No. 6 Pitt Volleyball to Host Top 10 Tilt Wednesday on ESPNU

PITTSBURGH – No. 6 Pitt volleyball will host the program's first matchup between two top 10 teams Wednesday night at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers will welcome No. 10 Oregon for an 8 p.m. contest on ESPNU.

HOW TO FOLLOW

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

A FIRST AT THE FIELD HOUSE

Wednesday's matchup between No. 10 Oregon and No. 6 Pitt will be the first meeting between two top 10 teams at Fitzgerald Field House in the Panthers' program history.
No. 10 Oregon is the highest-ranked team to visit Pittsburgh since No. 8 North Carolina on Oct. 30, 2016. Pitt won that contest, 3-2.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt cleaned house at the inaugural ChampYinz Invitational with a sweep of crosstown rival Duquesne Saturday night at Fitzgerald Field House.
Prior to beating the Dukes, Pitt swept Ohio State at PPG Paints Arena (Sept. 6) before downing Green Bay in straight sets at Fitzgerald Field House (Sept. 7).
Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while senior middle Layne Van Buskirk and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas earned nods on the All-Tournament team.
Against Duquesne, Van Buskirk led Pitt with eight kills on .583 attacking to go along with five blocks. Junior middle Chinaza Ndee hit a blistering .700 with seven kills on 10 attempts and zero errors. Lund and redshirt junior outside hitter Zoi Faki each put forth seven kills, as well.

A WIN WOULD…

Extend Pitt's win streak at Fitzgerald Field House to 27 matches. The Panthers' last loss at the facility came against NC State Oct. 22, 2017 (3-1).
Be Pitt's highest-ranked win since defeating No. 8 North Carolina Oct. 30, 2016.
Improve the Panthers' record to 24-1 when ranked inside the AVCA Top 10 and 6-0 when ranked No. 6.
Move Dan Fisher into sole possession of second-most victories all-time by a Pitt volleyball head coach. Fisher is currently tied with Chris Beerman (2000-07) with 154 wins over six-plus seasons.
Improve Pitt's record against Oregon to 2-0 all-time. The lone meeting between the programs was Dec. 6, 1978, at the AIAW National Championships, where the Panthers swept the Ducks, 2-0.

SWEEP CITY

Pitt's win over Duquesne Saturday night marked the Panthers' sixth consecutive sweep to open the season, the longest such streak since earning eight to open the 1978 campaign.
The Panthers' six sweeps in a row are the most for the program in any fashion since earning eight consecutive in 1991.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

Pitt moved up four spots in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Poll for Week 2, securing No. 6, as announced Monday afternoon.
The ranking marks the 13th week in program history that Pitt has landed among the Top 10 programs in the NCAA.
Pitt was ranked in the Top 10 for 11 consecutive weeks in 2018, from Sept. 10-Nov. 19.
The Panthers are 23-1 all-time when ranked inside the Top 10, and 5-0 when ranked No. 6.

LUND REPEATS AS ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

For the second consecutive week, junior outside hitter Kayla Lund has earned ACC weekly honors, as announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
Lund was named the league's Co-Player of the Week after posting career numbers at the ChampYinz Invitational in Pittsburgh Sept. 6-7. The honors are the fifth of her career, making her the most decorated ACC weekly award winner in program history. Lund shared the honors with Duke's Ade Owokoniran.
Lund was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, marking her second consecutive MVP honors. The Pasadena, Calif., paced the Panthers with 3.22 kills and 0.44 service aces per set over three matches. She hit a team-high .451 over nine sets played, including a career-high outing against Green Bay where she recorded a blistering .818 (9k-0e-11a). Lund posted a season-high 13 kills against the Buckeyes, which are the most of any Panther in a single match so far this year.

SCOUTING OREGON

Wednesday's match in Pittsburgh will break an 11-day hiatus for No. 10 Oregon (2-0), as the Ducks prepare for a nine-day trip along the East Coast.
So far in 2019, Oregon has picked up two sweeps as part of the Oregon Classic, defeating UC Irvine (Aug. 30) and Boston College (Aug. 31). The Ducks hit .507 in their season-opening win over the Anteaters, the program's best single-match mark since 2012.
Oregon is hitting .392 so far this season and averaging 14.5 kills per frame.
Senior outside hitter Willow Johnson leads the Ducks in kills per set (4.33), and is hitting .581 on the year.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will travel to Malibu, Calif., for the Pepperdine ASICS Classic against Cal Poly, No. 16 Utah and the host Waves Friday and Saturday. Each of the three matches can be viewed on the WCC Network.

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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