After three NCAA national volleyball semis in a row, No. 4 Pitt aims higher

Most coaches are loath to reflect on their accomplishments while still in the prime of their careers. 

So when asked if this was what he envisioned for the program when he took over 12 years ago, Pitt’s Dan Fisher, normally thoughtful and erudite in his answers to the media, responded in simpler terms.

“It’s probably more than I envisioned,” he said. “I was just trying to make playoffs and not get fired.”

There’s little chance of that happening in the foreseeable future. Not for a coach who has taken his team to the last three NCAA national semifinals.

Since taking over in 2013, Fisher has built his own national power on top of so-called Cardiac Hill in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

And as Pitt embarks on the 2024 season, expectations are perhaps higher than they ever have been. While the final four teams of 2021 and 2022 featured a largely rotating cast of characters – particularly at the pins – this team will look a lot like the 2023 group that won 29 matches and a second straight ACC title (the Panthers’ fifth since 2017).

There’s sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez, the 6-foot-1 Puerto Rican who earned second-team All-ACC honors after averaging 2.27 kills and 1.96 digs per set while recording 34 aces. She was a VolleyballMag third-team All-American in 2022.

There’s 6-2 grad outside hitter Cat Flood, the consummate role player from Wilmette, Illinois, who easily could have spent her fifth year at a program where she might get more touches but instead returned to Pitt.

There’s 6-foot senior setter/right side Rachel Fairbanks, the 2023 ACC Setter of the Year and VolleyballMag second-team All-American from Tustin, California, who has played more than 300 sets in her career.

And there’s senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika, an All-ACC second-teamer and VBM honorable mention All-American who averaged more than three digs per set.

“They have been in big moments,” said Fisher, whose team was ranked No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll behind Texas (1), Nebraska (2) and Wisconsin (3). “They have succeeded in big moments. I think they bring a level of self-belief.”

But, despite their glowing resumes, are not even the team’s most talented players.

Last year’s incredible freshman trio are now sophomores.

— Olivia Babcock, a 6–5 right side from Los Angeles who kept statisticians busy with 3.62 kills per set, a .306 hitting percentage, 51 aces and 1.08 blocks per set. She earned just about every award imaginable, including  being named VolleyballMag’s Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-American. And, along with Fairbanks, she got into the USA women’s national training gym.

— Torrey Stafford, a 6-2 outside hitter from Torrance, California, who put up 3.26 kills per set while hitting at a .273 clip. She earned first-team All-ACC honors and was a VBM fourth-team All-American.

— Blaire Bayless, a 6-2 outside from Plano, Texas, who saw limited action with the Panthers last season but was on the USA U21 team that won a gold medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship. Babcock also was part of that team.

Little wonder Pitt was picked to finish first in the ACC preseason poll.

Pressure?

“We talk about pressure being a privilege,” Stafford said. “We train for it, so when we’re in the big moments, it’s just kind of natural for us. We signed up for it.”

Fisher said Babcock’s and Bayless’ experience with USA Volleyball will be invaluable and that Babock is ready to take it up a level.

“I don’t think she’s feeling a lot of pressure for things that are in the past because her aspirations are so much bigger,” Fisher said. “She wants to play in the Olympics … And I can tell you this: She’s way better right now than she was a year ago.

“She’s been involved in the lower levels (of USA Volleyball) before, but based on the season she had, she was invited to represent the senior national team. It was a group (USA women’s coach Karch Kiraly) felt who were players in college now who potentially have a chance at the 2028 Olympics. And she was the only freshman invited to that group.

“I think that says a lot.”

Bayless, meanwhile, ended up being a key part of the U21 team that defeated Puerto Rico for the NORCECA title. In the title match, she had three kills, a block and an ace. In an earlier match against Suriname, she had four kills, three aces and a block.

“I think it ended up being really good for her,” Fisher said. “I think she went in probably thinking she wouldn’t play a lot, but I think she went in and ended up playing a lot in every game and playing a fair amount of right side.”

Stafford is getting back to full speed after having surgery on her leg in the offseason. Fisher said he was impressed by how diligently Stafford worked to recover, and he anticipates a big step forward for her as well.

Stafford said during the times she was limited in what she could do physically, she worked on her mental game.

“I kind of did more mental reps,” she said. “I was getting through (the injury) and getting my mind right, so now I’m just building up my physicality for the season.”

Fairbanks had the good fortune of setting up the likes of Stafford and Babcock, and she marveled at how quickly they established themselves.

“If you look at their performance last year, it was amazing,” Fairbanks said. “Some of the best pins in the nation, and they were just freshmen. And that was in the fall. Now we’ve had a whole spring of training and being coached by Fish and our coaching staff, and I think they’re just going to go up from here.

“They have not peaked yet.”

While Pitt has stability and depth all over the court, there is one position that is a bit unsettled: middle blocker.

The most experienced middle, rising junior Rachel Jepsen, paused her eligibility to do an 18-month Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission trip. That means one of three freshmen – Argentinian Bianca Garibaldi, Romanian Dalia Virlan or Ryla Jones, from Fort Washington, Maryland – and/or redshirt junior Bre Kelley.

Jones, a 6-2 product of Michigan’s Flint Hill High School, was among the early standouts in preseason workouts, Fisher said.

Kelley, a product of Rockwall, Texas, is an intriguing possibility. At 6-4, she was a preseason All-ACC pick before the 2023 season, but her campaign was cut short after only four matches because of an injury. As a sophomore at Florida in 2022, she played in 31 matches, recording at least four blocks in 15 of them, including a 10-block effort against Stanford.

And speaking of the Cardinal, that brings up an extra degree of difficulty for the Panthers as they pursue their third consecutive ACC title. The seismic shift in Power 5 conferences brought Stanford, Cal and SMU into the ACC.

Stanford comes east with an NCAA Division I-high nine NCAA titles, the last in 2019. SMU went 18-1 in the American Athletic Conference last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Stanford was picked second in the preseason ACC poll, and SMU was sixth.

As if the likes of Louisville, Florida State and Georgia Tech didn’t present enough of a challenge.

“When we did the pre-conference voting for who would be the preseason all-conference players, you start looking at Stanford’s roster and SMU and you say, this is pretty hard to get down (to 18 players),” Fisher said. “That was the moment I thought, ‘Man, we’ve got some really good players in this conference.’ ”

But, for now, at least, the road to the top of the ACC runs through Pittsburgh. Ultimately, however, the Panthers have bigger goals in mind, namely getting over that hump into the national title game.

Pitt has come up short in three previous chances. 

In 2021 national semis, Pitt lost to Nebraska in four.

In 2022, the Panthers lost an epic five-set battle to Louisville.

And then last year, after pulling off a reverse sweep on Louisville in the regional final to get there, Pitt lost to Nebraska again, this time in a sweep.

“We have so many returners, we have so many people who know what it’s like to be at a final four and compete in pressure situations,” Fairbanks said. “Along with that … I think our new people are bringing in so much talent also that anyone we put on the court, we could win.

“It’s a combination of stamina and resilience over time, and I think we all care an immense amount. It’s carrying that care all the way through the end of December.”

Added Vazquez Gomez: “We have confidence, but we’re not complacent. We still have a mission to accomplish, and we still need to work on a couple things that we didn’t do last year and will definitely help us win a national championship this year.”

Fairbanks said Pitt will go into this season as it has any other: with an underdog mentality.

That seems odd for a team that has been to three consecutive national semifinals and won 90 matches in that span.

“We haven’t won the natty yet,” Fairbanks said, “so we’re still an underdog.”

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