The Pitt women’s volleyball team (30-4, 18-2 ACC), behind Olivia Babcock’s 23 kills, defeated No. 3 Purdue, 3-1 (25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17), sending the Panthers to their fifth straight Final Four.

Up 23-17 in Set 4, Brooke Mosher buried two straight powerful service aces to send Pitt past Purdue. Mosher tallied three aces for the match.

“That was insane,” Mosher said. “I mean, ending on an ace is something I wouldn’t have expected, but being able to see that ball drop and go to the final four is just insane.”

The Panthers won their 52nd straight match at home and their 15th straight at Peterson Events Center.

Their victory over Purdue was full-circle as their first Final Four appearance in 2021 came after a win over Purdue.

Pitt is the fourth team in NCAA history to make it to the Final Four five straight seasons.

Babcock, the reigning ACC and AVCA East region player of the year, took home the regional MVP by racking up 79 kills in the tournament so far. Babcock posted a .375 hitting percentage in the deciding game.

“I just think the fact that we’re able to just keep doing this just shows how strong of a team we are consistently,” Babcock said. “I just feel like we put in so much work this season, so I feel like this season it means a lot more.”

Pitt’s Marina Pezelj tallied 14 kills and 12 digs to give the Panthers momentum in the second set.

“She was doing a lot well,” coach Dan Fisher said. “I think she came up with some big blocks. Her passing was stable. Offensively, she just she made really good choices. I think she had about five shove kills when she saw those openings, which is kind of Purdue’s game. I think she was really in the moment making good decisions.”

Mosher led the Panthers with four blocks,and Bre Kelley tallied three.

Pezelj and Mosher were nominated for the Pittsburgh All-Regional team along with Babcock.

“It’s just a testament to how much work we put in and how hard we fought these past two games,” Babcock said. “It’s hard to move on, let alone be in the group of people who get honored for this, because it’s so hard to get here. I feel like there’s just so many good players, and the fact that we had players on our team who were able to step up for this occasion and help our team get these two wins just means a lot.”

Purdue found itself down 2-0. The Boilermakers, in their 11th straight tournament, battled back. With a 25-22 win in Set 3, Purdue, which notched three reverse sweeps on the season, looked to do it again.

Purdue was led by Akasha Anderson, who delivered 20 kills, and Kenna Wollard, who tallied 15. Dior Charles delivered nine blocks, and Taylor Anderson notched 51 assists.

Despite Purdue having the personnel, the Panthers were too strong to allow a comeback.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Wollard said. “I think we played a pretty clean game. Olivia Babcock is just an amazing player, and we did everything we had to try and stop her. And then they have some players that help her out and can get kills themselves too. You have to be perfect stopping them and you just get to the point where you can’t get enough, but I’m really proud of this team.”

Purdue’s Wollard, Akasha Anderson and Ryan McAleer were nominated for the all-regional team. SMU’s Malaya Jones rounded out the squad.

Anderson kept pounding away at the Panthers down 12-10 in the final set. Three straight Panther blocks and a vicious Babcock spike put them up 13-10, which gave Pitt momentum.

The Boilermakers led the first set early with a kill from Wollard that had them up 10-8. Back-to-back kills from Blaire Bayless and Kelley tied it 10-10.

Babcock notched a kill that put the Panthers up 11-10. They led the rest of the first set.

A Babcock kill and a Mallorie Meyer ace extended Pitt’s lead to 22-19 as it pulled away with the first set. Babcock racked up nine kills, including the last one of the set.

The Panthers went up 12-8 in the second set. Purdue, however, went on a 6-1 run led by Anderson to take a 14-13 lead. Babcock continued to step up. A Babcock block and an error on Purdue gave Pitt a 16-15 lead.

The Panthers didn’t look back and at 24-21, Mosher and Kelley blocked Anderson to earn the set.

Babcock tallied five kills, and Marina Pezelj notched three kills in Set 2.

The Boilermakers came out firing in the third set and didn’t trail once.

Down 17-14, Pezelj notched a kill, and a Mosher block cut it to 17-16. The Panthers inched back and tied it 24-24, but the Boilermakers had momentum as they finished with the 25-22 set win.

This led to Pitt owning the final set.

Purdue coach Dave Shondell congratulated Pitt.

“Dan Fisher has just done one of the most amazing jobs of of coaching in the history of the sport, by taking a team at Pittsburgh, that for so many years was just good … they couldn’t get over the hump — the same hump that we haven’t been able to get over at Purdue — and now five years in a row is in the Final Four. That doesn’t happen without somebody in charge that really knows how to build a program.”

As for Pitt, it faces undefeated Nebraska in the Final Four.

“It’s just surreal,” Mosher said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was little, and to be able to do it with this team is just incredible.”

PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 seeded Pitt volleyball team (30-4, 18-2 ACC) defeated No. 3 seed Purdue (27-7, 15-5 Big Ten) in four sets Saturday night at the Petersen Events Center, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, to advance to its fifth straight National Semifinal. Olivia Babcock was named the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player after leading the Panthers with 23 kills, four digs and two blocks.

