No. 14 Pitt Prepares for Seton Hall Classic

PITTSBURGH – Following an undefeated opening weekend at home, the No. 14 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team will face its first road challenge of the season as the Panthers head to South Orange, N.J., for the Seton Hall Classic Aug. 31-Sept. 1. Pitt will compete in three matches this weekend against host Seton Hall, Oklahoma and VCU.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, Aug. 31
- 4:30 p.m. • Pitt vs. Oklahoma
Saturday, Sept. 1
- 10 a.m. • Pitt at. Seton Hall
- 4 p.m. • Pitt vs. VCU

HOW TO FOLLOW

The Panthers' match against Seton Hall will be streamed live, while their contests against Oklahoma and VCU will not be available.
Live stats will be available via PittsburghPanthers.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_VB.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt opened the 2018 season with a successful weekend hosting the Panther Challenge. The Panthers went undefeated, recording wins against Butler, No. 24 Cal Poly and Pepperdine.
The squad opened the year with a sweep of the Bulldogs. Pitt held Bulter under 15 points in two of the three sets and as as a team nearly doubled the Bulldogs in the kill column 44-27.
The Panthers earned their first win over a nationally ranked team, defeating No. 24 Cal Poly, 3-1. Pitt rallied after dropping the first set to win in four, holding the Mustangs under 20 points in the final three sets. The win marked the program's first victory over a ranked opponent since 2016 when Pitt defeated No. 23 Dayton in the NCAA Tournament.
In the final game, the Panthers dominated Pepperdine in three sets to earn the Panther Challenge title.
Sophomore Kayla Lund was tabbed Tournament MVP, while classmate Layne Van Buskirk and junior Nika Markovic were named to the All-Tournament Team. Lund contributed 42 kills over all three matches with 4.2 kills per set on a .468 percentage. She produced 32 digs and had three service aces.

LUND NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Following a career weekend for Kayla Lund, the sophomore outside hitter was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week as announced by the conference Monday, Aug. 27.
Lund, the Panther Challenge MVP, led the Panthers to an undefeated opening weekend, including wins over Butler, No. 24 Cal Poly and Pepperdine.
Over the three matches, she contributed 42 kills with 4.2 kills per set on a .468 percentage. She also produced 32 digs and three service aces. Lund set a new career high in kills against No. 24 Cal Poly, registering 20. Her previous high was 19.
The Pasadena, Calif., native finished the weekend with two double-doubles and three double-digit kill matches, while hitting .350 or higher in all three contests.

MAKING HISTORY IN THE RANKINGS

Coming in at No. 14 in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, Pitt earned its highest national ranking in program history. Prior to Monday, Aug. 27, 2018, the Panthers' highest ranking was No. 17 in 1990.
Pitt moved up six spots from last week's preseason poll, which saw the squad at No. 20.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA

The Sooners head to the Seton Hall Classic with a 3-0 record after defeating Xavier, DePaul and Northern Illinois in the Northern Illinois Invitational.
First year head coach Lindsay Gray-Walton joined the Sooners in December of 2017 after being named the 2017 AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year at Kentucky.
Senior outside hitter Alyssa Enneking led Oklahoma in their opening weekend, posting two double-doubles en route to Tournament MVP honors. Enneking averaged 4.70 kills per set.
Setter Kylee McLaughlin was named to the All-Tournament Team following last weekend's action. The sophomore also recorded two double-doubles, while averaging 12.1 assists per set and 2.80 digs per set.

THE SERIES – OKLAHOMA

Pitt and Oklahoma will meet for the first time in program history.
Both teams enter the match with a 3-0 record.

SCOUTING SETON HALL

Seton Hall enters the weekend 2-1 after participating in the Blue and White Classic in Buffalo, N.Y. The Pirates defeated North Dakota State and Niagara, but fell to the host Bulls.
Senior Abby Thelen was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after her performance in the Blue and White Classic. The outside hitter earned All-Tournament Team honors after leading her squad in kills in all three matches. She finished the weekend averaging 4.18 kills per set.
Sophomore setter Maggie Cvelbar posted three double-double performances in the Blue and White Classic.

THE SERIES – SETON HALL

The Panthers and Pirates will meet for the 42^nd time in program history.
Pitt has lost just five matches to Seton Hall, owning a 36-5 all-time advantage.
The two teams have not met since the Panthers left the Big East to join the ACC. The last match occurred Nov. 9, 2012. Pitt defeated the Pirates, 3-1.

SCOUTING VCU

VCU looks for its first win of the season after going 0-3 at the NC State Invitational. The Rams fell to the Wolfpack, as well as Washington State and Wichita State.
Junior outside hitter Vicky Giommarini paced the Rams on offense, tallying 32 kills on the weekend with 2.46 per set.

THE SERIES - VCU

The Panthers and Rams will square off for just the seventh time in program history.
Pitt leads the all-time series 5-1.
The last time the two teams met was in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers came out on top 3-1.

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

Pitt returns home Sept. 7-8 for the Panther Invitational, which will feature tough opponents in nationally ranked Washington, Dayton and Kennesaw State.
The Panthers will also host Championship Weekend, an event that will welcome back all alumni as we honor the 2017 ACC Championship Team. Alumni looking for more information can contact Assistant Athletic Director of the Varsity Letter Club John Pelusi at 412-383-0556 or jpelusi@athletics.pitt.edu.
All fans are welcome to join as we reveal the 2017 ACC Championship ring prior to the start of the Pitt-Washington match Saturday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.

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.

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