PITTSBURGH — Pitt Panthers volleyball outside hitter Torrey Stafford has found a new school for next season after recently entering the transfer portal.
Stafford announced on Instagram that he is transferring to Texas after two seasons at Pitt. She has two more years of eligibility.
Stafford is from Torrance, California, near Los Angeles, and played at Marymount High School. She was the 2021 MaxPreps Junior of the Year and led Marymount to a 35-0 record and the California State Championship, dropping just eight sets all season.
She was also the first player to sign with Pitt and earn a position on Team USA Youth National Team, winning a gold medal at the Pan American Cup as a member of the 2022 USA U-19 team.
In prep volleyball, Stafford was ranked No. 12 overall and No. 4 outside hitter in the 2023 class, making him the highest-ranked player for Pitt.
She had a great freshman season, finishing second on the team with 372 kills (3.26 kills per set) and 425.5 points (3.73 points per set). She also hit .273 with double-digit kills in 22 games and ranked fourth on the team with 1.77 digs per set.
Stafford University also had a great performance in the NCAA Tournament, leading Pitt to its third straight Final Four. She had at least 10 kills in each match and batted .371 throughout the postseason.
She led Pitt to a 29-5 record and 16-2 in the ACC, winning its fifth ACC title and second straight year. Her play earned her AVCA All-American Third Team, AVCA All-East Coast Region Team, All-ACC First Team, and All-ACC Freshman Team honors.
Stafford played even better as a sophomore last season, finishing second on the Panthers with 400 kills, 3.70 kills per set, 457.5 points, 4.24 points per set, 252 digs, and 2.33 digs per set. She also batted .358, which led all Power 4 outside hitters.
She had one of her best games on September 18 in a sweep of then No. 3 ranked Penn State, recording 17 kills, eight digs, and two blocks, hitting .571.
Stafford had double-digit kills in 25 of the Panthers’ 35 games and also had seven double-doubles in 2024.
Her play led Pitt to a 33-2 overall record and 19-1 in the ACC, winning its third consecutive ACC title and sixth time in the past eight years. Pitt volleyball also earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and remained ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the final 13 weeks.
She also helped Pitt reach the Final Four for the fourth straight season, recording double-digit kills in four of five games. She had 18 kills and 15 digs, both season highs, in a four-set loss to Louisville in the Final Four.
Her play earned her AVCA First Team All-American, AVCA National Player of the Year Semifinalist, AVCA East Coast Regional Team, and All-ACC First Team honors.
Stafford becomes the third outside hitter to leave Pitt volleyball this season, with sixth-year student Valeria Vasquez-Gomez and graduate student Cat Flood both graduating.
She is one of two Panther players to enter the transfer portal, along with freshman middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi.
Stafford is also one of six players to leave the program, along with seniors AVCA First Team All-American setter Rachel Fairbanks, All-ACC libero/defensive specialist Emmy Krika and setter Nisa Buzletepe. , all of whom graduated.
Pitt has one outside hitter in rising junior Blair Bayless, as well as an outside hitter in Samara Coleman, who earned 2024 AVCA Girls High School First Team All-America honors at Grand Oaks High School in Spring, Texas. There is one hitter.
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