With the win, Pitt became the first program to reach five consecutive National Semifinals since Texas accomplished the feat from 2012–16.

Both teams traded points throughout the opening set before Pitt called a timeout trailing 19-18. A pair of Panther kills and a service ace from Mallorie Meyer swung the momentum and forced a Purdue timeout. The Boilermakers used their final timeout following another Babcock kill at 23-20, but a termination from Marina Pezelj and Babcock’s ninth kill of the set sealed the 25-22 win.

Pitt jumped out to an early 13-9 advantage in the second set before Purdue answered with a 5-0 run, prompting a Panther timeout. Purdue later used two timeouts as Pitt maintained a 19-15 lead. The Boilermakers closed within three at 23-20, but a kill from freshman Abbey Emch and a Purdue hitting error secured the 25-21 set win for Pitt.

Purdue gained early momentum in the third set and forced Pitt to take a timeout trailing 10-8. The Panthers stayed within striking distance, causing Purdue to call a timeout at 17-16, but the Boilermakers closed out the set, 25-22, to extend the match.

Pitt responded emphatically in the fourth set, building an early 9-5 lead behind tough serving from Brooke Mosher and Pezelj, which led to a Purdue timeout. Bre Kelley and Babcock combined for four kills to force the Boilermakers to use their final timeout at 16-11. The Panthers pulled away down the stretch to claim the 25-17 set and the match, 3-1.

Pitt will face the winner of No. 1 seed Nebraska and No. 3 seed Texas A&M in the National Semifinal on Thursday, Dec. 18, at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The first semifinal match is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, with Pitt’s match time to be determined following Sunday’s Regional Final contests.

NOTES

• Olivia Babcock was named the Pittsburgh Regional Most Outstanding Player for the third straight year.
• Marina Pezelj recorded a career-high 14 kills and led the team with 12 digs.
• Brooke Mosher tied her season high with four blocks and finished one kill shy of her season best with four.
• Mallorie Meyer matched her career high with three service aces.

Pittsburgh Regional All-Tournament Team

Most Outstanding Player: Olivia Babcock (Pitt)

Brooke Mosher (Pitt)

Marina Pezelj (Pitt)

Kenna Wollard (Purdue)

Akasha Anderson (Purdue)

Ryan McAleer (Purdue)

Malaya Jones (SMU)

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) honored five graduates with the Chancellor’s Medallion at the Fall 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, December 13, 2025. The Chancellor’s Medallion is UAPB’s highest academic honor, awarded to the top graduate from each school based on cumulative GPA. The ceremony is available on UAPB TV.

Notably, the top three overall recipients, Ashley Robinson,  Kaiél Kimble, and Cornelia D. Watts, who earned the highest GPAs among all these graduates, were also Golden Lion student-athletes from the UAPB Track & Field program, exemplifying excellence both in the classroom and in competition. Among them, Kaiél Kimble reached another milestone: completing the UAPB ROTC program and being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) in the United States Army.

“These students represent the very best of UAPB—academic excellence, leadership, perseverance, and service,” said UAPB Chancellor Anthony Graham, Ph.D.  “Their achievements reflect the strength of our academic programs and the dedication of our faculty and staff.”

Fall 2025 UAPB Chancellor’s Medallion Recipients

School of Arts and Sciences
Ashley Robinson

• Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida
• High School: Herbert Morrison Technical High School & Seminole Ridge Community High School
• Major: Criminal Justice
• GPA: 3.922
• Career Goal: Robinson will join the United States Air Force to begin her career in criminal justice. Her long-term goals include federal investigative work as a crime scene investigator or serving with the FBI or DEA.

School of Education
Kaiél Kimble

• Hometown: Humble, Texas
• High School: Atascocita High School
• Major: Health & Kinesiology, Minor in Military Science
• GPA: 3.789
• Career Goal: Following graduation, Kimble was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) in the U.S. Army after completing the ROTC program at UAPB. She plans to serve as an Army officer while pursuing her long-term goal of coaching collegiate track and field.

School of Business and Management
Cornelia D. Watts

• Hometown: Houston, Texas
• High School: Klein Forest High School
• Major: Business Administration, Concentration in International Business
• GPA: 3.710
• Career Goal: After completing her Track & Field season, Watts will begin her professional career with Amazon as an Area Manager and hopes to explore global opportunities.

School of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Human Sciences
Messhirya Harris

• Hometown: Marianna, Arkansas
• High School: Marianna High School
• Major: Agriculture/Agricultural Business
• GPA: 3.473
• Career Goal: Harris will complete esthetician school and begin her career as a full-time esthetician, with plans to further her education in nursing and specialize in advanced aesthetic and corrective procedures.

Division of University College
Kyla M. Boatner

• Hometown: Dermott, Arkansas
• High School: Dermott High School
• Major: General Studies
• GPA: 3.194
• Career Goal: Boatner plans to complete the UAPB Master of Arts in Teaching program and earn certification as an elementary school teacher.

UAPB congratulates the Fall 2025 graduates and applauds the Chancellor’s Medallion recipients for their academic achievements, leadership, and commitment to excellence.