Saturday
8
vs
Blue/Gold Scrimmage
FINAL· Gold 3-2
No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll, a new home in Victory Heights Arena, and 30 matches with confirmed times, venues and TV.

6-0
Record
32
Games
15
Players
Looking for dates, times and locations? Jump straight to the full Pittsburgh 2026 slate.
View Schedule
Pittsburgh
Jacksonville
Saturday
8
vs
FINAL· Gold 3-2
Saturday
15
at
1:00 PM (Exhibition) · Ann Arbor, MI
Sunday
23
at
WIN· W 3-1
Monday
24
at
WIN· W 3-0
Friday
28

vs
WIN· W 3-1
Sunday
30

vs
WIN· W 3-0
Friday
4

at
WIN· W 3-1
Sunday
6
at
WIN· W 3-1
Wednesday
9

at
6:30 PM ET (TV: ESPN2) · ESPN Wide World of Sports, Kissimmee, FL
Friday
11
vs
7:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Saturday
12
vs
5:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
13
vs
1:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Friday
25

vs
7:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
27

vs
8:30 PM ET (TV: ESPN) · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Friday
2
at
7:00 PM · Chestnut Hill, MA
Sunday
4
at
1:00 PM · Syracuse, NY
Wednesday
7
vs
7:00 PM · Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
11
at
3:00 PM ET (TV: ACCNX) · Dallas, TX
Friday
16

vs
7:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
18
vs
12:00 PM ET (TV: ACC Network) · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Friday
23

at
7:00 PM · Atlanta, Ga.
Sunday
25
at
1:00 PM · Clemson, SC
Friday
30
at
6:30 PM · Winston-Salem, NC
Sunday
1
at
1:00 PM · Raleigh, NC
Friday
6
vs
7:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
8
vs
1:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Wednesday
11
vs
7:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Sunday
15
vs
8:30 PM ET (TV: ESPN2) · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Friday
20
at
7:00 PM · Charlottesville, VA
Sunday
22
at
12:00 PM · Blacksburg, VA
Tuesday
24

