No. 2 Pitt Volleyball Returns to Petersen Events Center Friday

PITTSBURGH – The second-ranked, 2019 ACC Champion Pitt volleyball team (26-1, 15-0) will play the first of its final two regular-season home matches at Petersen Events Center when it hosts Florida State (17-8, 10-5) Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's match will be televised by ACC Network, in addition to an online stream (subject to blackout).
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…

Extend the Panthers' best start to an ACC season in program history, improving to 16-0.
Snap a two-match slump for Pitt when playing at Petersen Events Center. Pitt's last win at the facility came in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament against Iona (3-0).
Sweep the season series against Florida State. The Panthers earned a 3-1 decision in Tallahassee against the then-ranked No. 23 Seminoles on Oct. 6.
Improve Pitt's record to 10-5 all-time against Florida State and 5-1 when playing in Pittsburgh.
Extend the Panthers' win streak against the Seminoles to six matches, with Pitt's last loss against Florida State coming Oct. 16, 2016, in Tallahassee (3-1).
Extend the Panthers' win streak when playing in Pittsburgh against Florida State to four matches. Pitt's lone loss when playing at home against the Seminoles came Oct. 24, 2014 (3-2).
Improve the Panthers' record to 44-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 17-1 when ranked inside the top five.

CHAMPYINZ x3

No. 2 Pitt secured its third consecutive ACC Volleyball title Sunday with a sweep at Duke. With three matches remaining in the regular season, the Panthers hold a four-match lead in the league.
With the win, Pitt also secured the ACC's Automatic Qualifier bid to compete in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers will dance for the fourth consecutive year and for the 15th time in program history.

ALL-TIME HIGH

For the fourth consecutive week, Pitt is No. 2 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, matching its highest ranking in program history.
The ranking is the highest ever for an ACC volleyball team. The previous high was No. 3, earned by Pitt in 2019 and by Florida State in 2014.
The ranking marks the 23rd week in program history that Pitt has landed among the top 10 programs in the NCAA, and the 10th week ever in the top five.
The Panthers are 43-2 all-time when ranked inside the top 10, and 16-1 when ranked in the top five.
Pitt fell two spots to No. 5 in the latest in the NCAA Volleyball RPI.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Panthers (26-1, 15-0) 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 (Sept. 22), the Panthers outscored the Nittany Lions in five sets (26-28, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 14-16), 111-110.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 2 Pitt became the nation's first program to secure an Automatic Qualifier bid to the 2019 Division I NCAA Tournament by winning the outright ACC Championship with a sweep at Duke (12-16, 5-10) Saturday, Nov. 16.
Pitt downed the Blue Devils 25-16, 25-14, 25-17. The win marks Pitt's third consecutive championship and second consecutive outright title. Following the regular season, the Panthers will learn their seed during the NCAA Selection Show, set for Sunday, Dec. 1.
Junior right side hitter Chinaza Ndee had a match-high 12 kills on .526 hitting. She was one of two Panthers to record double figures in the scoring column, followed by classmate Kayla Lund with 11. Lund added seven digs for the Panthers.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams had a well-rounded stat line of eight kills and eight digs, and senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk had a near-perfect day with seven kills on .700 hitting.
Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 32 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas picked up 15 digs.
The Panthers dominated nearly every major stat, producing more kills (44-33), assists (43-30), service aces (2-1) and digs (45-32) while out-hitting Duke (.364-.163). Blocks were tied at 5.0 apiece.

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE

The Seminoles (17-8, 10-5) are looking to get back in the win column after a five-set loss at home to North Carolina Sunday.
Florida State comes in at No. 37 in the seventh NCAA Volleyball RPI release of the season, as the Seminoles hold the No. 17 non-conference strength of schedule in the nation.
The Seminoles are 7-3 when playing away from Tallahassee this season, winning their last three on the road.
Florida State is 1-4 against AVCA Top 25 opponents this season, with the lone victory coming in straight sets over then-ranked No. 3 Minnesota Aug. 31.
Junior Taryn Knuth ranks third in the nation with 1.55 blocks per set, leading the ACC.

UP NEXT

No. 2 Pitt will close regular-season road play at NC State Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in Raleigh, N.C. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

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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No. 2 Pitt Volleyball Returns to Petersen Events Center Friday

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Hali Hillegas

Kayla Lund

Chinaza Ndee

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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