COLUMBUS BOUND: No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Advances to First NCAA National Semifinal in Program History

Saturday, December 11

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30-3,15-3ACC

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COLUMBUS BOUND: No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Advances to First NCAA National Semifinal in Program History

12/11/2021 8:39:00 PM | Volleyball

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Volleyball Becomes First Women’s Program in Pitt Athletics History to Reach NCAA National Semifinal

PITTSBURGH – For the first time in program history, the No. 3 seed Pitt volleyball team (30-3, 15-3 ACC) advanced to the National Semifinals of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball championship following a 3-1 win over No. 6 seed Purdue (26-7, 15-5 Big Ten) Saturday night in the Regional Final at Fitzgerald Field House.

The volleyball team is the third program in Pitt Athletics history to advance to an NCAA National Semifinal, following men's basketball in 1941 and men's soccer in 2020, making it the first women's team in department history to reach the milestone.
The Panthers are one of two teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) that advanced to the National Semifinals in Columbus, Ohio. The No. 1 seed Louisville Cardinals (32-0, 18-0 ACC) knocked out No. 8 seed Georgia Tech (26-6, 14-4 ACC), 3-1, in the Regional Finals Saturday evening to advance.

Pitt will face the winner between No. 2 seed Texas (27-1, 15-1 Big 12) and No. 10 seed Nebraska (24-7, 15-4 Big Ten) Thursday, Dec. 16, in the National Semifinals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, with a time to be determined.

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THE PITT PANTHERS ARE HEADED TO THEIR FIRST @NCAAVolleyball NATIONAL SEMIFINAL IN PROGRAM HISTORY.

WE'LL SEE YINZ IN COLUMBUS.#H2P | #NCAAVB pic.twitter.com/OhFxtv4RqX
— Pitt Volleyball ???????????? (@Pitt_VB) December 11, 2021

NCAA ALL-REGIONAL TEAM – PITTSBURGH (AS VOTED ON BY MEDIA)
Most Valuable Player: Leketor Member-Meneh, Pitt
Serena Gray, Pitt
Rachel Fairbanks, Pitt
Caitlyn Newton, Purdue
Hayley Bush, Purdue
Kenzie Koerber, BYU
Caroline Bien, Kansas
Chinaza Ndee, Pitt

Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh powered the Pitt offense with 21 kills on .383 hitting, tying the Pitt record for kills by a Panther in a single NCAA Tournament match during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). She picked up nine digs for Pitt.

Middle blocker Serena Gray had 14 kills and zero errors on 24 swings for a hitting percentage of .583. It is third-best hitting clip (with a minimum of 12 kills) by a Panther in an NCAA Tournament match during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present). She had six blocks, including three solos.

Freshman setter Rachel Fairbanks was two digs away from a triple-double, providing a spark with career highs of 10 kills and 28 assists to go along with eight digs.

Libero Ashley Browske picked up a team-best 19 digs, followed by Kayla Lund with 11. Setter Lexis Akeo was two digs away from a double-double, with 23 assists and eight digs.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers advanced to the National Semifinals for the first time in program history. The volleyball team is the first women's program in Pitt Athletics history and the third program overall to reach the Final Four, after men's basketball in 1941 and men's soccer in 2020.
Pitt earned its first win against Purdue in program history. The Panthers entered Saturday's match at 0-11 all-time against the Boilermakers.
The Panthers moved to the 30-win mark for the third time in four seasons, improving to 30-3 overall. Pitt went 30-2 in both 2018 and 2019. The Panthers went 19-5 in 2020 during a shortened regular season due to COVID-19.

SET ONE: No. 3 Pitt 25, No. 6 Purdue 20

Member-Meneh led the Panthers with six kills in the first frame as Pitt hit .571 as a team. An 8-2 run swung the momentum in the Panthers' direction, taking a 20-16 lead. They did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the set and took a 1-0 lead over the Boilermakers.

SET TWO: No. 6 Purdue 30, No. 3 Pitt 28

It took five set points for Purdue to tie up the match, 1-1. Pitt had two chances at match point but was unable to finish the frame. There were 18 ties and nine lead changes in the frame. The Panthers hit just .122 in the set while the Boilermakers hit .143.

SET THREE: No. 3 Pitt 25, No. 6 Purdue 20

A hot start for Pitt gave the Panthers a wire-to-wire victory in the third set. A 6-0 run gave Pitt a 22-15 advantage and it kept the pressure on Purdue with its offensive options to take a 2-1 lead in the match, just one set away from its first National Semifinal appearance. The Panthers hit .310 for the frame while holding the Boilermakers to .132 success.

SET FOUR: No. 3 Pitt 25, No. 6 Purdue 15

Pitt put the exclamation point on the match thanks to a couple long runs that propelled the Panthers to a double-figure victory. Pitt used a 9-1 run to reach a 19-11 lead and finished the match outscoring the Boilermakers 6-1 to claim its spot in the 2021 National Semifinals. Member-Meneh had five kills on .455 hitting in the final frame.

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
No. 3 seed Pitt will face the winner between No. 2 seed Texas (27-1, 15-1 Big 12) and No. 10 seed Nebraska (24-7, 15-4 Big Ten) Thursday, Dec. 16, in the National Semifinals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, playing at either 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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