Friday, August 27
Columbia, S.C.
5 PM ET
Pitt
vs
Rice
No. 9 Panthers to Open 2021 Season at Carolina Classic
8/26/2021 12:57:00 PM | Volleyball
Pitt Volleyball to Face Two Ranked Opponents in First Weekend
PITTSBURGH – The No. 9 Pitt volleyball team (0-0, 0-0 ACC) will open the 2021 season with three matches against formidable competition, including two ranked opponents, Friday and Saturday at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C.
The Panthers are set to take on No. 23 Rice (0-0, 0-0 C-USA), No. 18 Washington State (0-0, 0-0 PAC-12) and host South Carolina (0-0, 0-0 SEC) at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
CAROLINA CLASSIC SCHEDULE
4X ACC FAVORITES
PRESEASON ACC-OLADES
PITT IN THE AVCA POLL
GUESS WHO'S BACK
NEW PANTHERS
SCOUTING NO. 23 RICE
SCOUTING NO. 18 WASHINGTON STATE
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
UP NEXT
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The Panthers are set to take on No. 23 Rice (0-0, 0-0 C-USA), No. 18 Washington State (0-0, 0-0 PAC-12) and host South Carolina (0-0, 0-0 SEC) at the Carolina Volleyball Center.
CAROLINA CLASSIC SCHEDULE
- Match 1 – No. 23 Rice vs. No. 9 Pitt (Friday, 5 p.m. ET): Live Stats
- Match 2 – No. 18 Washington State vs. No. 9 Pitt (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET): Live Stats
- Match 3 – No. 9 Pitt at South Carolina (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET): Watch (SECN+) | Live Stats
- Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during all matches.
4X ACC FAVORITES
- For the fourth consecutive season, Pitt earned the top spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league August 20.
- The Panthers earned 13 of a possible 15 first-place votes, topping the poll with 195 points. Defending ACC champion Louisville was second with 182 points and two first-place votes. Head coaches may not vote for their own teams.
PRESEASON ACC-OLADES
- For the fourth straight year, Pitt had at least three student-athletes named to the 18-member Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team.
- The conference's only two-time Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund received her third consecutive nod. Chinaza Ndee, a 2020 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Second Team honoree, earned her second straight appearance.
- Newcomer Serena Gray, a two-time All-American middle blocker transfer from Penn State, was selected to the list.
PITT IN THE AVCA POLL
- The Panthers recently their highest preseason national ranking in program history, coming in at No. 9 in the 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll, as announced August 16.
- The Panthers have appeared in 55 consecutive AVCA Top 25 polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.
GUESS WHO'S BACK
- Pitt returns 98.1 percent of its kill output as well as all seven starters from 2020-21, including AVCA All-America Second Team selections Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee. Lund, an outside hitter, made history as the ACC's first two-time Volleyball Player of the Year, in addition to repeating as AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year. Ndee was one of 10 finalists for the national Senior CLASS Award in addition to being named the ACC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Lund and Ndee combined for 50.5 percent of Pitt's kills in 2020.
- AVCA All-America Honorable Mention Chiamaka Nwokolo is back for her junior season in the middle for Pitt, alongside fellow star blocker and senior Sabrina Starks, who landed on the All-ACC Second Team and ranked seventh in the nation with 116 total blocks last season.
NEW PANTHERS
- Pitt stacked its deck this spring with transfers Serena Gray (middle blocker, Penn State) and Leketor Member-Meneh (outside hitter, Missouri).
- Gray arrived in Pittsburgh following three years as a standout middle blocker, starting all three of her seasons as a Nittany Lion and receiving All-America accolades in 2018 and 2019. The 6-foot-2 native of Temple City, Calif., has two seasons of immediate eligibility as a Panther.
- Member-Meneh played three seasons as an outside hitter at Missouri (2017-19) with one year of eligibility remaining. During her time as a Tiger, the St. Louis, Mo., native garnered All-SEC honors (2018) in addition to an SEC All-Freshman selection (2017).
- Incoming talent includes freshmen Rachel Fairbanks (setter – Tustin, Calif.), Makayla Jackson (middle blocker – Plum, Pa.), Emmy Klika (libero/defensive specialist – Novelty, Ohio) and Eliana Posada (right side – Houston, Texas).
- Head coach Dan Fisher added Morgan Thomas to his staff as a volunteer assistant, as announced Monday. An experienced volleyball coach at the Power Five level, Thomas arrives in Pittsburgh following five seasons at Texas Tech, including three as associate head coach. She served as an assistant coach for two seasons (2016, 2017) before being elevated to associate head coach in 2018. She was the team's primary recruiting coordinator for all five seasons.
SCOUTING NO. 23 RICE
- The No. 23 ranked Rice Owls volleyball team was picked to defend their Conference USA West Division crown in the fall preseason poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches, the C-USA office announced Tuesday.
- Rice enters the season on the heels of their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 23 final ranking in the AVCA Top-25 Poll. The Owls return 14 letterwinners, including six starters.
- Senior outside hitter Nicole Lennon, the reigning C-USA Player of the Year, was named this season's Preseason Player of the Year for the second time in her Rice career, as well as the Preseason Team for a fourth straight year.
- The only two meetings in program history between the teams were won by the Panthers, including the last time they met: a 3-1 win for Pitt on Nov. 25, 1995.
SCOUTING NO. 18 WASHINGTON STATE
- The No. 18 Washington State volleyball team was selected to finish fifth in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches poll as announced by the conference office August 18.
- The Cougars finished fourth in the league during the 2020-21 spring season with a record of 11-5 (11-4 PAC-12). WSU's rankings are both milestones for the Cougars as being ranked No. 18 in the nation by the AVCA to enter a year is an all-time program high, and the Pac-12 preseason ranking of fifth overall is a program best as well.
- WSU saw three individuals named to the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team, including Hannah Pukis, Magda Jehlárová, and Pia Timmer. All three are coming off great 2020-21 seasons where Pukis was named an AVCA All-American, and both Jehlárová and Timmer earned AVCA Pacific North All-Region selections as well.
- Washington State and Pitt have faced off just once in the program's histories, when the Cougars defeated the Panthers, 3-1, Oct. 23, 1993.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
- The Gamecocks went 12-10 in a conference-only schedule during the 2020-21 season and collected upsets of No. 4 Florida and No. 25 Missouri along the way. The team was rewarded with a spot in the AVCA coaches top-15 poll in the fall, the program's first national ranking since 2002.
- The Panthers are 4-1 all-time against the Gamecocks, with their last meeting coming in 2019 during the Panther Challenge home tournament at Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt swept South Carolina, 3-0, while Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee combined for 17 kills.
UP NEXT
- No rest for the weary as No. 9 Pitt will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for matches against No. 10 Baylor and host (RV) Tennessee Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 4-5, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
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