at
10:00 PM · Stanford, CA
Saturday
28
vs
1:00 PM · Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Original analysis of the Pittsburgh Panthers program, coaching staff, and 2026 outlook.
Pittsburgh opens 2026 ranked No. 4 nationally, the highest-ranked ACC program, and the schedule is brutal by design. Two-time AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock is back for her senior season, now paired with Izzy Starck, the 2024 AVCA National Freshman of the Year who transferred in from Penn State to run the offense. Blaire Bayless and Marina Pezelj give Dan Fisher two more reliable pins, while the middle — Abbey Emch, Kentucky transfer Jordyn Dailey and 6-foot-4 Dutch freshman Maaike Heilig — is the group with the most to prove after Bre Kelley's graduation. Kentucky, Wisconsin and Kansas all come before September, Stanford twice in league play. How quickly Starck and Babcock sync is the single biggest variable in Pitt's ceiling.
Pittsburgh has reached five consecutive NCAA national semifinals through 2025 and has won four straight ACC championships, sharing the 2025 title with Stanford after an 18-2 league run and a 30-4 overall record. Dan Fisher inherited an ACC afterthought in 2013 and built one of the sport's most consistent contenders. In 2026 the program moves into the new Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, retiring the 75-year-old Fitzgerald Field House as its volleyball home.
Dan Fisher took over Pittsburgh in 2013 and has led the Panthers to five straight national semifinals and four consecutive ACC titles. His teams are defined by serve pressure, disciplined blocking and player development rather than recruiting splash — though Pitt now recruits at the top of the sport too. Kellen Petrone serves as associate head coach and team architect, with Kamalani Akeo and Michael Fisher completing the staff.
The Aug. 23 opener against No. 3 Kentucky at the Jeep AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee is the hardest possible first test, on ESPN. The two Stanford matches — Sep. 27 at Victory Heights on ESPN and Nov. 24 in California — likely decide the ACC race between last year's co-champions. Louisville visits Nov. 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 in the league's best rivalry, and the new arena's early home dates against California, Stanford and Florida State will show whether Pitt's home-court edge traveled from Fitzgerald.
Last updated: August 22, 2026
The Pittsburgh volleyball schedule 2026 covers 30 regular-season matches — 10 non-conference and 20 in ACC play — plus a new home floor. Pitt opens the year ranked No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll, the highest-ranked ACC program, and begins a fresh era at the Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, which replaces the 75-year-old Fitzgerald Field House as the Panthers' home venue. Dan Fisher's program arrives with as much momentum as any team in the country: five straight NCAA national semifinal appearances and a share of the 2025 ACC championship after an 18-2 league run and a 30-4 overall record. Two-time AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock is back for her senior season, joined by 2024 AVCA National Freshman of the Year Izzy Starck, who transferred in from Penn State to run the offense. The season starts Sunday, Aug. 23 against No. 3 Kentucky at the Jeep AVCA First Serve in Milwaukee, followed a night later by Xavier on FS2 and then the Opening Spike Classic at the Petersen Events Center against Kansas and Wisconsin. September takes the Panthers west to BYU and Utah, to Kissimmee for Tennessee, then home for the Panther Challenge and the ACC opener against California. October is a run of league weekends — Boston College, Syracuse, a home-and-home with SMU, Florida State, Miami, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest — before a November closing stretch with Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Louisville at home, road trips to Virginia, Virginia Tech and Stanford, and the regular-season finale against NC State on Nov. 28. Every date, start time in Eastern, venue and confirmed broadcast for the full slate is listed on this page and updated whenever Pitt Athletics or the ACC confirms a change.
Pitt opens Sunday, Aug. 23 against No. 3 Kentucky at 4 p.m. ET at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee (ESPN), the first match of a new era in the Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center.
| Date | Opponent | Time (ET) | Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Aug 28 | Kansas | 6:30 PM ET | Petersen Events Center — Opening Spike Classic (ESPN2) |
| Sun, Aug 30 | Wisconsin | 12:00 PM ET | Petersen Events Center — Opening Spike Classic (ESPN) |
| Fri, Sep 11 | Jacksonville | 7:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena — Panther Challenge (ACCNX) |
| Sat, Sep 12 | High Point | 5:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena — Panther Challenge (ACCNX) |
| Sun, Sep 13 | Wright State | 1:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena — Panther Challenge (ACCNX) |
| Fri, Sep 25 | California | 7:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena — ACC opener (ACCNX) |
| Sun, Sep 27 | Stanford | 8:30 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ESPN) |
| Wed, Oct 7 | SMU | 7:00 PM ET | Petersen Events Center (ACC Network) |
| Fri, Oct 16 | Florida State | 7:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ACCNX) |
| Sun, Oct 18 | Miami | 12:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ACC Network) |
| Fri, Nov 6 | Duke | 7:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ACCNX) |
| Sun, Nov 8 | North Carolina | 1:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ACCNX) |
| Wed, Nov 11 | Notre Dame | 7:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ACC Network) |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Louisville | 8:30 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena (ESPN2) |
| Sat, Nov 28 | NC State | 1:00 PM ET | Victory Heights Arena — regular-season finale (ACCNX) |
Twelve of Pitt's 15 home dates are at Victory Heights Arena. Three larger draws — Kansas, Wisconsin and SMU — move across campus to the Petersen Events Center.




