Friday, December 2
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7 PM
Pitt
vs
Colgate
No. 2 Pitt Prepares for NCAA Tournament
12/1/2022 3:43:00 PM | Volleyball
The Panthers host the 1st and 2nd rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside the Petersen Events Center
PITTSBURGH – No. 2 seeded Pitt (27-3, 17-1 ACC) begins its quest for a National Championship on Friday, hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside the Petersen Events Center. Pitt will take on Patriot League Champion, Colgate, in the second match of the day, after No. 7 seed BYU takes on Sun Belt Champion James Madison at 4 p.m. The first round winners will play each other in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is Pitt's 18th NCAA Tournament Appearance. Pitt is 14-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament Matches with an 11-6 record under Dan Fisher and a perfect 6-0 record in NCAA 1st Round matches under Coach Fisher.
Last season, Pitt became the first women's program in Pitt Athletics history to reach the Final Four, defeating UMBC, Penn State, Kansas and Purdue en-route to the Final Four. The Panthers advanced past the second round for the first time in program history two years ago, reaching the Elite 8 in the 2020/21 season.
Pitt enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed, the highest seed in program history. This was made possible by the new format of the tournament. Pitt would have been a No. 1 seed last season as the No. 3 overall ranked team in the field. Pitt is the No. 6 ranked team in this tournament.
Rachel Fairbanks and Serena Gray were named to the All-Region Team last NCAA Tournament.
Fairbanks was two digs shy of a triple-double in the Elite 8 last year, making 10 kills, 28 assists and 8 digs against Purdue. Gray hit over .500 in three of four NCAA Tournament matches leading up to the FInal Four last year, including a 14 kill, .583 hitting, six block performance against Purdue in the Elite 8.
Both of Pitt's graduate transfers: Courtney Buzzerio and Cam Ennis will be making their NCAA Tournament debuts this weekend.
PITT IN THE PETE
This will be Pitt Volleyball's 12th match at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are 8-3 all-time at the venue and 4-2 in the postseason. Pitt has won their last three matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC, Penn State last season and taking down No. 13 Georgia Tech in a five-set thriller last week (Nov. 23).
Last season, Pitt won both matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC and Penn State in the NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds.
Five Panthers are undefeated in matches they've played at the Pete – Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Fairbanks and Emmy Klika are each 3-0 with Cat Flood coming in at 2-0 and Serena Gray leading them all with a 4-0 record (one as a member of Penn State in 2019).
Pitt is out-hitting opponents .259 to .172 all-time at the Pete, setting a program record for the most kills in a match at the PEC against Georgia Tech last week, with 71.
SCOUTING COLGATE
The Raiders secured their third regular season championship in four years after going 14-2 during Patriot League play. The Raiders advanced through the Patriot League tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Loyola in the semifinals and a 3-2 victory over Navy in the title match. Colgate will be playing in its sixth-ever NCAA Tournament and second in as many years. Head Coach Ryan Baker was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his 17 seasons as head coach. They are led by Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year Julia Kurowski who holds the program record for career assists at 4,055 and counting. This will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools with the other coming back in 2015, a 3-0 Pitt sweep.
SCOUTING BYU
BYU enters the tournament as an at-large selection from the West Coast Conference with a 21-6 record. The Cougars have made 11-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including all eight seasons during BYU head coach Heather Olmstead's tenure. Olmstead is 14-7 all-time in the postseason, with six trips to the Sweet 16 and a Final four run in 2018. Both teams played each other back in September (9/3) with the Panthers winning, 3-1, snapping BYU's 30-match home winning streak. BYU has played Pitt three times in the series history, with Pitt winning each of the last two meetings. BYU is returning to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Tournament after falling to Purdue in the Sweet 16 last season.
SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
This is the fourth all-time appearance for JMU in the tournament and the first time since 2017. The Dukes won the Sun Belt Championship after defeating Texas State 3-1 in the final match after winning the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship with a conference mark of 15-1. The Dukes picked up two major conference awards, Sophie Davis being named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher earning the Coach of the Year Honor. Pitt and JMU have played four times in their history and have not met yet in the 21st century. Pitt leads the all-time series, 4-0, with the last win coming in 1999.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
| No. 7 BYU vs. James Madison | Friday, Dec. 2 | 4 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream | Tickets |
| No. 2 Pitt vs. Colgate | Friday, Dec. 2 | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream | Tickets |
| Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream | Tickets |
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is Pitt's 18th NCAA Tournament Appearance. Pitt is 14-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament Matches with an 11-6 record under Dan Fisher and a perfect 6-0 record in NCAA 1st Round matches under Coach Fisher.
