No. 11 Pitt to Open NCAA Volleyball Tournament Friday Versus Iona

Friday, November 30

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM EST

Pitt

Iona

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Pitt Volleyball Team, Petersen Events Center

No. 11 Pitt to Open NCAA Volleyball Tournament Friday Versus Iona

11/29/2018 12:39:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes Watch Live Stats

Panthers to Host Gaels at Petersen Events Center

PITTSBURGH – The 2018 ACC Volleyball Champion No. 11 Pitt (29-1, 17-1) will host MAAC Champion Iona (20-7, 16-2) in the NCAA Tournament First Round at Petersen Events Center Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's match can be seen live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.
Live stats will be available via NCAA.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_VB.

A WIN WOULD…

Mark Pitt's most wins in a season (30) since the Panthers went 32-6 (7-0) in 1990, winning both the Big East Regular Season and Big East Tournament Championships.
Mark the Panthers' most wins in a season under sixth-year head coach Dan Fisher (30).
Mark the third consecutive postseason with an NCAA Tournament First Round victory for the Panthers. Pitt defeated VCU in the opening round in 2017 (3-1), and topped No. 23 Dayton in 2016 (3-1).
Mark the sixth time (third consecutive) in program history that the Panthers advance to the Second Round. Pitt holds a 5-13 all-time record when playing in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
Improve the Panthers' 2018 home record to 19-0, and 2-0 at Petersen Events Center.
Give Pitt a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series against Iona.

CHAMPYINZ (AGAIN)

The Panthers secured their first outright ACC Volleyball Championship in program history with a 3-2 win at Miami Nov. 18.
It marks the second consecutive title for the Panthers after earning a share of the championship last season with Louisville.
The Panthers earned an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, marking its third consecutive appearance and 14th overall.

STAYING HOME

As announced during the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night, the Panthers were selected as the No. 12 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Pitt was selected to host the first two rounds of the tournament at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
This marks the first time in program history that the Panthers will host rounds of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament, and the first time that the NCAA Volleyball Tournament will be played at Petersen Events Center.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

Pitt finished the regular season at No. 11 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Poll, following a 3-0 home victory against Georgia Tech at Petersen Events Center (Nov. 21).
Pitt ranked inside the AVCA Top 20 for the entire season, including 11 consecutive weeks in the top 10.
Pitt's top ranking prior to the 2018 season came in 1990 when the squad was No. 17.
The Panthers remained at No. 7 in the ninth release of the NCAA Volleyball Rating Percentage Index (RPI), released Monday, Nov. 26.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt wrapped up the regular season with a sweep over Georgia Tech at Petersen Events Center (Nov. 21).
The Panthers secured their third unbeaten home regular season in program history, and won their first their match played at Petersen Events Center.
Pitt handled the Yellow Jackets, defeating them (25-19, 25-18, 25-10). This marked the Panthers' 16th sweep of the season.
For the third consecutive match, junior right side Nika Markovic led Pitt in kills, recording 12. She added seven digs and two blocks. Junior middle Layne Van Buskirk sparked the offense with 10 kills on a .667 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle Chinaza Ndee led the Panthers with five blocks and added seven kills. Sophomore outside Kayla Lund had a well-rounded matching with seven kills, six digs, and 5 assists.
Senior libero Angela Seman had a team-high eight digs. Redshirt sophomore setter Kylee Levers led the Panthers with 19 assists, and senior setter Kamalani Akeo registered 17 assists to go along with eight digs.
Pitt produced their best attacking percentage (.415) since previously facing Georgia Tech on Nov 2 in Atlanta, Ga (.429). Pitt dominated across the board in kills (47-29), assists (45-29), service aces (5-0), digs (35-29) and blocks (8.0-1.0). The Panthers held the Yellow Jackets to just .149 attacking.

FIVE AWAY FROM 1K

Junior right side Nika Markovic is just five kills away from reaching 1,000 for her career.
She would become the second Panther to reach the 1,000-kill mark this season, joining redshirt junior outside Stephanie Williams.
A 2018 All-ACC first team selection, Markovic averages 3.54 kills, 1.97 digs and 0.87 blocks per set.
Markovic earned ACC Player of the Week honors earlier this season (Oct. 8) and has led Pitt in kills in 11 matches, including the final three of the regular season.

ACC HONORS

The Panthers had four players named to the 2018 All-ACC first team, including sophomore outside Kayla Lund, junior right side Nika Markovic, junior middle Layne Van Buskirk, and redshirt junior outside Stephanie Williams. Each player earned ACC weekly honors during the season.
Head coach Dan Fisher was named ACC Volleyball Coach of the Year for second consecutive year. Fisher has led the Panthers to back-to-back ACC titles and three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.

SCOUTING THE GAELS

Iona (20-7, 16-2 MAAC) received an automatic qualifier bid by winning the MAAC Championship against Canisius on Saturday, Nov. 17.
The Gaels enter the NCAA tournament on a four-match winning streak, and have won seven of their last eight matches.
Senior outside Claire Archibald was a unanimous selection for MAAC Player of the Year. She led the league in kills per set (3.88) and points per set (4.28). Archibald was also eighth in the league with (3.58) digs per set. The senior recorder 22 double-doubles this season, including a 23-kill and 35-dig against Rider on Oct. 2.
Senior setter Emma Rose received her second consecutive All-MAAC First Team selection, while also earning Setter of the Year in the conference. The senior averaged 11.67 assists per set and 0.35 service aces per set. Rose highest assist total on the season was 49 against Niagara.

THE SERIES – IONA

Friday will be the first meeting between Pitt and Iona.
Both teams are outright conference champions this season.

UP NEXT

The winner of Friday's match will advance to the Second Round at Petersen Events Center, set for Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3, available via the WatchESPN app.

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