No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Welcomes Syracuse, Boston College

PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (20-2, 10-2 ACC) will celebrate multiple members of the Panther family this weekend while hosting Daniel Strong Night and Senior Day, Friday and Sunday, respectively, at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers will host Syracuse (15-9, 4-8 ACC) Friday at 7 p.m. ET before welcoming Boston College (13-13, 3-9 ACC) to Pittsburgh Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Match 23 – Syracuse at No. 3 Pitt (Friday, 7 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch (ACCNX)
Match 24 – Boston College at No. 3 Pitt (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch (ACCNX)
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during all matches.

PROMOTIONS

Friday vs. Syracuse: Daniel Strong Night – Daniel George (son of Pitt strength and conditioning coach Mary Beth George) will serve as honorary captain; Post-match pint glass giveaway
Sunday vs. Boston College: Senior Day – Post-match recognition for seniors Kylee Levers, Kayla Lund, Leketor Member-Meneh and Chinaza Ndee
Weekend Ticket Package: Buy tickets to Friday and Sunday matches in the same weekend and receive a discounted price! **Only available until 11:59pm the Thursday prior for each package.
Family 4-Pack: Sunday afternoon matches – get four tickets for $12 (up to $20 in savings) **Only available until 11:59 PM the night prior to the match.

Friday is #DanielStrong Night! ??

Come to our match against Syracuse and learn how to support our friend Daniel George!

? Friday, 11/5 ,7 p.m. ET
?? Fitzgerald Field House
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Donate: https://t.co/9q8Tdb5xJz #H2P pic.twitter.com/Zr8TzcDj0f
— Pitt Volleyball ???????????? (@Pitt_VB) November 3, 2021

PANTHERS STILL ATOP NCAA VOLLEYBALL RATING PERCENTAGE INDEX (RPI)

For the third consecutive week, the Panthers remained at No. 1 in the latest NCAA Volleyball rating percentage index (RPI), as announced Monday.
The rating percentage index, commonly known as the RPI, is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule.

PITT MOVES UP IN THE POLL

Pitt moved up one spot to No. 3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll, announced Monday. This week marks Pitt's 20th appearance (ninth consecutive) all-time in the Top 5 in program history. The Panthers have appeared in 65 consecutive AVCA Top 25 polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.

SUPER SENIOR CLASS

Immediately following Sunday's match against Boston College, Pitt will recognize seniors Kylee Levers, Kayla Lund, Leketor Member-Meneh and Chinaza Ndee.
As a group, these Panthers have competed in a combined five NCAA Tournaments, including 2016, which was Pitt's first overall appearance in 12 years and its first second-round appearance in 13 years. They have totaled 150 wins, including 21 against Top 25 opponents and seven against the Top 10. They were part of three Pitt teams that earned the Panther's first ACC Volleyball Championships in school history, in addition to the longest NCAA run in program history, reaching the Elite Eight in 2020.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Kylee Levers: Sixth-year setter from Washington, Pa. … 1,600+ Career Assists … 5x Member of ACC Academic Honor Roll … Pitt Student-Athlete Advisory Committee … Pitt Script For Life Intern - Human Resources … 2019 Pitt Graduate (Psychology) … 5x NCAA Tournament Participant … 3x ACC Champion
Kayla Lund: Fifth-year outside hitter from Pasadena, Calif. … Program Top 10 – Career Kills, Attacks, Service Aces, Digs … Varsity Walk – Panther Award … 2x AVCA All-America Second Team … 2x ACC Player of the Year … 2x AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year … VolleyballMag.com All-America First Team … 3x All-ACC First Team … AVCA All-America Honorable Mention … 3x All-ACC Academic Team … AVCA East Coast Region Freshman of the Year
Leketor Member-Meneh: Fifth-year outside hitter from St. Louis, Mo. … Graduate transfer from Missouri … Joined the Panthers prior to the 2021 season … 1,000+ Kill Club … 1,000+ Point Club … All-SEC Volleyball Team … SEC Offensive Player of the Week … Mizzou Invitational All-Tournament Team MVP … SEC All-Freshman Team … First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll
Chinaza Ndee: Fifth-year right side hitter from Houston, Texas … Program Top 10 – Career Kills, Block Assists, Total Blocks … Varsity Walk – Blue-Gold Award … ACC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year … AVCA All-America Second Team … Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team … VolleyballMag.com All-America Second Team … 2x All-ACC First Team … AVCA All-America Honorable Mention … 3x All-ACC Academic Team