Last season, Pitt became the first women's program in Pitt Athletics history to reach the Final Four, defeating UMBC, Penn State, Kansas and Purdue en-route to the Final Four. The Panthers advanced past the second round for the first time in program history two years ago, reaching the Elite 8 in the 2020/21 season.
Pitt enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed, the highest seed in program history. This was made possible by the new format of the tournament. Pitt would have been a No. 1 seed last season as the No. 3 overall ranked team in the field. Pitt is the No. 6 ranked team in this tournament.
Rachel Fairbanks and Serena Gray were named to the All-Region Team last NCAA Tournament.
Fairbanks was two digs shy of a triple-double in the Elite 8 last year, making 10 kills, 28 assists and 8 digs against Purdue. Gray hit over .500 in three of four NCAA Tournament matches leading up to the FInal Four last year, including a 14 kill, .583 hitting, six block performance against Purdue in the Elite 8.
Both of Pitt's graduate transfers: Courtney Buzzerio and Cam Ennis will be making their NCAA Tournament debuts this weekend.
PITT IN THE PETE
This will be Pitt Volleyball's 12th match at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are 8-3 all-time at the venue and 4-2 in the postseason. Pitt has won their last three matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC, Penn State last season and taking down No. 13 Georgia Tech in a five-set thriller last week (Nov. 23).
Last season, Pitt won both matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC and Penn State in the NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds.
Five Panthers are undefeated in matches they've played at the Pete – Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Fairbanks and Emmy Klika are each 3-0 with Cat Flood coming in at 2-0 and Serena Gray leading them all with a 4-0 record (one as a member of Penn State in 2019).
Pitt is out-hitting opponents .259 to .172 all-time at the Pete, setting a program record for the most kills in a match at the PEC against Georgia Tech last week, with 71.
SCOUTING COLGATE
The Raiders secured their third regular season championship in four years after going 14-2 during Patriot League play. The Raiders advanced through the Patriot League tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Loyola in the semifinals and a 3-2 victory over Navy in the title match. Colgate will be playing in its sixth-ever NCAA Tournament and second in as many years. Head Coach Ryan Baker was named Patriot League Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his 17 seasons as head coach. They are led by Patriot League Player and Setter of the Year Julia Kurowski who holds the program record for career assists at 4,055 and counting. This will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools with the other coming back in 2015, a 3-0 Pitt sweep.
SCOUTING BYU
BYU enters the tournament as an at-large selection from the West Coast Conference with a 21-6 record. The Cougars have made 11-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including all eight seasons during BYU head coach Heather Olmstead's tenure. Olmstead is 14-7 all-time in the postseason, with six trips to the Sweet 16 and a Final four run in 2018. Both teams played each other back in September (9/3) with the Panthers winning, 3-1, snapping BYU's 30-match home winning streak. BYU has played Pitt three times in the series history, with Pitt winning each of the last two meetings. BYU is returning to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Tournament after falling to Purdue in the Sweet 16 last season.
SCOUTING JAMES MADISON
This is the fourth all-time appearance for JMU in the tournament and the first time since 2017. The Dukes won the Sun Belt Championship after defeating Texas State 3-1 in the final match after winning the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship with a conference mark of 15-1. The Dukes picked up two major conference awards, Sophie Davis being named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year and Head Coach Lauren Steinbrecher earning the Coach of the Year Honor. Pitt and JMU have played four times in their history and have not met yet in the 21st century. Pitt leads the all-time series, 4-0, with the last win coming in 1999.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Players Mentioned
RS
/ Volleyball
S/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballHighlights | Pitt vs. Penn State
Thursday, September 18
Pitt Volleyball | Pitt 3, Wright State 1 | Highlights
Monday, September 15
Highlights | Pitt vs. Wright State
Friday, September 12
Pitt Volleyball | Pitt 3, No. 3 Kentucky 0 | Highlights
Thursday, September 11