Are You Ready for 2026 Pitt Volleyball?
Scheduling updates, a new ticket setup for Victory Heights, and what we're seeing from the 2026 roster.
I've got three areas to update as we look ahead to the 2026 Pitt Volleyball season, now 146 days away.
- The Schedule, or at least the four matches in August
- The New Ticket Setup, or at least what's been revealed
- The Team, or at least the nine Panthers that played Sunday
First Four Regular Season Matches Set
We got another match announcement last week: another AVCA First Serve matchup at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, this one against Xavier. Pitt nearly played Xavier back in December in the NCAA Tournament, but the Musketeers were swept by Michigan in the opening round at the Petersen Events Center.
Here's how the first four matches of the 2026 Pitt Volleyball season are shaping up, where we have dates and matchups but not times:
- Sunday, Aug. 23 vs. Kentucky (in Milwaukee)
- Monday, Aug. 24 vs. Xavier (in Milwaukee)
- Friday, Aug. 28 vs. Kansas (at the Petersen Events Center)
- Sunday, Aug. 30 vs. Wisconsin (at the Petersen Events Center)
That's quite the opening quartet for the Panthers, including two possible preseason Top 5 teams in Kentucky and Wisconsin. We'll learn a lot about this Pitt team before we even flip the calendar to September.
Victory Heights Arena Awaits
And when the calendar does display September, we'll get to see the first official NCAA Volleyball match at the new 3,000-seat Victory Heights Arena. (No date is set for that opener, but I'd wager we'll get a preseason scrimmage in the new digs.)
Pitt gave us an idea of how much season tickets will be at the arena – or more accurately, how much you'll need to donate to the Panther Club for season tickets.
- $300 for the season ($50 ticket + $250 to Panther Club)
- Current season ticket holders are automatically entered into the seat selection process, everyone else must fill out the Interest Form
- As you'd expect, bigger donors will get first dibs on tickets and seat selection
- Here's a fun twist: at least one person from your group must scan into two-thirds of home matches in order to keep your spot for 2027
If you've got specific questions about season tickets at Victory Heights, you're best served clicking that link above. I will say: donation amount is not the only factor at play here. In fact, the most Priority Points I received were for being an Alliance 412 member when Alliance 412 was a thing.
A price tag of $300 may give you some sticker shock – it's only slightly less than what I'll be paying for a Pirates Ballpark Pass, and that'll get me into 80 games!
But I see it as the flip side of Pitt Volleyball season tickets being a screaming deal for far too long; Back in 2019, I paid $45 for season tickets, and Pitt gave me brunch before the Penn State match. Even in 2022, fresh off their first Final Four appearance, I still paid only $70 for the season – six rows off the court.
Pitt Athletics needs to dig for revenue in every nook and cranny of the couch, and charging me about $20 per volleyball match is nowhere near extortionate.
Quick Notes on Spring Ball
On the court now, Pitt swept West Virginia in an exhibition Sunday and gave us the 13-9 score that we were awaiting (twice!).
While spring scrimmages are usually a fun sneak preview of the following season's team, Pitt fans could only see nine players in uniform yesterday:
- MB Jordyn Dailey
- RS Olivia Babcock
- L/DS Izzy Masten
- OH Blaire Bayless
- OH Ayanna Watson (with her left wrist still in a cast)
- L/DS Mallorie Meyer
- S Izzy Starck
- S Haiti Tautua'a
- RS/MB Jessica Smallwood
Three other players on the spring roster were sidelined: outside hitters Marina Pezelj and Sophia Gregoire, as well as middle blocker Abbey Emch. None was in a brace or cast, and I have no reason to worry about their status for this fall.
Some quick hits, with the understanding that I'm not a scout and never will be:
- Izzy Starck is as good as advertised. She looked every bit the elite setter that she was for Penn State in 2024, with crisp sets all over the court. The Starck-to-Babcock connection will be dynamite, of course, but the biggest dividends will go to the middle hitters. For all of setter Brooke Mosher's success last season, she never could completely jibe with her middles. Starck already seems to be in sync with Dailey and Smallwood.
- To that end, Smallwood looks like she'll be a beast. Listed at 6-foot-6, she is the only Panther who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Coach Dan Fisher on the sidelines. All of her swings were sharp on Sunday, whether coming from the middle, on the left pin, or on the right pin (which is where Pitt projects her to play long-term). Smallwood did not appear out of place in the Panthers lineup, which is impressive for a player who would still be walking the halls of Elizabethtown High School in Kentucky had she not enrolled here early.
- Man, I can't wait to see Ayanna Watson once she gets the cast off her left wrist. We got a sample on Sunday when Watson took the floor late in sets, but it was only for serving and back-row play. Even with those limitations, Watson served strong, had a couple nice passes (again, with a cast on!!) and delivered some fine back-row attacks. That's all well and good, but the best version of 2026 Panthers will have the freshman phenom playing six rotations – and I look forward to getting to watch that in the fall.
