No. 20 Pitt Opens Season with Panther Challenge

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team, who beings the year ranked 20^th in the nation, will open the 2018 season hosting the Panther Challenge August 24-25. The tournament consists of six total events including three Pitt matches and features the No. 20 Panthers alongside No. 24 Cal Poly, Butler and Pepperdine.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 24
- 10 a.m. • Cal Poly at Pepperdine
- 12:30 p.m. • No. 20 Pitt vs. Butler
- 7 p.m. • No. 20 Pitt vs. No. 24 Caly Poly

Saturday, Aug. 25
- 11 a.m. • Pepperdine at Butler
- 4 p.m. • Butler at Cal Poly
- 7 p.m. • No. 20 Pitt vs. Pepperdine

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's three matches can be seen live on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN.
Live stats will be available via PittsburghPanthers.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_VB.

PROMOTIONS

Friday, Aug. 24 | 12:30 p.m.
- Staff and faculty appreciation day
- Post-match autograph session
Friday, Aug. 24 | 7 p.m.
- Block Party On The Hill
  - Food and drinks for students while supplies last
- Win Pitt Football vs. Penn State Tickets
  - General admission fans can enter to win four tickets to the football game on Sept. 8.
- Post-match autograph session
Saturday, Aug. 25 | 7 p.m.
- Allegheny County Day
  - Fans that provide an ID at the door with an Allegheny County zip code will receive admission for just $1.
- Post-match autograph session

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers swept Ohio in their final tune-up of the season Saturday, August 18 at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.
Pitt opened the match with a come-from-behind win, taking the first set 25-22. The Panthers dominated the Bobcats 25-14 in the second set, before earning the sweep with a 25-23 victory in the final set.
Pitt hit .321 on offense with 35 kills, while posting 30 digs and 16 block assists on defense.
Junior Layne Van Buskirk led the Panthers' attack with nine kills and a .667 attack percentage, while redshirt junior Stephanie Williams, junior Nika Markovic and sophomore Kayla Lund each tallied seven.
Aiding the offense was senior Kamalani Akeo, who recorded 19 assists. Akeo also led the defense with 11 digs, while sophomore Chinaza Ndee posted six block assists. Van Buskirk and Markovic each finished with six.

SCOUTING BUTLER

Butler enters the 2018 season after posting a 23-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Big East play in 2017.
The Bulldogs are projected to finish third in the Big East Preseason Coaches Poll.
The squad will be led by 2017 First Team All-Big East selection Bri Lilly. She led the conference in hitting percentage (.426) and blocks (1.14) last year.
Butler will be without two-time First Team All-Big East selection Anna Logan. Logan will redshirt the 2018 season due to a back injury.

SCOUTING NO. 24 CAL POLY

Cal Poly, who begins the season ranked in the top 25 in the nation for the first time since 2008, went 27-3 in 2017 and posted a 16-0 record in the Big West to win its first conference title in 10 years.
The Mustangs currently rank 24^th in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll and were selected to repeat as conference champs after claiming five first-place votes in the Big West Coaches Poll.
Led by 2017 Big West Conference Coach of the Year Sam Crosson, the 2018 squad returns 10 players from last season's roster.
Cal Poly brings back a surplus of talent from last year's team, including Big West Conference Player of the Year Taylor Nelson. Nelson was also a First Team All-Big West selection along with teammates Raeann Greisen, Savannah Niemen, Adlee Van Winden and Torrey Van Winden.

SCOUTING PEPPERDINE

Pepperdine went 16-15 overall in 2017, while recording an 8-10 mark in West Coast Conference (WCC) play.
The Waves are predicted to finish fourth in WCC.
The Waves return 2017 All-West Coast Conference Freshman team selection Alli O'Harra, and 2018 All-West Coast Conference Preseason selection Hannah Frohling.

THE SERIES - BUTLER

Pitt and Butler will meet for just the third time in program history.
Both teams look to grab the lead, as the series currently sits tied, 1-1.
The two teams have not met since Sept. 1, 2012 when the Panthers defeated Butler 3-0.

THE SERIES - CAL POLY

In the only meeting between Pitt and Cal Poly, which occurred 36 years ago on Dec. 4, 1982, the mustangs came out on top 3-0.

THE SERIES - PEPPERDINE

The Panthers and Waves square off for the fifth time in program history this weekend.
Pitt trails in the all-time series, 3-1.
The last time the two teams met was 11 years ago to the day. Pepperdine swept the Panthers in a neutral site match.
Pitt has never faced the Waves at home.

2018 PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS

Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2018 volleyball season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.

UP NEXT

For their second tournament of the season, Pitt will head to New Jersey for the Seton Hall Classic. The event will feature matches against Oklahoma, VCU and the host Pirates.

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University of Pittsburgh Athletics

No. 20 Pitt Opens Season with Panther Challenge

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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