Five Panthers Earn All-ACC Honors
11/28/2022 4:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Courtney Buzzerio, Serena Gray and Valeria Vazquez Gomez named 1st Team All-ACC
PITTSBURGH – Five members of the Pitt Volleyball team (27-3, 17-1 ACC) have been awarded all-conference status; the ACC league offices announced today. Courtney Buzzerio, Serena Gray and Valeria Vazquez Gomez have all been awarded 1st Team All-ACC with Rachel Fairbanks and Chiamaka Nwokolo earning 2nd Team All-ACC.
The five selections is the second most in program history as Pitt has been awarded multiple 1st team representatives for the eighth year in a row.
This is the second All-ACC award for Gray after being named to the 1st Team last season. It is the first all-ACC recognition for the other four Panthers with Buzzerio having been named All-Big Ten last year at Iowa.
Buzzerio 2022 Highlights
Buzzerio leads all Power 5 pin-hitters in hitting % with at least 775 attempts, making a team-high 379 kills on .329 hitting. She was a three-time winner of ACC Player of the Week and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Texas A&M invitational and Tournament MVP at the BYU Nike Invitational, making 35 kills on .379 hitting in that weekend. She made 10+ kills while hitting at least .300 in nine straight matches - the longest streak in Division I so far this season. She has the fewest errors (102) of any Power 5 pin hitter with at least 225 kills.
Gray 2022 Highlights
One of four players in Division I to have hit over .400 in each of the last two seasons - hitting .406 this year, the 15th best in the nation. Her 51 hitting errors are the 10th fewest in the nation by a hitter with over .400 hitting. Named ACC Player of the Week after making 24 kills on .600 hitting while also averaging 1.00 block/set in a dominant display to begin the conference season against North Carolina and NC State. The only player in the ACC to achieve a hitting percentage over .400 in conference play while also making over 130 kills.
Vazquez Gomez 2022 Highlights
One of the most impactful six rotation players in the country, Vazquez Gomez stepped into the starting lineup for Pitt this season, finishing with the second most kills, the second highest hitting percentage by a pin and the third most aces and digs. Averaged just under 3 kills/set on .311 hitting in her final 10 matches of the season, making 1.91 digs/set and .34 aces/set in that span. Made a career-high 24 digs in Pitt's 4 set win over NC State. It was the most by a Pitt non-defensive specialist since 2017. Named to the All-Tournament Team at the BYU Nike Invitational and won ACC Player of the week after posting 3.14 kills/set on a remarkable .462 hitting while also making 3.29 digs/set as a 6-rotation asset in wins at Clemson and No. 10 Georgia Tech. Ended the season by winning ACC Player of the week again after dominating both No. 13 Georgia Tech and Boston College.
Fairbanks 2022 Highlights
Became the first Pitt player in the modern scoring era to record over 100 kills, 700 assists, 200 digs and 30 aces in a single season. Recorded the first triple-double by a Pitt Panther in the modern scoring era, making 13 kills,15 assists and 12 digs at Texas A&M. Led the team with 35 aces this season, while making only 31 errors.
Nwokolo 2022 Highlights
Led the team with 1.13 blocks/set this season, while also hitting .336, marking her first-career 100 kill and 100 block season. Finished the regular season with 16-straight matches with two or fewer attacking errors. Made a season-best eight blocks in Pitt's five-set victory over Louisville, while setting a season-high in kills against NC State, making 14 on .522 hitting. Hit over .300 in 17 of 29 matches played this year, making at least 1 block/set in 20 of 29 appearances.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will hope to keep the positive momentum going into the NCAA Tournament this weekend. The NCAA Selection committee announced Pitt as a No. 2 seed in the tournament last night. As a Top 16 team in the field, Pitt will host No. 7 seed BYU, Colgate and James Madison in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 2 and 3.