Pitt was selected for nine nationally televised matches in 2026 — four non-conference on ESPN or ESPN2, and five ACC matches on ESPN, ESPN2 or ACC Network: Aug. 23 vs. Kentucky (ESPN), Aug. 28 vs. Kansas (ESPN2), Aug. 30 vs. Wisconsin (ESPN), Sep. 9 vs. Tennessee (ESPN2), Sep. 27 vs. Stanford (ESPN, Victory Heights Arena's national TV debut), Oct. 7 vs. SMU (ACC Network), Oct. 18 vs. Miami (ACC Network), Nov. 11 vs. Notre Dame (ACC Network) and Nov. 15 vs. Louisville (ESPN2). Two start times were moved specifically for television: the Stanford match on Sep. 27 and the Louisville match on Nov. 15 both shifted to 8:30 p.m. ET, so early ticket buyers expecting a 5 p.m. Louisville first serve should note the change. Everything else streams on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX), which requires an ESPN login authenticated through a participating TV provider — it is not a separate purchase. ACC Network itself is carried on Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Fubo and DirecTV Stream. The Aug. 24 Xavier match airs on FS2 as part of the AVCA First Serve package. Live stats for home matches and most ACC road matches are free on StatBroadcast, linked from each match on PittsburghPanthers.com. Tickets: single-match tickets are sold through PittsburghPanthers.com and at the venue box office on match days. Season tickets at Victory Heights are tied to Panther Club donation levels and priority points, which is new for 2026. The Louisville, Stanford and Wisconsin matches are the ones to buy early — high-profile opponents in a roughly 3,600-seat building sell out well in advance.
Pittsburgh vs. No. 3 Kentucky
Sun, Aug 23, 4:00 PM ET — Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee (ESPN)
The 2025 national runner-up, in the opener, on national television. Kentucky returns AVCA Freshman of the Year Kassie O'Brien and libero Molly Tuozzo. It is the hardest possible first test and an early measuring stick for Izzy Starck's first competitive night running Pitt's offense.
Pittsburgh vs. Stanford
Sun, Sep 27, 8:30 PM ET — Victory Heights Arena (ESPN)
Pitt and Stanford shared the 2025 ACC title, and both open 2026 in the AVCA top five. This is Victory Heights Arena's first appearance on national TV and, along with the Nov. 24 rematch in California, likely decides the ACC race.
Pittsburgh vs. Louisville
Sun, Nov 15, 8:30 PM ET — Victory Heights Arena (ESPN2)
The league's best rivalry. Pitt swept the season series in 2025, winning in five on the road before a straight-sets win at home — the road match included Babcock's 41-kill program record, which she then broke again with 45 against North Carolina.
Pittsburgh at Stanford
Tue, Nov 24, 10:00 PM ET — Stanford, Calif.
A cross-country Tuesday night trip four days before the regular-season finale. Late-season seeding for the NCAA Tournament can turn on this one.
Olivia Babcock
Right Side · Senior · 6'4" · Los Angeles, Calif.
The two-time defending AVCA National Player of the Year and 2025-26 ACC Female Athlete of the Year. She holds Pitt's single-season records for kills, kills per set, attacks, attacks per set and service aces, ranks fifth in career kills at 1,604, and twice broke the single-match program record in 2025.
Izzy Starck
Setter · Junior · 6'1" · Viera, Fla.
The 2024 AVCA National Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Penn State, added in January. She had a match-high 51 assists in the Blue/Gold scrimmage and makes her official Pitt debut in Milwaukee.
Blaire Bayless
Outside Hitter · Senior · 6'2" · Plano, Texas
Second-team All-ACC in 2025 and an AVCA East Coast Region selection. She set career highs last year with 318 kills, 115 digs, 58 blocks and 16 assists, including a 16-kill, .429 night against Georgia Tech.
Marina Pezelj
Outside Hitter · Sophomore · 6'1" · Monaco
All-ACC Freshman Team in 2025 and the most likely candidate for a jump in usage as the second reliable pin option alongside Babcock.
Jordyn Dailey
Middle Blocker · Senior · 6'2" · Franklinton, N.C.
A January transfer from Kentucky brought in to help replace graduated middle Bre Kelley. The middle rotation is the group with the most to prove.
