Panthers to Begin NCAA Tournament Action Friday

PITTSBURGH – The journey to PPG Paints Arena and the 2019 NCAA Volleyball Championship begins just down the road in the First Round at Petersen Events Center as sixth-seeded Pitt (29-1, 18-0 ACC) hosts Howard (20-12, 14-1 MEAC) Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The First Round match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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…

Mark Pitt's second consecutive year with 30 wins, the program's most wins in a season since the going 32-6 (7-0) in 1990, winning both the Big East Regular Season and Big East Tournament Championships.
Mark the second consecutive season with Panthers' most wins (30) under seventh-year head coach Dan Fisher.
Mark the fourth consecutive postseason with an NCAA Tournament First Round victory for the Panthers.
Mark the seventh time (fourth consecutive) in program history that the Panthers advance to the Second Round. Pitt holds a 6-14 all-time record when playing in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
Improve the Panthers' 2019 home record to 16-1, and 3-1 at Petersen Events Center.
Give Pitt a 6-0 advantage in the all-time series against Howard.
Improve the Panthers' record to 47-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 20-1 when ranked inside the top five.

ALL-TIME HIGH

For the sixth 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 25th week in program history that Pitt has landed among the top 10 programs in the NCAA, and the 12th week ever in the top five.
The Panthers are 46-2 all-time when ranked inside the top 10, and 19-1 when ranked in the top five.
Pitt moved up one spot to No. 4 in the latest NCAA Volleyball RPI.

STAYING HOME

As announced during the NCAA Selection Show Sunday night, the Panthers were selected as the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament – marking their highest seeding in program history.
For the second consecutive season (and for the second time in program history), Pitt was selected to host the first two rounds of the tournament at Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.

LUND NAMED ACC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

After leading the Panthers to their third consecutive ACC Championship title, junior outside hitter Kayla Lund was named the 2019 ACC Player of the Year, as announced Monday. She is the first in Pitt volleyball history to earn the honor.
The Pasadena, Calif., native is one of six Panthers to earn 2019 All-ACC honors, the most in a single season since Pitt joined the league in 2013.
Three from Pitt landed on the All-ACC first team, including Lund, junior right side hitter Chinaza Ndee and senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk. The first-team honors are the second for Lund, first for Ndee and second for Van Buskirk. For the second consecutive season, Van Buskirk was a unanimous first-team selection.
Three earned All-ACC second team honors, including freshman setter Lexis Akeo, redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas and redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams. Williams becomes the first Pitt volleyball student-athlete to earn All-ACC honors in each of her four seasons.
Akeo also earned a nod to the ACC All-Freshman squad, becoming the first Panther since Lund and Ndee received the accolades in 2017.

KAYLA LUND NEARS 1K

ACC Player of the Year Kayla Lund is 17 kills away from reaching 1,000 for her career, with 983.
She is set to become the fourth active Panther with 1,000 or more kills for her career, joining redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams, senior right side Nika Markovic and senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt closed the 2019 regular season by defeating Louisville to become the first team to go unbeaten in ACC play (18-0) since 2004. The Panthers topped the Cardinals by scores of 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12.
Senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk hit a season-best .800 with 12 kills on 15 attempts and zero errors. She added a team-high seven blocks.
Van Buskirk was one of three Panthers with double-figure kills, alongside junior outside Kayla Lund (15), redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams (13) and junior Chinaza Ndee (10).
Williams and Lund had double-doubles, adding 14 and 10 digs, respectively, alongside their double-digit kills.
Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas produced a season-high 26 digs. Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 47 assists with nine digs.
As a group, the Panthers had the upper hand in hitting percentage (.285-.116), kills (61-43), assists (58-43), service aces (5-1) and digs (70-57).

SCOUTING HOWARD

The Bison (20-12, 14-1) won their fifth consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Title, 12th overall, after taking down rival Morgan State in a five set classic (24-26, 37-35, 17-25, 25-23, 15-12) at Burr Gymnasium.
Friday will mark Howard's sixth NCAA appearance.
Junior outside hitter Jurnee Tipton leads the Bison with 2.70 kills per set, followed by sophomore outside Kailyn Williams (2.26) and junior outside Myca Mitchell (2.25).
Pitt is unbeaten all-time against Howard, at 5-0, with the teams' last meeting in 2012 in Pittsburgh.

UP NEXT

A win would advance the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament Second Round Saturday at 7 p.m. at Petersen Events Center, facing the winner between Cincinnati and VCU.

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Panthers to Begin NCAA Tournament Action Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Hali Hillegas

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

Panthers to Begin NCAA Tournament Action Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Hali Hillegas

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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