No. 11 Pitt to Face No. 18 Michigan in NCAA Second Round

Saturday, December 1

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM EST

Pitt

Michigan

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Photo by: Jeffrey Gamza/Pitt Athletics

No. 11 Pitt to Face No. 18 Michigan in NCAA Second Round

12/1/2018 10:59:00 AM | Volleyball

Match Notes Watch Live Stats

Panthers Look to Advance to Sweet 16

PITTSBURGH – No. 11 Pitt (30-1) will have an opportunity to advance to the NCAA Volleyball Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history when it takes on No. 18 Michigan (23-9) in the Second Round Saturday at 7 p.m. at Petersen Events Center.

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…

Advance the Panthers to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. Pitt is 0-5 all-time when playing in the Second Round. The Panthers have fallen to Penn State in the Second Round their last two NCAA Tournament appearances (2016, 2017).
Mark Pitt's most wins in a season (31) 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 (31).
Improve the Panthers' record to 7-13 all-time record when playing in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
Be the Panthers' fourth against an AVCA Top 25 opponent this season. Pitt is 3-0 against ranked opponents this season, with all wins coming at home.
Improve the Panthers' 2018 home record to 20-0, and 3-0 at Petersen Events Center.
Improve Pitt's all-time record against Michigan to 4-5 overall, and 2-0 when playing on a home court. The last time the teams met, the Panthers defeated the Wolverines, 3-2, Sept. 10, 2016, at Fitzgerald Field House.

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

For the third consecutive season, the ACC champion No. 11 Pitt reached the NCAA Tournament Second Round, this time with a sweep of MAAC champion Iona in the First Round Friday at Petersen Events Center. Pitt dismantled the Gaels by scores of 26-24, 25-18, 25-15.
Junior right side Nika Markovic had the hot hand for the Panthers with a match-high 16 kills on .423 hitting. She added six digs and two blocks. Outsides Stephanie Williams and Kayla Lund had nine kills apiece with a combined 17 digs between the two. Junior middle Layne Van Buskirk added eight kills to go along with three blocks. Sophomore middle Chinaza Ndee had a match-high six blocks for Pitt.
Redshirt sophomore setter Kylee Levers had 21 assists, and senior setter Kamalani Akeo followed with 20. Redshirt senior libero Angela Seman posted a team-high 11 digs for the Panthers.
After a slow start offensively, hitting just .167 in the first frame, the Panthers picked up the momentum and hit .306 for the match. Pitt held Iona to just .098 attacking and had the advantage in kills (46-34), assists (45-33), digs (45-32) and blocks (10.0-7.0).

AGENT DOUBLE-O-1-7

With her fifth kill of the match against Iona Friday, junior right side Nika Markovic reached the 1,000 mark for her career. She totals 1,011 after posting 16 kills against the Gaels.
She became the second Panther to reach the 1,000-kill mark this season, joining redshirt junior outside Stephanie Williams.

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 WOLVERINES

The University of Michigan volleyball team (23-9) jumped into the postseason with a sweep of the United States Naval Academy (25-23, 25-20, 25-10) Friday afternoon inside Petersen Events Center.
The Wolverines advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history.
Senior outside hitter and team co-captain Carly Skjodt has been the Wolverines' go-to hitter this season with a team-leading 4.21 kills per set, which ranks tied for third in the Big Ten. As a six-rotation player, Skjodt has posted 11 kill-dig double-doubles this year and ranks second on the team with 2.62 digs per set.
Senior libero Jenna Lerg currently ranks second in the Big Ten Conference with 4.93 digs per set. The Michigan native has recorded an impressive 27 double-digit dig performances this season and has led the Wolverines in digs in 26 of 32 matches.
Michigan is 2-7 against ranked opponents this season, with wins over No. 14 Purdue (3-0, Oct. 5) and No. 5 Wisconsin (3-1, Nov. 4).

THE SERIES – MICHIGAN

Saturday marks the ninth all-time meeting between Pitt and Michigan. The Wolverines hold 5-3 advantage against the Panthers.
Pitt defeated Michigan in the programs' only meeting in Pittsburgh (Sept. 10, 2016), 3-2. The Panthers upset the No. 22 Wolverines with help from a double-double by Stephanie Williams (21 kills, 13 digs).

UP NEXT

The winner of Saturday's match will advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to face fifth-seeded Texas with a host site, date and time to be determined.

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