2026 is the first season in the Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, the new on-campus home for Pitt volleyball. The arena seats roughly 3,600 and replaces the Fitzgerald Field House, which had housed the program since 1951. It opened to fans on Aug. 8 for the Blue/Gold scrimmage, with a court-level Victory Club premium space and a free pre-match fan fest outside the building. Twelve of Pitt's 15 home dates are at Victory Heights; three larger draws — Kansas (Aug. 28), Wisconsin (Aug. 30) and SMU (Oct. 7) — move across campus to the Petersen Events Center, which seats 12,508. Both venues sit on Pitt's Oakland campus and doors typically open about an hour before first serve. Public transit and campus garages are the practical options on match nights; street parking in Oakland is scarce, particularly on Friday and weekend dates that overlap with other Pitt events.
The schedule is genuinely brutal, and deliberately so. Pitt plays a large share of its matches against 2025 NCAA Tournament teams, including national semifinalists Kentucky and Wisconsin and regional semifinalist Kansas, all before the calendar turns to September. Add Stanford twice, Louisville, SMU twice and North Carolina in league play, and there are few soft weeks after the Panther Challenge. Three questions define the year: does the Starck-Babcock connection click early, with no runway before Kentucky; can the middle hold up as Emch and Dailey inherit a rotation that ranked among the nation's best, with 6'4" Dutch freshman Maaike Heilig as the developmental wildcard; and does the new building travel, since Victory Heights is smaller and louder by design but trades away a home-court identity built over decades at Fitzgerald. The bar hasn't moved: a sixth straight national semifinal, and the program's first national championship. Even a season with real injury trouble should still produce a top-16 seed and a home NCAA regional.
Meet the 15 athletes on the Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball team
| # | Player | Pos | Yr | Ht | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Maaike Heilig Middle Blocker · Freshman · 6'4" | Middle Blocker | Freshman | 6'4" | Hoogkarspel, Netherlands |
| 3 | Jordyn Dailey Middle Blocker · Senior · 6'2" | Middle Blocker | Senior | 6'2" | Franklinton, N.C. |
| 5 | Olivia Babcock Right Side · Senior · 6'4" | Right Side | Senior | 6'4" | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| 6 | Sophia Gregoire Outside Hitter · Senior · 6'1" | Outside Hitter | Senior | 6'1" | Dundee, Ore. |
| 7 | Izzy Masten Libero/DS · Sophomore · 5'8" | Libero/DS | Sophomore | 5'8" | Brownsburg, Ind. |
| 8 | Blaire Bayless Outside Hitter · Senior · 6'2" | Outside Hitter | Senior | 6'2" | Plano, Texas |
| 9 | Trinity Thompson Setter/DS · Freshman · 5'9" | Setter/DS | Freshman | 5'9" | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| 10 | Marina Pezelj Outside Hitter · Sophomore · 6'1" | Outside Hitter | Sophomore | 6'1" | Monaco |
| 11 | Lola Sageer Outside Hitter · Freshman · 6'2" | Outside Hitter | Freshman | 6'2" | Syracuse, N.Y. |
| 12 | Ayanna Watson Outside Hitter · Freshman · 6'2" | Outside Hitter | Freshman | 6'2" | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| 13 | Mallorie Meyer Libero/DS · Junior · 5'7" | Libero/DS | Junior | 5'7" | Roca, Neb. |
| 20 | Abbey Emch Middle Blocker · Sophomore · 6'4" | Middle Blocker | Sophomore | 6'4" | New Waterford, Ohio |
| 21 | Izzy Starck Setter · Junior · 6'1" | Setter | Junior | 6'1" | Viera, Fla. |
| 25 | Haiti Tautua'a Setter · Senior · 6'0" | Setter | Senior | 6'0" | Wai'anae, Hawai'i |
| 33 | Jessica Smallwood Right Side · Freshman · 6'6" | Right Side | Freshman | 6'6" | Elizabethtown, Ky. |
Everything you need to know about Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball
Pitt opens the 2026 regular season on Sunday, Aug. 23 against No. 3 Kentucky at 4 p.m. ET at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, as part of the Jeep AVCA First Serve. The Panthers played two preseason exhibitions before that — the Blue/Gold scrimmage on Aug. 8 and a scrimmage at Michigan on Aug. 15 — neither of which counts toward the record.
Thirty regular-season matches: 20 ACC matches and 10 non-conference. Fifteen are at home, 12 on the road and three at neutral sites. The ACC and NCAA Tournaments in December are additional.
Most home matches are at the new Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center on Pitt's Oakland campus, which replaced the Fitzgerald Field House this season. Three home matches — Kansas (Aug. 28), Wisconsin (Aug. 30) and SMU (Oct. 7) — are at the Petersen Events Center.
No. 2026 is the first season in Victory Heights Arena. Fitzgerald Field House, which opened in 1951, is no longer the volleyball home. Any schedule listing 2026 home matches at Fitzgerald is out of date.
