Final Four Trip on The Line for No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Saturday

PITTSBURGH – For the second consecutive year, the No. 3 seed University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (29-3, 15-3 ACC) will compete for a spot in the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The Panthers will face No. 6 seed Purdue (26-6, 15-5 Big Ten) in the Regional Final Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on ESPNU at Fitzgerald Field House.

HOW TO FOLLOW

NCAA Regional Final – No. 6 Purdue vs. No. 3 Pitt (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, Fitzgerald Field House)
Live Stats | Watch (Stream) | TV: ESPNU
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during all Pitt matches.

A WIN FOR PITT WOULD…

Advance the Panthers to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history. Pitt holds a 13-16 all-time record when playing in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
Be Pitt's first win against Purdue in program history. The Panthers enter Saturday's match at 0-11 all-time against the Boilermakers. Pitt's 11 consecutive losses to Purdue mark the Panthers' second-longest active loss streak against a single opponent in program history, behind Nebraska (13 consecutive losses).

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.
The Panthers have advanced to at least the NCAA Regional Final in each of the last two seasons (2020, 2021). Eight months separate Pitt's two Regional Final appearances (April 2021 - December 2021).
Pitt has advanced to at least the NCAA Second Round in each of the last six 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

No. 3 seed Pitt and No. 6 seed Purdue were named two of 64 teams that qualified to compete in the 2021 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. Pitt defeated UMBC (3-0, Dec. 3) and Penn State (3-1, Dec. 4) at Petersen Events Center and Kansas (3-0, Dec. 9) at Fitzgerald Field House to advance to the Regional Final.
Purdue earned the No. 6 national seed in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid from the Big Ten. The six seed is the Boilermakers' highest since 2011. They hosted the First and Second Rounds at Holloway Gymnasium, Dec. 2 and 3, taking down Illinois State (3-0) and Dayton (3-2), respectively. On Thursday at Fitzgerald Field House, Purdue came back from trailing 10-14 in the fifth set to win a thriller over No. 11 seed BYU to advance to the Regional Final.

TWO PROGRAM RECORDS FOR LUND

So far in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, outside hitter Kayla Lund has written her name at the top of two program record lists for performances by Panthers in the NCAA Tournament.
With 21 kills against Penn State (Dec. 4) outside hitter Lund not only tied her 2021 season-best mark but bettered her own program record for kills in a single NCAA Tournament match during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). The program's previous best performance was Lund's 20 kills against Cincinnati in the Second Round on Dec. 7, 2019.
In the following match, the Regional Semifinal against Kansas (Dec. 9), Lund produced four service aces, which ties for the most by a Panther in a single NCAA Tournament match during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). Kamalani Akeo (2015-18) had four aces against VCU in the 2017 First Round on Dec. 1, 2017.

LAST TIME OUT

For the second consecutive year, Pitt advanced to the NCAA Regional Final with a sweep of unseeded Kansas Thursday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt clipped the Jayhawks by scores of 25-19, 25-21, 25-18. The Panthers had advantages in kills (45-36), assists (42-27), service aces (9-2), digs (27-21) and hitting percentage (.356-.277). Kansas had more blocks (9.0-5.0).
Right side hitter Chinaza Ndee had a productive stat line with a season-best hitting percentage of .632, notching 14 kills on 19 swings with just two errors. She added a team-best four blocks. Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh was the only other Panther with double figures in the kill column, recording 11 on .280 hitting. She picked up a team-high eight digs.

RECORD WATCH

A quartet of Panthers are rising in the Pitt volleyball career record rankings, following Pitt's most recent match against Kansas (Dec. 9).
With four service aces against the Jayhawks (Dec. 9), two-time ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund moved into sole possession of second place in the Pitt record book with 155 for her career. She has also settled into the program's Top 10 for career kills (1,662, fourth), attacks (3,967, fifth) and digs (eighth, 1,269).
All-American right side Chinaza Ndee ranks second in program history with 466 block assists. She needs 44 more to take sole possession of first place in the record book. Ndee ranks third all-time with 488 total blocks for her career. She is eighth in the record book for career kills with 1,379.
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks is seventh all-time for Pitt in career block assists (342) and total blocks (383).
Junior setter Lexis Akeo has broken into the program's all-time with 2,279 career assists, ranking ninth. She notched the 2,000th assist of her career during the Panther's win at Florida State (Oct. 17).

SCOUTING PURDUE

The No. 6 seed Boilermakers have played to five sets in two of their three NCAA Tournament matches so far, coming from behind to defeat Dayton (Dec. 3) and No. 11 seed BYU (Dec. 9), respectively.
The Boilermakers tied a program record with five All-Region awards by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). For the second consecutive year, Hayley Bush, Grace Cleveland, Caitlyn Newton and Jena Otec collectively earned first team honors. Head coach Dave Shondell was named Northeast Region Coach of the Year for the first time.
The Panthers and Boilermakers last met during Pitt head coach Dan Fisher's first season, on Sept. 14, 2013. Pitt fell in five sets to the 22nd-ranked Boilermakers at the UCF Invitational in Orlando, Fla. Saturday will be the teams' first postseason meeting.

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 winner of Saturday's match will advance to the National Semifinals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, held Thursday, December 16, playing at either 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Final Four Trip on The Line for No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Sabrina Starks

Final Four Trip on The Line for No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lexis Akeo

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Sabrina Starks

Related Videos