rivals in the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions and defeated them in four sets at Rec Hall.

Pitt makes it back-to-back seasons with wins over Penn State, sweeping them in front of a sold out crowd of 11,800 fans at the Petersen Events Center on Sept. 18, 2024. It is also the third straight win against their in-state rival, defeating them in four sets in the Round of 32 in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, also at the Petersen Events Center.

This marked the first match between the two teams at Rec Hall, as the Panthers swept the Nittany Lions in 2019 there.

Pitt took early leads of 5-1 and 11-6 against Penn State, as sophomore middle blocker Ryla Jones made two blocks and a kill and junior right side hitter Olivia Babcock added two kills as well.

The Nittany Lions battled back and went on a 9-3 to take a 15-14 lead at the first media timeout. Junior right side hitter and AVCA First Team All-American Kennedy Martin had four kills and added a block for the Nittany Lions.

Pitt came out of the timeout with a 4-1 run, as redshirt senior middle blocker Bre Kelley had back-to-back kills and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sophia Gregoire added a service ace, forcing Penn State to take a timeout as Pitt took an 18-16 lead.

Both teams scored two points each, with Pitt getting a kill and block from both Jones and junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless, as Penn State took their second timeout, down 22-20.

The Nittany Lions came right back and took a 23-22 lead, with Kennedy adding a block and kill, forcing Panthers head coach Dan Fisher to take his first timeout.

That timeout proved crucial, as Jones made a kill to tie it up, freshman outside hitter Dagmar Mourits made a kill to take the lead, then both Jones and Mourits combined for the block that won the Panthers the first set, 25-23.

Jones had a great first set, with six kills and hitting .600, proving crucial late on, as Pitt fought off a late comeback from Penn State.

Pitt went on an early 4-0 run to take a 7-4 lead in the second set, as Mourits added a kill and a service ace. Penn State then rallied and scored seven of the next nine points to take an 11-9 lead, with Martin making two kills and sophomore outside hitter Emmi Sellman adding two kills and a block.

The Panthers then took control of the set, going on a 13-2 run to take a 22-13 lead and eventually closed on the second set, winning 25-17 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Mourits dominated with four kills, two blocks and an assist the rest of the way, while Babcock added two aces on a service run, plus two assists and a kill.

Pitt took an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but Penn State battled back to tie it, Pitt took an 11-9 lead, Penn State kept it within one, then Pitt went on a 4-1 run to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout.

Mourits had two kills, Jones had two kills and a block, while Babcock added a service ace and a kill for the Panthers.

Penn State fought back and went on a 9-4 run, taking a 21-20 lead and forcing Pitt to take their first timeout of the third set.

Both teams traded kills, Babcock and Jones for Pitt and freshman outside hitter Alexis Ewing and Kennedy for Penn State, as Pitt took their last timeout down 23-22.

Graduate student setter Addie Lyon got a service ace, giving the Nittany Lions set point, but Babcock made a kill, cutting the deficit to one point, 24-23, with the home team taking a timeout.

That timeout helped Penn State, as Martin smashed down a kill and gave her team a 25-23 set victory, forcing the match into four sets.

The Nittany Lions started the fourth set with a 3-0 lead, as Martin and senior middle blocker Maggie Mendelson combined on a block and had a kill each.

Pitt then went on a 5-3 run, with Babcock making two kills and a block, and then after Penn State tied it back up, Kelley and Babcock each added a kill to make it a 7-5 lead.

The Nittany Lions scored three straight points to take the lead, 8-7, the Panthers scored three of the next four points and then the Nittany Lions tied it back up at 10-10.

Pitt then went on a 5-0 run, with Bayless adding two kills and senior setter Brooke Mosher going on a great service run with an ace, taking a 15-10 lead at the media timeout.

Penn State tried to cut into the lead, but Pitt stayed strong and Mourits added a kill and a block, keeping the road team up 19-13 and forcing a timeout from the home team.

Martin made a kill out of the timeout and Babcock swung her ball out of bounds, leading Fisher to take a timeout with Pitt up 19-15.

Penn State senior libero/defensive specialist Gillian Grimes committed a service error, then Mosher made a kill and a block with Kelley to go up 22-15.

The Panthers closed out the set, 25-17, as Kelley added a kill and Jones made a block and the final kill to get the victory.

Pitt earned their fourth ranked win of 2025 with this victory, taking down then ranked No. 25 TCU in four sets on Aug. 31 and sweeping then ranked No. 7 Arizona State on Sept. 1 in the State Farm Volleyball Showcase at PPG Paints Arena and sweeping then ranked No. 3 Kentucky on Sept. 10 in Fort Worth, Texas.

It is also eight straight wins after starting 0-2 and finish their non-conference schedule 10-2, before heading into ACC Play.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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