No. 9 Panthers Look to Remain Unbeaten at Pitt Invite

Friday, September 14

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM EST

Pitt

College of Charleston

No. 9 Panthers Look to Remain Unbeaten at Pitt Invite

9/13/2018 4:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes Tournament Central

Pitt to Host Tournament Due to Hurricane Florence Conditions

PITTSBURGH – Due to the inclement weather caused by Hurricane Florence, the No. 9 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team will no longer travel to Conway, S.C. for the Coastal Carolina Classic, and will host the Pitt Invite, welcoming College of Charleston, High Point and Liberty Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14-15, to the Fitzgerald Field House.

Pitt will play two matches, taking on the College of Charleston Cougars Friday, Sept. 14, and the High Point Panthers Saturday, Sept. 15. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN. All matches will be free and open to the public.

THE SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 14
- Noon • Liberty vs. College of Charleston
- 7 p.m. • No. 9 Pitt vs. College of Charleston

Saturday, Sept. 15
- 10 a.m. • Liberty vs. High Point
- 4 p.m. • Liberty vs. College of Charleston
- 7 p.m. • No. 9 Pitt vs. High Point

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's two matches can be seen live on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN.
- No. 9 Pitt vs. College of Charleston
- No. 9 Pit vs. High Point
Live stats will be available via PittsburghPanthers.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_VB.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt was able to improve to 9-0 on the season after defeating Kennesaw State, Dayton, and No. 12 Washington to win the Panther Invitational (Sept. 7-8).
To open the tournament, the Panthers faced the KSU Owls. Down 2-1 in the match, Kennesaw State was able to win the fourth set and force the match to a fifth. The Panthers dominated the final set 15-7 to earn the match victory.
The Flyers had the Panthers on the ropes early in their second match of the day. In danger of going down 2-0, Pitt faced match point and rallied five points to win the second set. The Panthers carried the momentum into the next two sets, defeating Dayton 25-14 and 25-7 to win the match.
In the final match, the Panthers were able to sweep the No. 12 Huskies. Pitt dominated Washington, winning 25-18, 25-13 and 25-17. It was the Panthers' second victory against a ranked opponent this season.
Kayla Lund earned tournament MVP, teammates Kamalani Akeo and Stephanie Williams made the All-Tournament Team.

PITT IN THE POLLS

Pitt continues to rise in the AVCA Weekly Coaches Poll, moving up four spots to No. 9 in Week 3 of the season. This marks the program's highest national ranking in program history.
The Panthers' top ranking prior to the 2018 season came in 1990 when the squad was No. 17.

OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS

Pitt's offense has reached new heights in 2018, being tabbed one of the best in the nation.
The Panthers currently lead the nation in hitting percentage (.317) and are sixth in assists per set (13.81). Both of those marks lead the ACC. Pitt also leads the conference in kills per set (14.47), ranking 11th in the nation.

LEADING LUND

Sophomore Kayla Lund continues her strong 2018 season, earning the Panther Invitational MVP and winning her second ACC Player of the Week honor.
Lund is Pitt's top offensive performer in just her second season with the team, recording double-digit kills in every match, including six double-doubles and one 20-kill performance.
She leads the squad with 4.06 kills per set, which ranks third in the ACC, while her total number of kills (130) ranks fourth.
She has earned all-tournament honors for the Panther Challenge, Seton Hall Classic, and Panther Invitational. She received Tournament MVP for both the Panther Challenge and Panther Invitational.

SCOUTING COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

The Cougars enter their match against Pitt with a 7-4 record, and currently own a game five-match winning streak.
Coach Jason Kepner has led the cougars to 264-99 record, five NCAA Tournament appearances, and nine Conference regular season or tournament titles.
Kepner was an assistant coach at Pitt for five seasons before accepting the job as head coach of the Cougars in 2007.
In 2017, the Cougars captured the Colonial Athletic Association Conference Championship and made an NCAA Regional appearance.
Freshman Sylvia Duggan earned CAA Rookie of the Week. Duggan posted 3.31 kills and 3.62 digs per set, and posted three double-doubles to help the Cougars go 5-0 last week.

THE SERIES – COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON

The Panthers and Cougars will meet for the first time in program history.
Both teams were crowned conference champions last season.

SCOUTING HIGH POINT

The Panthers enter the Pitt Invite with a 3-6 record.
High Point posted a 24-8 record in 2017, and went 16-0 in the Big South Conference.
Sophomore Abby Bottomley has won Big South Defensive Player of the Week two weeks in a row. This season, she has recorded 184 digs and averaged 5.75 digs per set.
Senior outside hitter Adeline Ellis returns to Pittsburgh after transferring to High Point in 2017. She spent two seasons with Pitt and appeared in 32 sets.
The Panthers have faced three top 25 opponents thus far: No. 2 Texas, No. 8 Wisconsin and No. 21 Utah. High Point was defeated in all three matches.

THE SERIES – HIGH POINT

Pitt and High Point will meet for the first time in program history.
Both teams won regular season titles for their conference in 2017.

UP NEXT

The No. 9 Panthers will begin ACC play on Sept. 19 at Fitzgerald Field house. Pitt will take on Virginia as they look to defend their 2017 ACC regular season title.

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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