NO-LOSS NOVEMBER

The Panthers have won 27 consecutive matches when playing during the month of November, marking a streak dating back to a 3-0 loss at Fitzgerald Field House against Duke on Nov. 13, 2016.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt picked up back-to-back sweeps at Fitzgerald Field House against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, respectively.
First, the Panthers took care of business at home with a sweep of Wake Forest Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers earned the victory by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 25-17. Pitt had the advantage in hitting percentage (.202-.099), assists (33-31), service aces (6-1) and digs (29-26). Wake Forest edged Pitt in blocks (12.0-11.5). Each team recorded 34 kills. Outside hitter Kayla Lund led Pitt with 11 kills on .304 hitting and added eight digs. Middle blocker Serena Gray and right side Chinaza Ndee produced five kills apiece. Gray had a match-high seven blocks while Ndee contributed five.
Next, head coach Dan Fisher reached the 20-win mark for the seventh time in his nine seasons at the helm as the Panthers swept Virginia Tech at Fitzgerald Field House Sunday afternoon. Pitt held the Hokies under 20 points in each set, earning its second consecutive sweep and its 11th of the season, by scores of 25-15, 25-19, 26-17. The Panthers had the advantage in kills (47-24), assists (41-20), service aces (7-3), digs (32-12) and hitting percentage (.325-.169). The Hokies had more blocks (13.0-6.0). Right side hitter Chinaza Ndee led Pitt with 11 kills on .238 hitting while outside hitter Kayla Lund had 10 on .375. Lund added a match-high nine digs and two service aces.

RECORD WATCH

A quartet of Panthers are rising in the Pitt volleyball career record rankings, following Pitt's most recent match against Virginia Tech (Oct. 31).
Two-time ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund has settled into the program's Top 5 for career kills (1,602, fourth), attacks (3,817, fifth) and service aces (148, fourth). Lund also ranks in the program's Top 10 for digs (ninth, 1,233).
All-American right side Chinaza Ndee ranks second in program history with 440 block assists. She needs 70 more to take sole possession of first place in the record book. Ndee ranks fourth all-time with 459 total blocks for her career.
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks is seventh all-time for Pitt in career block assists (324) and total blocks (363).
Junior setter Lexis Akeo has broken into the program's all-time top 10 with 2,090 career assists. She notched the 2,000th assist of her career during the Panther's win at Florida State (Oct. 17).

A LOOK AROUND THE ACC

The ACC has three teams in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, including No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Pitt and No. 14 Georgia Tech.
Miami and Florida State are just outside the Top 25, both receiving votes in the poll.
Pitt holds a 227-93 (.709) record against the current ACC membership.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE

Syracuse (15-9, 4-8 ACC) is looking to get back into the win column following road losses at Miami and Florida State last week.
Junior middle blocker Marina Markova leads the ACC with 439 total points and 381 total kills. As a team, the Orange lead the ACC with 220 total blocks.
Friday will mark Pitt's 54th all-time meeting against Syracuse, which ties Penn State for the most total contests against an opponent in program history.
Pitt is 40-13 all-time against the Orange. The Panthers' 40 wins are second-most all-time against a single opponent in program history, behind 43 against Duquesne.
The Orange have won the last two contests in the series, both in Syracuse, to start the 2020 season last fall. 'Cuse's 3-0 win against the Panthers on Sept. 26, 2020, marks the last time Pitt waws swept by an opponent. The Panthers' last win in the series was Oct. 11, 2019, on the road. Pitt has won the last two meetings when playing in Pittsburgh, in 2017 and 2018.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE

The Eagles (13-13, 3-9 ACC) have suffered sweeps in their last three outings, at the hands of Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami.
Boston College leads the ACC in total assists (1,106), total digs (1,315) and total attacks (3,216). Claire Naughton leads the league with 928 total attacks and Anna Murphy has a league-best 367 total digs.
Pitt's 16 consecutive wins against Boston College marks the Panthers' longest active win streak against a single opponent. Pitt's last (and only) loss to the Eagles was Oct. 1, 2000. The Panthers hold a 34-1 advantage in the all-time series and are unbeaten at home, at 17-0.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will travel to Washington, D.C., for a midweek non-conference tilt at American Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 3 p.m. ET, before heading north to Syracuse, N.Y., for another matchup with the Orange Friday, Nov. 12, at 7 p.m. ET.

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