No. 4 Pitt Volleyball to Begin ACC Play in North Carolina

PITTSBURGH – The No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (10-0, 0-0 ACC) will begin Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play with a trip to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels (11-0, 0-0 ACC) before taking on NC State (6-5, 0-0 ACC) on the road.

Two of the NCAA's nine remaining unbeaten teams will face off when the Panthers play North Carolina at Carmichael Arena Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Pitt will then travel to Raleigh to play NC State at Reynolds Arena Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Match 11 – No. 4 Pitt at North Carolina (Friday, 6 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch (ACCNX)
Match 12 – No. 4 Pitt at NC State (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET): Live Stats | Watch (ACCNX)
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during all matches.

A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD…

A win on Friday would improve the Panthers' record to 11-0, matching their best start to a season since going 11-0 to start 2019. In 2018, the Panthers won their first 23 matches of the year, marking the best start to a season in program history.
A win on Friday would be the Panthers' eighth ACC-opening win out of nine in program history. Last season was Pitt's first ACC-opening loss: a five-set heartbreaker at Syracuse on Sept. 25, 2020.
A win against North Carolina (11-0) Friday would be Pitt's fifth victory against an unbeaten team this season.

LAST TIME OUT

The Panthers earned two sweeps away from Pittsburgh at the Comfort Inn-vitational hosted by Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., Friday and Saturday.
First, Pitt made light work of Marshall Friday afternoon, cruising to the victory by scores of 25-10, 25-13, 25-20. Five Panthers recorded five or more kills, including right side Chinaza Ndee (11), outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh (10), middle blocker Serena Gray (nine), middle blocker Sabrina Starks (six) and utility player Chiamaka Nwokolo (five). Starks hit for .714 on the day, with just one error on seven attempts.
To complete the weekend, Pitt rolled to a sweep of Morehead State Saturday afternoon, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-12, 25-16. It was the Panthers' third consecutive sweep. Member-Meneh had a season-best and match-high 14 kills on a blistering .542 hitting and added 10 digs for her second double-double of the year.

PITT IN THE AVCA POLL

For the third consecutive week, the Panthers remained at No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason Poll, as announced Monday. This week marks Pitt's 14th appearance in the Top 5 in program history.
The Panthers have appeared in 59 consecutive AVCA Top 25 polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.

A LOOK AROUND THE ACC

Three of the NCAA's nine remaining unbeaten teams are from the ACC, including No. 4 Pitt (10-0), No. 5 Louisville (10-0) and North Carolina (11-0). The Big Ten also has three remaining unbeaten teams, including No. 2 Wisconsin (8-0), No. 3 Ohio State (10-0) and Maryland (12-0).
The ACC has three teams in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, including No. 4 Pitt, No. 5 Louisville and No. 18 Georgia Tech.
Pitt holds a 215-88 (.710) record against the current ACC membership. The Panthers' last loss to an ACC school was against No. 6 Louisville on Oct. 25, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Pitt has won 10 consecutive contests against ACC opponents since that match.

MILESTONE WATCH

A handful of Panthers are nearing milestones while rising in the Pitt volleyball career record rankings.
Two-time ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund ranks in the program's Top 10 for career kills (sixth, 1,355), digs (ninth, 1,124), service aces (sixth, 133) and attacks (seventh, 3,470).
All-American right side Chinaza Ndee is third in program history with 406 block assists and ranks sixth all-time with 424 total blocks for her career.
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks is eighth all-time for Pitt with 286 career block assists.
Transfer outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh is nearing the 1,000-kill mark for her career, with 980 as of Saturday's win against Morehead State. She spent the first four years of her career at Missouri (2017-20).

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels (11-0) are just outside the AVCA Top 25 after receiving 39 votes in the latest Coaches' Poll, as announced Monday.
North Carolina's last three wins were home sweeps against Elon (Sept. 14), Charlotte (Sept. 17) and Davidson (Sept. 18), respectively.
Northwestern transfer outside hitter Nia Robinson leads the Tar Heels with 3.72 kills per set.
Friday will be the 20th meeting between Pitt and North Carolina, with the Panthers leading the all-time series 13-6. The Panthers have won the last five meetings. Pitt's last loss to the Tar Heels was Nov. 13, 2015: a sweep in Chapel Hill.

SCOUTING NC STATE

NC State (6-5) leads the ACC in assists per set (13.28), kills per set (14.49) and total team attacks per set (36.49).
Last time out, the Wolfpack split a pair of matches at the ACC-SEC Challenge, defeating Georgia, 3-1 (Sept. 16) before being swept by Arkansas (Sept. 17).
Outside hitter Jade Parchment, opposite Melissa Evans and outside hitter Taylor Rowland each average more than three kills per set to lead NC State.
Sunday will be the 15th meeting between Pitt and NC State, with the Panthers leading the all-time series 12-2. Pitt has won the last four meetings, with their last loss coming Oct. 22, 2017, in Pittsburgh (3-1). The Panthers' only other loss in the series as Nov. 25, 2013, on the road (3-2).

UP NEXT

Pitt's first home ACC matches of the year will be against Virginia (Sept. 29) and Duke (Oct. 1) at Fitzgerald Field House. The midweek match against the Cavaliers will be a linear broadcast on ACC Network, while the match against the Blue Devils will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Tickets for both matches are available at PittsburghPanthers.com.

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No. 4 Pitt Volleyball to Begin ACC Play in North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Serena Gray

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Chiamaka Nwokolo

Sabrina Starks

No. 4 Pitt Volleyball to Begin ACC Play in North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Serena Gray

Kayla Lund

Leketor Member-Meneh

Chinaza Ndee

Chiamaka Nwokolo

Sabrina Starks

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