Texas A&M Ends Pitt's Season With Sweep in National Semifinals
Pitt saw its season come to an end in sweeping fashion in the National Semifinals as Texas A&M’s fierce attack proved too much for the Panthers’ block. The Aggies hit .382 as a team en route to their first National Championship appearance in program history.
The Aggies’ 3-0 win over the Panthers marks the first time that Dan Fisher’s squad has been swept all season, and is the first sweep in the National Semifinal round since Nebraska swept Pitt in 2023.
The loss also marks the fifth-straight season in which the Panthers’ saw their season come to an end in the National Semifinals.
Texas A&M struck first in the opening set with a block by Ifenna Cos-Okpalla and an ace by Maddie Waak before Pitt’s attack woke up. The Panthers managed to jump ahead of the Aggies behind a 3-0 run which was fueled by two kills from Blair Bayless and one by Olivia Babcock.
The Aggies bounced back with kills from Kyndal Stowers and Logan Lednicky to take a 4-3 lead. The rest of the set was highly contested as the two teams traded points throughout en route to 17 ties.
After an Aggies’ service error and a kill by Bre Kelley tied the set up at 21 a piece, it looked like Texas A&M was going to storm away with the set win on the arm of Lednicky as back-to-back kills made it 24-22, but the Panthers managed to fend off four set points.
The Panthers even claimed a 27-26 lead on Babcock’s seventh kill of the set which forced the Aggies into a timeout, but the break in play helped the underdogs score the last three points of the set to win 29-27.
Heading into he second set, Pitt needed to tighten up its block after allowing Texas A&M to hit .410 as a team, and it looked initially as if the Panthers would as they got on the board first with a block by Babcock.
After the two teams traded points, the Panthers led 4-3 but the Aggies unleashed a furious 4-0 run to build a decent three-point lead. That lead grew to four after the 4-0 run turned into a 7-2 run in favor of the Aggies.
Instead of crushing the Panthers’ hopes, it looked as if the run was a wake up call. Izzy Masten came to the service line and helped the Panthers rattle off eight-straight points that put them up 15-11.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, just like in the previous set, and quite frankly the whole match, the Aggies came roaring back and jumped right back ahead of the Panthers behind a lengthy 9-2 run that put them into the red zone with a 20-17 lead.
The Panthers threw one last punch in the set and used a 4-1 run, which included three errors by the Aggies, to pull even at 21-21. Those would be the last points that the Panthers scored though as the Aggies closed the set out on a 4-0 run that put them up 2-0 in the match.
Going into the third set, with their backs against the wall, Fisher opted to switch up his lineup as he inserted middle blocker Ryla Jones and opposite Sophia Gregoire, and it looked to pay off initially.
Jones opened the set up with a kill and Babcock followed her up with a kill of her own. But, the Aggies immediately squashed any momentum that opening gave the Panthers as a 3-1 to tie the set up.
After trading points until the set became 6-6, the Panthers used kills from Babcock and Gregoire to go up 9-6. The Aggies once again just punched right back and used a 5-0 run to gain a 12-10 lead and forced the first Panthers’ timeout of the set.
Fisher was forced to burn his second and final timeout of the set shortly after as kills from Lednicky, Morgan Perkins and Emily Hellmuth put the Aggies up 16-12.
Pitt fought hard over the final portion of the set as it tied the set at 18-18 before Texas A&M closed the set, the match and the Panthers’ season out with one last 4-0 scoring run.
Babcock, the reigning AVCA Player of the Year and finalists for this year’s award, tried her best to will the Panthers to victory as she totaled 22 kills with a .463 hitting percentage but the lack of digs and blocks on the defensive end killed the Panthers.
Pitt’s fifth-straight loss in the National Semifinals ends another magical season, and the Panthers must wait at least one more year for their first National Championship appearance.
It will be crucial for the Panthers to pounce on that opportunity next season as Babcock will be entering her senior season at Pitt.