Nine matches are on national television — ESPN, ESPN2 or ACC Network — and one on FS2. Every other ACC match streams on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) through the ESPN app, which requires a TV provider login.
Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8:30 p.m. ET at Victory Heights Arena, on ESPN2. It was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. and moved to accommodate the national broadcast window.
Depends what you're measuring. The toughest opponent is Kentucky in the Aug. 23 opener. The most consequential are the two against Stanford (Sep. 27 at home, Nov. 24 in California), since Pitt and Stanford shared the 2025 ACC title and both open in the AVCA top five. The best atmosphere will be Louisville on Nov. 15.
Not in the regular season. There is no Penn State or Nebraska match on the 2026 slate — Pitt's only exhibition trip is Aug. 15 at Michigan. The two programs could only meet in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll with 1,383 points, the highest-ranked ACC team. It's the fourth straight year Pitt has opened in the top five. ACC coaches picked the Panthers second in the league behind Stanford.
Dan Fisher, who took over the program in 2013. He has led Pitt to five consecutive NCAA national semifinals and four straight ACC championships.
Senior right side Olivia Babcock, the two-time AVCA National Player of the Year, is the headliner. Setter Izzy Starck (Penn State transfer, 2024 AVCA National Freshman of the Year) and senior outside hitter Blaire Bayless joined her on the 2026 Preseason All-ACC team.
30-4 overall, 18-2 in ACC play, a shared ACC championship with Stanford, and a fifth straight appearance in the NCAA national semifinals.
No. The ACC does not hold a women's volleyball conference tournament — the title is decided by regular-season record, and the champion receives the league's automatic NCAA bid. The NCAA Tournament follows the Nov. 28 regular-season finale in December, with dates, sites and seeding confirmed later in the fall.
The leadership behind Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball success
Dan Fisher took over Pittsburgh in 2013 and has led the Panthers to five consecutive NCAA national semifinals and four straight ACC championships, building the program on serve pressure, disciplined blocking and player development.
Kellen Petrone serves as associate head coach and team architect, shaping Pittsburgh's roster construction and offensive systems.
Kamalani Akeo focuses on defensive systems, serve-receive and back-row development for the Panthers.
Michael Fisher works with Pittsburgh's training program and day-to-day player development.
Logan Mosley manages travel, logistics and the day-to-day operations of the Pittsburgh volleyball program.
Pittsburgh has reached five consecutive NCAA national semifinals through 2025 and won four straight ACC championships, sharing the 2025 title with Stanford after an 18-2 league run and a 30-4 overall record.
Dan Fisher took over in 2013 and built an ACC afterthought into one of the sport's most consistent contenders, producing two-time AVCA National Player of the Year Olivia Babcock and a long line of All-Americans.
In 2026 the program moves into the Victory Heights Arena and Sports Performance Center, retiring the Fitzgerald Field House — its home since 1951 — as the volleyball venue.
Address: Pitt Oakland campus, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Capacity: ≈3,600 fans
Victory Heights Arena replaced the Fitzgerald Field House as Pitt volleyball's home in 2026, with a court-level Victory Club space and 12 of the 15 home dates. Kansas, Wisconsin and SMU move to the 12,508-seat Petersen Events Center.
Networks: ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, FS2
Streaming: ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) via the ESPN app
Nine Pitt matches air on national television in 2026; every other ACC match streams on ACCNX with a TV provider login.
Victory Heights Arena hosts 12 of Pitt's 15 home dates in its first season, starting with the ACC opener against California on Sep. 25 and its national TV debut against Stanford on Sep. 27.
Kentucky (Aug. 23, ESPN), Xavier, Kansas, Wisconsin, BYU, Utah and Tennessee all come before the ACC opener — three of them 2025 NCAA Tournament headliners.
Pitt and Stanford shared the 2025 title and meet twice: Sep. 27 at Victory Heights on ESPN and Nov. 24 in California, four days before the NC State finale.
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