No. 2 Pitt will play Patriot League Champions, Colgate, in the second match of the day on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. No. 7 BYU will take on Sun Belt Champions, James Madison, in the match before, starting at 4 p.m. with the winners playing in a second-round match at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3.
To purchase tickets for the opening rounds, visit PittsburghPanthers.com or call the Panthers' Ticket Office at 800-643-7488.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The five selections is the second most in program history as Pitt has been awarded multiple 1st team representatives for the eighth year in a row.
This is the second All-ACC award for Gray after being named to the 1st Team last season. It is the first all-ACC recognition for the other four Panthers with Buzzerio having been named All-Big Ten last year at Iowa.
Buzzerio 2022 Highlights
Buzzerio leads all Power 5 pin-hitters in hitting % with at least 775 attempts, making a team-high 379 kills on .329 hitting. She was a three-time winner of ACC Player of the Week and was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Texas A&M invitational and Tournament MVP at the BYU Nike Invitational, making 35 kills on .379 hitting in that weekend. She made 10+ kills while hitting at least .300 in nine straight matches - the longest streak in Division I so far this season. She has the fewest errors (102) of any Power 5 pin hitter with at least 225 kills.
Gray 2022 Highlights
One of four players in Division I to have hit over .400 in each of the last two seasons - hitting .406 this year, the 15th best in the nation. Her 51 hitting errors are the 10th fewest in the nation by a hitter with over .400 hitting. Named ACC Player of the Week after making 24 kills on .600 hitting while also averaging 1.00 block/set in a dominant display to begin the conference season against North Carolina and NC State. The only player in the ACC to achieve a hitting percentage over .400 in conference play while also making over 130 kills.
Vazquez Gomez 2022 Highlights
One of the most impactful six rotation players in the country, Vazquez Gomez stepped into the starting lineup for Pitt this season, finishing with the second most kills, the second highest hitting percentage by a pin and the third most aces and digs. Averaged just under 3 kills/set on .311 hitting in her final 10 matches of the season, making 1.91 digs/set and .34 aces/set in that span. Made a career-high 24 digs in Pitt's 4 set win over NC State. It was the most by a Pitt non-defensive specialist since 2017. Named to the All-Tournament Team at the BYU Nike Invitational and won ACC Player of the week after posting 3.14 kills/set on a remarkable .462 hitting while also making 3.29 digs/set as a 6-rotation asset in wins at Clemson and No. 10 Georgia Tech. Ended the season by winning ACC Player of the week again after dominating both No. 13 Georgia Tech and Boston College.
Fairbanks 2022 Highlights
Became the first Pitt player in the modern scoring era to record over 100 kills, 700 assists, 200 digs and 30 aces in a single season. Recorded the first triple-double by a Pitt Panther in the modern scoring era, making 13 kills,15 assists and 12 digs at Texas A&M. Led the team with 35 aces this season, while making only 31 errors.
Nwokolo 2022 Highlights
Led the team with 1.13 blocks/set this season, while also hitting .336, marking her first-career 100 kill and 100 block season. Finished the regular season with 16-straight matches with two or fewer attacking errors. Made a season-best eight blocks in Pitt's five-set victory over Louisville, while setting a season-high in kills against NC State, making 14 on .522 hitting. Hit over .300 in 17 of 29 matches played this year, making at least 1 block/set in 20 of 29 appearances.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will hope to keep the positive momentum going into the NCAA Tournament this weekend. The NCAA Selection committee announced Pitt as a No. 2 seed in the tournament last night. As a Top 16 team in the field, Pitt will host No. 7 seed BYU, Colgate and James Madison in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 2 and 3.
No. 2 Pitt will play Patriot League Champions, Colgate, in the second match of the day on Friday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. No. 7 BYU will take on Sun Belt Champions, James Madison, in the match before, starting at 4 p.m. with the winners playing in a second-round match at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3.
To purchase tickets for the opening rounds, visit PittsburghPanthers.com or call the Panthers' Ticket Office at 800-643-7488.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
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