No. 3 Panthers to Host NC State Sunday on ESPNU

PITTSBURGH – ESPNU will broadcast Sunday's home match for No. 3 Pitt volleyball (18-1, 7-0) against NC State (8-11, 3-4) at 1 p.m. ET at Fitzgerald Field House.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's match be televised on ESPNU, and streamed on WatchESPN.
Live stats will be available at PittsburghPanthers.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter and Instagram, both @Pitt_VB.
Tickets may be purchased by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.

A WIN WOULD…

Be Pitt's 30th consecutive victory when playing at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers' 29 wins in a row at the facility are a school record. Pitt's last loss at the Field House came nearly two years ago, on Oct. 22, 2017, against NC State.
Give the Panthers an 8-0 record in ACC play for the third consecutive season.
Improve Pitt's record to 10-2 all-time against NC State and 7-1 when playing in Pittsburgh.
Extend the Panthers' winning streak against the Wolfpack to two matches. Pitt's last loss to NC State came Oct. 22, 2017, at Fitzgerald Field House.
Improve the Panthers' record to 36-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 9-1 when ranked inside the top five.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

The Panthers remain at No. 3 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll, as announced Monday afternoon. The ranking is Pitt's highest in program history.
Pitt's No. 3 AVCA ranking ties the highest for an ACC team in conference history. Florida State earned a No. 3 ranking in 2014.
The ranking marks the 18th week in program history that Pitt has landed among the top 10 programs in the NCAA, and the fifth week ever in the top five.
The Panthers are 35-2 all-time when ranked inside the top 10, and 8-1 when ranked in the top five.
Pitt is No. 7 in the NCAA Volleyball RPI, as released Monday afternoon.

GETTING CLOSER

Redshirt senior Stephanie Williams is 18 digs away from 1,000 with 918. She earned her 1,000th kill in 2018 and currently boasts 1,329 for her career, ranking sixth in program history.
Williams is set to join elite company as one of just three Panthers ever to record 1,300+ kills and 1,000+ digs, including Ann Marie Lucanie (1990-93) and Diana Andreyko (2004-07). Lucanie had 1,815 kills and 1,480 digs, while Andreyko had a program-record 1,852 kills and 1,089 digs.

LAST TIME OUT

Senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk crossed the 1,000-kill threshold for her career in a sweep for No. 3 Pitt over North Carolina at Fitzgerald Field House Friday night.
The 3-0 decision (25-22, 25-25, 25-23) halted a four-match win streak for the Tar Heels. The sweep was No. 13 of the season for the Panthers and No. 6 of ACC play. Pitt has dropped just one set out of 22 against 2019 ACC competition.
Van Buskirk led Pitt with nine kills (.533) on the night, and now totals 1,006 over her four-year career. She is one of three active Panthers with 1,000 or more kills each, joining redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams (1,330) and senior right side Nika Markovic (1,107).
Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund had a near double-double with nine kills (.533) and 10 digs for the match. Classmate Chinaza Ndee had eight kills on the right side, and redshirt junior outside Zoi Faki contributed five kills off the bench. Ndee and sophomore middle blocker Sabrina Starks paced the Panthers with four blocks apiece.
Four-time ACC Freshman of the Week Lexis Akeo had 34 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas anchored the back row with 11 digs in the sweep.
Pitt hit .286 for the evening while holding the Tar Heels to .125. The Panthers had more kills (40-31), assists (39-30), digs (37-30) and blocks (9.0-7.0).

SCOUTING NC STATE

The Wolfpack (8-11, 3-4) has won three of its last four matches, most recently defeating Miami (3-0) and Virginia (3-1).
NC State is 0-1 against top 25 opponents this season, dropping a home match against No. 23 Florida State (3-0) on Oct. 11.
The Wolfpack is 4-8 when playing away from Raleigh this year, winning their most recent road match at Virginia (3-1).
As of Oct. 17, NC State ranks second in the ACC with 14.57 digs per set.
Junior right side Melissa Evans ranks third in the league with 3.86 kills per set.

UP NEXT

A big road trip awaits No. 3 Pitt, as the Panthers will visit (RV) Notre Dame Friday, Oct. 25, and No. 23 Louisville Sunday, Oct. 27.

PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS

Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2019 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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