No. 3 Panthers to Conclude Road Trip at (RV) Louisville

PITTSBURGH – Another challenge for the ACC lead awaits No. 3 Pitt volleyball (20-1, 9-0) as the Panthers visit (RV) Louisville (15-4, 8-1) Sunday at 3 p.m. ET at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

HOW TO FOLLOW

ACC Network will televise the match between the Panthers and Cardinals.
The match can be streamed live on WatchESPN.
Live stats will be available at GoCards.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter and Instagram, both @Pitt_VB.

A WIN WOULD…

Keep the No. 3 Panthers in sole possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference lead.
Give the Panthers a 10-0 record in ACC play for the second consecutive season.
Improve Pitt's record to 11-14 all-time against the Cardinals and 4-6 when playing in Louisville.
Extend the Panthers' winning streak against the Cardinals to two matches. Pitt's last loss to Louisville came Oct. 21, 2017, at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena (3-2).
Improve the Panthers' record to 38-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 11-1 when ranked inside the top five.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Panthers (20-1, 9-0) are the lone Division I volleyball team to outscore each of their 2019 opponents.
Despite its lone loss to then-ranked No. 4 Penn State, the Panthers outscored the Nittany Lions in five sets (26-28, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 14-16), 111-110.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

For the third consecutive week, 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 19th week in program history that Pitt has landed among the top 10 programs in the NCAA, and the sixth week ever in the top five.
The Panthers are 37-2 all-time when ranked inside the top 10, and 10-1 when ranked in the top five.
Pitt is No. 7 in the NCAA Volleyball RPI for the second consecutive week, as released Monday afternoon.

ELITE COMPANY

Redshirt senior Stephanie Williams earned the 1,000th dig of her career Friday night at (RV) Notre Dame. She is already a member of the 1,000-kill club, with 1,348 for her career.
Williams joined 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

Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams reached the 1,000-dig mark for her career in a sweep for No. 3 Pitt at (RV) Notre Dame Friday night at Purcell Pavilion.
With her 10 digs for the match, Williams joined 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.
Pitt earned the road sweep with scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-23.
Williams and fellow outside Kayla Lund recorded double-doubles in the sweep. Lund had a team-high 13 kills and added 15 digs for her team-best fifth double-double of the year. Williams posted her fourth of the year with 10 kills to go along with her 10 digs.
Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas picked up a team-high 17 digs while freshman setter Lexis Akeo produced 30 assists. Senior middle Layne Van Buskirk led the blocking effort with four.
Pitt had the advantage in kills (43-37), assists (38-34) and blocks (8.0-4.0) while out-hitting the Irish (.228-.152).

SCOUTING (RV) LOUISIVLLE

The Cardinals (15-4, 8-1) received 35 votes in this week's AVCA poll.
Louisville has won eight of its last nine matches, with the lone loss coming at Virginia Tech (Oct. 20, 3-1).
Louisville is 10-1 when playing at home this season, with the lone loss coming against then-ranked No. 10 Florida (3-0) to open the 2019 campaign (Aug. 30). The Cardinals are riding a 10-match home winning streak.
Senior outside hitter Melanie McHenry suffered a knee injury in the second set in a loss at Notre Dame (Oct. 16) and has not appeared in the Cardinals' last two matches. She leads Louisville with 3.64 kill per set this season.
Last time out, Louisville swept Virginia at home Friday night (25-18, 25-12, 25-13).

UP NEXT

The No. 3 Panthers will host a four-match homestand, starting with Wake Forest Friday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m. ET at Fitzgerald Field House.

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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