Olivia Babcock’s 18 kills power No. 2 Pitt to 3-0 victory vs. SU volleyball
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Olivia Babcock’s resume speaks for itself.
Her awards and accolades take up most of her bio on Pittsburgh’s volleyball webpage, and all 44 of them hold weight.
She’s a two-time National Player of the Year, a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, and a member of the United States National Team.
The most dominant ACC player in recent history, she holds Pitt’s record for single-season kills with 646 in 2025. If you look just five names lower in Pitt’s record book, Babcock is listed again for her 538-kill campaign in 2024.
So far in 2026, she’s continued to prove that she’s the nation’s best player. Prior to Pitt’s weekend matchups with Boston College and Syracuse, she led the country with 202 kills, averaging over five per set.
Babcock is the best player Syracuse has faced all season, and SU head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam knows it.
“One of the best (players) in the country, if not the best currently,” Ganesharatnam said at Wednesday’s media availability. “We have to do the best we can to defend her as a team. It can’t be just one person taking on that burden.”
Babcock’s dominance continued Sunday in No. 2 Pitt’s (14-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast) sweep of Syracuse (5-8, 0-4 ACC). She tallied 18 kills on a staggering 50% hitting percentage and contributed a service ace as Pitt prevailed in three sets.
“She’s still playing in the ACC, and so are we,” Ganesharatnam said postgame. “At the end of the day, she’s just No. 5 on the other side.”
However, Babcock’s presence wasn’t felt immediately. Both teams came out strong in the first set, and Babcock took time to settle in.
But as the set continued, Babcock’s confidence grew and her serves seemed to have a mind of their own. On each serve, she tossed the ball in the air, leaped up and swung with tremendous power and break. With every serve, the ball sank to the right as it crossed the net, giving Syracuse’s serve return unit a difficult task throughout the match.
After the first-set media break, Syracuse played with renewed energy and cut into the Panthers’ lead. Looking to quell a comeback, Pitt turned to its leader. But when Babcock got up at the tape, Syracuse’s Kiernan Stamey and Bo Nijenhuis met her with a massive block.
Stamey played exceptionally for Syracuse, tallying three blocks and 14 kills in a match that she had been anticipating.
“(Babcock) is a player I’ve always looked up to, and to compete with her to that extent is really big for me. I’m super happy with it,” Stamey said.
But Babcock wasn’t deterred by the block, finishing the opening frame with seven kills as Pitt prevailed 25-20.
When Babcock sat out early in the second set, Syracuse took the lead. But when Babcock returned, the momentum shifted. She hit an attack off the SU block that landed in, tying the set at 9-9. Pitt didn’t slow down, and Babcock tallied two more kills as her team took an 18-14 lead.
Babcock mustered only three kills in the second frame, but her presence on the court drew Syracuse in and left the rest of Pitt’s dangerous offense open. Ayanna Watson stepped up, tallying nine kills to secure a two-set lead.
In the third set, Babcock gave the Panthers an early two-point lead, and Syracuse couldn’t recover. She extended the lead later in the set with three more kills and a service ace, taking Pitt into the media break up by five.
A kill after the break stopped a two-point Syracuse spurt before another brought Pitt within four points of victory.
With Pitt one point away from victory, Babcock was inevitably involved in the final point. Setter Izzy Starck fed a backset high into the air, and Babcock bounded up, raising her right arm high. She struck the ball, following through with authority as Syracuse couldn’t return the powerful strike.
Despite Babcock’s success, Ganesharatnam was proud of how his team defended against one of the nation’s premier players.
“The fire and competitiveness (of ACC play) are always there,” Ganesharatnam said. “You don’t make it to this level if you don’t have that.”
