No. 19 Pitt Volleyball to Open Spring Schedule at Villanova

PITTSBURGH – The No. 19 Pitt volleyball team (4-4, 4-4 ACC) will resume competition by opening its spring 2021 schedule with a visit to Villanova, Pa., to face the Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST) Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Jack Nevin Field House.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The match will be streamed live on Villanova.com.
Live stats will be available at Statbroadcast.com.
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates.

PITT IN THE POLL

Entering the spring campaign, Pitt ranks No. 19 nationally by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
The Panthers have been ranked in 45 consecutive AVCA polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.

FALL 2020 RECAP

As announced in early September, the Panthers' shortened 2020 fall schedule included an eight-match campaign comprised of ACC opponents. Over five weeks, from September to late October, Pitt played its four region opponents twice, including Syracuse, Boston College, Notre Dame and Louisville.
Pitt went 4-4 over five weeks of competition and never paused due to COVID-related protocols.
The Panthers fell twice against Syracuse to open the season but responded by sweeping the series against Boston College the following weekend. Pitt split the next two series against Notre Dame and Louisville to close the fall spread.
The Panthers ended the 2020 fall season ranked No. 9 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), among a total of 15 ranked teams.
Senior Kayla Lund led the Panthers with 4.52 kills per set during the shortened season, followed by classmate and co-captain Chinaza Ndee with 3.42 kills per set.

SPRING 2021 PREVIEW

Pitt volleyball will play 12 matches, including 10 against ACC opponents, as part of its 2021 spring schedule. All 12 matches will count in addition to the team's fall 2020 record, as the Panthers work toward qualification for the 2020 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship.
Pitt's non-conference slate includes a trip to Villanova (Feb. 14) and a home match against West Virginia (March 24).
In ACC play, Pitt will host Virginia (March 6), Georgia Tech (March 8), Florida State (March 26) and North Carolina (March 28).
The Panthers will make three road trips, first to Wake Forest, N.C., where they will face the Demon Deacons (March 12) and NC State (March 13). Next, they will visit Durham, N.C., to play Miami (March 20) and Duke (March 21). Pitt's final weekend of competition will feature a road trip to Clemson to face the Tigers (April 1) and Virginia Tech (April 2).

OMAHA!

In November the NCAA Division I Council approved a package of proposals to move 2020 fall championships to the spring of 2021. Omaha, Neb., is the site of the entire 2020 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, scheduled for April 13-24, with a 48-team bracket. Thirty-two of the teams will be automatic qualifiers, with 16 at-large selections. The normal bracket size for the championship is 64 teams. Regular-season play will span from Jan. 22-April 3, with selections April 4.
The ACC's determination of the NCAA automatic qualifiers for fall sports is yet to be finalized.

LUND AT THE TOP

As of matches played through Feb. 11, Pitt senior captain Kayla Lund leads the ACC in both kills per set (4.52) and total attacks (337).
Against Boston College in the fall (Oct. 9), Lund posted a career-best 25 kills in a four-set win over the Eagles. She is the first Panther to record 25 or more kills in a match since Nika Markovic had 26 against WKU on Sept. 8, 2017.
Lund has recorded two matches this season with 20 or more kills and has led the Panthers in kills in all but three matches in 2020-21.

WELCOME BACK, KAMALANI AKEO

Former ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo will return to the Pitt volleyball program as volunteer assistant coach under Dan Fisher, as announced Feb. 1.
A 2019 Panther Award winner and member of Pitt's prestigious Varsity Walk, Akeo returns to Oakland following two professional seasons overseas, most recently playing for OK Nova KBM Branik in Slovenia in 2020.
Akeo's collegiate career accolades at Pitt include being named the program's first ACC Setter of the Year in 2016, in addition to two selections to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Coast Region Team (2016, 2017).
Akeo's younger sister, setter Lexis Akeo, is a sophomore on the current Pitt roster. Lexis earned recognition on the All-ACC Freshman Team and All-ACC Second Team in 2019.

SCOUTING VILLANOVA

The Wildcats (1-0, 0-0) were predicted to finish second in the BIG EAST East Division after receiving 13 votes and one first place vote in the Preseason Coaches Poll. Redshirt junior middle Sophia Howling was named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Villanova went 22-9 overall and 13-5 in 2019. The Wildcats were swept in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament by Marquette.
The Wildcats opened their spring 2021 campaign with a five-set win over Coppin State Thursday night. Villanova fell behind 2-1 before claiming the final two frames to win the match. Freshman middle Maddie Barber and junior outside hitter Clare Delaplane led the Wildcats with 14 kills apiece.

UP NEXT

Pitt will open spring 2021 ACC play by hosting Virginia (March 6) and Georgia Tech (March 7) at Fitzgerald Field House.
Due to attendance restrictions at Fitzgerald Field House, there will be no public ticket sales for Pitt volleyball matches until further notice.

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No. 19 Pitt Volleyball to Open Spring Schedule at Villanova

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Lexis Akeo

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

No. 19 Pitt Volleyball to Open Spring Schedule at Villanova

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Lexis Akeo

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

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