No. 3 Seed Pitt to Face UMBC in NCAA First Round Friday

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (26-3, 15-3 ACC) will kick off postseason play Friday at 7 p.m. ET as the No. 3 national seed in the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The Panthers will face UMBC (19-11, 12-0 America East) in the First Round at Petersen Events Center.

CAA Champion Towson (26-4, 12-4 CAA) and Penn State (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) will face off in a First Round match Friday at 4 p.m. ET. The winners of Friday's matches will meet in the Second Round Saturday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. ET at Petersen Events Center.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

NCAA First Round, Match 1 – Towson vs. Penn State (Friday, 4 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch
NCAA First Round, Match 2 – UMBC vs. No. 3 Pitt (Friday, 7 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch
NCAA Second Round – Winner, Match 1 vs. Winner, Match 2 (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET)
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during all Pitt matches.

A WIN FOR PITT WOULD…

Mark the sixth consecutive year (ninth year overall) that the Panthers advance to the NCAA Second Round. Pitt holds a 10-16 all-time record when playing in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

LONGEST NCAA STREAK IN PROGRAM HISTORY

The 2021 season marks the sixth consecutive year that the Panthers have qualified for the NCAA Tournament, which is the longest streak of reaching the tournament in program history.
Pitt has advanced to at least the NCAA Second Round in each of the last five seasons.
The Panthers have competed in the NCAA Tournament 17 times: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2004, 2003, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1987, 1986, 1984, 1982

HOW THEY GOT HERE

Pitt and UMBC were named two of 64 teams that will compete in the 2020 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Thirty-two conferences were awarded an automatic qualification, while the remaining 32 positions were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.
The Panthers qualified for their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance following an at-large bid as the No. 3 national seed, announced during the 2021 Selection Show Sunday, Nov. 28. Pitt was the only team in the Top 4 to receive an at-large bid instead of an automatic qualification. No. 1 Louisville earned the AQ from the ACC while No. 2 Texas qualified from the Big 12 and No. 4 Wisconsin qualified from the Big Ten.
UMBC was awarded the America East's automatic qualification after winning the conference tournament (Nov. 20).

STEADY IN THE RANKINGS

For the last five consecutive weeks, Pitt has been ranked in the Top 3 in both major volleyball rankings. The Panthers are currently No. 2 in the RPI, which is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule.

Pitt remained at No. 3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 25 Poll, announced Monday. This week marks Pitt's 24th appearance (13th consecutive) all-time in the Top 5 in program history. The Panthers have appeared in 69 consecutive AVCA Top 25 polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.

ALL-ACC PANTHERS

Four Panthers were named to the 2021 All-ACC Volleyball First Team, the conference announced Monday.
Middle blocker Serena Gray, outside hitter Kayla Lund, outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh and right side Chinaza Ndee each earned the recognition.
Lund earned her fifth consecutive All-ACC honor in addition to her fourth appearance on the First Team. Ndee became a four-time All-ACC recipient with three First Team honors while graduate transfers Gray and Member-Meneh each earned their first nods from the ACC.

LAST TIME OUT (VS. NO. 1 LOUISVILLE, NOV. 24)

A comeback bid fell short for the No. 3 Panthers as they dropped a 3-1 decision to unbeaten No. 1 Louisville at Fitzgerald Field House Wednesday, Nov. 24, in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,052.
Pitt fell down 2-0 after the Cardinals took the first two sets by a score of 25-19. The Panthers roared back to win the third frame, 25-17, but could not hold on to their momentum and fell, 25-21, in the fourth.
With the win, the Cardinals claimed the outright 2021 ACC title and snapped an eight-match win streak for Pitt. The win also snapped a 33-match win streak in the month of November for the Panthers. Pitt's last loss when playing in November was Nov. 13, 2016, against Duke at Fitzgerald Field House (3-1).
Pitt fell to 0-5 all-time against No. 1-ranked opponents. Wednesday was the second time in program history that Pitt hosted a No. 1 team in volleyball, with the only other meeting being Sept. 6, 1994, vs. No. 1 Stanford. Pitt fell, 3-0, in that match.
Right side hitter Chinaza Ndee led Pitt with 14 kills on .379 hitting and provided a team-best five blocks. Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh had 13 kills and nine digs for a near double-double effort. Freshman Rachel Fairbanks had a career match with eight kills on 11 swings and zero errors for a blistering .727 hitting percentage. She added 12 assists for the Panthers.

RECORD WATCH

A quartet of Panthers are rising in the Pitt volleyball career record rankings, following Pitt's most recent match against No. 1 Louisville (Nov. 24).
Two-time ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund has settled into the program's Top 5 for career kills (1,635, fourth), attacks (3,912, fifth) and service aces (149, fourth). Lund also ranks in the program's Top 10 for digs (ninth, 1,252).
All-American right side Chinaza Ndee ranks second in program history with 457 block assists. She needs 53 more to take sole possession of first place in the record book. Ndee ranks third all-time with 479 total blocks for her career. She is eighth in the record book for career kills with 1,345.
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks is seventh all-time for Pitt in career block assists (341) and total blocks (382).
Junior setter Lexis Akeo has broken into the program's all-time top 10 with 2,216 career assists. She notched the 2,000th assist of her career during the Panther's win at Florida State (Oct. 17).

SCOUTING UMBC

The back-to-back America East champion UMBC volleyball team (19-11, 12-0 AE) will make its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth overall when it visits Pitt Friday night.
The Retrievers recorded their fourth undefeated conference record in NCAA Division I play at 12-0 in the America East this season. The Retrievers registered marks of 8-0 in 1994 (Big South) and 1998 (Northeast Conference) and a 9-0 record in the 2000 NEC campaign.
UMBC's 19 wins are the most since they hit the 20-win plateau in 2007. The 2013 squad also recorded 19 victories.
Loren Teter became the second Retriever in program history to be named America East Defensive Specialist of the Year, and freshman Mia Bilusic was named Rookie of the Year to lead six members of the UMBC Volleyball team who earned all-conference honors.
For the second straight season, head coach Cristina Robertson and her staff were voted Coaching Staff of the Year in the America East.
Pitt and UMBC will face off for the third time Friday when the Retrievers visit Pittsburgh. The Panthers are 2-0 in the all-time series. The teams last faced off Sept. 21, 2002, when the Panthers won, 3-1.

2021 NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2021 Division I Women's Volleyball championship provides for a field of 64 teams to compete in a single elimination tournament. Of the 64 teams, 32 teams will receive automatic qualification while the remaining 32 teams are selected on an at-large basis by the Division I Women's Volleyball Committee.
First and Second round competition will be held at 16 non-predetermined campus sites. At each campus site, four teams will compete in single-elimination first round competition. The two advancing teams then compete against each other in single-elimination second round competition at the same campus site. The winning team from each of the 16 second rounds advances to the regional round.
Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites. At each site, four teams compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition. The two advancing teams then compete against each other in single-elimination regional final. The winning team from each of the four regions will advance to the DI Women's Volleyball Championship final site in Columbus, Ohio.
The 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The National Semifinals will be held Thursday, December 16, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The National Championship will take place Saturday, December 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

UP NEXT

The winners of the two First Round matches will meet in the Second Round Saturday at 7 p.m. at Petersen Events Center. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ and tickets are available at PittsburghPanthers.com or by calling 800-643-7488.

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No. 3 Seed Pitt to Face UMBC in NCAA First Round Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Rachel Fairbanks

Serena Gray

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Sabrina Starks

No. 3 Seed Pitt to Face UMBC in NCAA First Round Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Rachel Fairbanks

Serena Gray

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Sabrina Starks

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