Four Panthers Selected for AVCA All-America
12/14/2022 11:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Buzzerio, Gray, Vazquez Gomez and Fairbanks named All-American
PITTSBURGH – For the first time in program history, the University of Pittsburgh Volleyball program has been awarded two American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-Americans as Courtney Buzzerio and Serena Gray have earned the recognition. Valeria Vazquez Gomez (Second Team) and Rachel Fairbanks (Third Team) each were named All-America for the first time in their careers.
The four All-America selections ties the program record set last season. Buzzerio and Gray join Kayla Lund (2021) as the only First Team All-American Panthers in the program's 48 seasons.
It is the first-career All-American selection for Buzzerio after transferring into the program for her final year of eligibility. Gray joins her as a First Team All-American, her first time earning the honor after being named Honorable Mention All-America in each of her last three seasons.
Vazquez Gomez enters rarified air as a Second Team All-American. She earns her first-career All-America honor and becomes just the seventh Panther ever to be named to one of the first two All-America teams.
Fairbanks has been named to the Third Team All-America. She is the first underclassmen in program history to be named to one of the three All-America teams.
Buzzerio 2022 Highlights
Buzzerio leads Division I in hitting percentage by anyone with more than 900 attempts. Nobody in the country is as efficient as Buzzerio with as larger workload in the offense. She holds a .329 hitting percentage, making 448 kills on 985 attempts. No pin hitter in a Power 5 conference has had a higher hitting percentage on as many attempts as Buzzerio since 2013.
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.. Buzzerio also set a new program record for the most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in the modern scoring era, making 23 kills in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of BYU in the NCAA 2nd Round, including 11 kills on .733 hitting in the third (11-0-15). She was named MVP of the NCAA Tournament Madison region, after leading Pitt to its second straight Final Four.
Gray 2022 Highlights
One of two players in the Power 5 to have hit over .400 in each of the last two seasons - hitting .404 this year, the 12th best in the nation. Her 54 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 200 kills. 1st Team All-ACC and All East Coast Region.
Gray has been outstanding throughout the Panthers NCAA Tournament run, making 30 kills on .391 swings while leading the team in service aces (.33/set) and blocks (.93/set).
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 regular 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. So far in the NCAA Tournament, she is the only player in the field to be averaging over 3.00 kills/set and 3.00 digs/set in tournament play.
In the NCAA Tournament, she is currently leading the team in digs/set making 3.33/set in Pitt's four victories. She made 22 digs in the Panther's five-set win over Wisconsin, the second most by a Panther in an NCAA Tournament match in the modern scoring era. Her 3.33 digs/set in the tournament lead all non-defensive specialists at the Final Four.
Fairbanks 2022 Highlights
Fairbanks has been one of the most exciting all-around athletes in the sport this season. She became the first Pitt player in the modern scoring era to record over 100 kills, 750 assists, 250 digs and 30 aces in a single season. She 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 and followed that by becoming the first Panther in program history to achieve a triple-double in an NCAA Tournament match in program history, 10 kills, 28 assists and 13 digs vs. BYU. She is the only player in Division I this season to have achieved multiple triple-doubles in three set matches and is the only Panther in the modern scoring era to record multiple triple-doubles of any kind in the same season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their NCAA Tournament with their second straight NCAA National Semifinal appearance. Pitt will take on fellow ACC Co-Champions, Louisville, on Thursday, Dec. 15 at approximately 9:30 ET inside the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
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The four All-America selections ties the program record set last season. Buzzerio and Gray join Kayla Lund (2021) as the only First Team All-American Panthers in the program's 48 seasons.
It is the first-career All-American selection for Buzzerio after transferring into the program for her final year of eligibility. Gray joins her as a First Team All-American, her first time earning the honor after being named Honorable Mention All-America in each of her last three seasons.
Vazquez Gomez enters rarified air as a Second Team All-American. She earns her first-career All-America honor and becomes just the seventh Panther ever to be named to one of the first two All-America teams.
Fairbanks has been named to the Third Team All-America. She is the first underclassmen in program history to be named to one of the three All-America teams.
Buzzerio 2022 Highlights
Buzzerio leads Division I in hitting percentage by anyone with more than 900 attempts. Nobody in the country is as efficient as Buzzerio with as larger workload in the offense. She holds a .329 hitting percentage, making 448 kills on 985 attempts. No pin hitter in a Power 5 conference has had a higher hitting percentage on as many attempts as Buzzerio since 2013.
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.. Buzzerio also set a new program record for the most kills in an NCAA Tournament match in the modern scoring era, making 23 kills in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of BYU in the NCAA 2nd Round, including 11 kills on .733 hitting in the third (11-0-15). She was named MVP of the NCAA Tournament Madison region, after leading Pitt to its second straight Final Four.
Gray 2022 Highlights
One of two players in the Power 5 to have hit over .400 in each of the last two seasons - hitting .404 this year, the 12th best in the nation. Her 54 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 200 kills. 1st Team All-ACC and All East Coast Region.
Gray has been outstanding throughout the Panthers NCAA Tournament run, making 30 kills on .391 swings while leading the team in service aces (.33/set) and blocks (.93/set).
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 regular 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. So far in the NCAA Tournament, she is the only player in the field to be averaging over 3.00 kills/set and 3.00 digs/set in tournament play.
In the NCAA Tournament, she is currently leading the team in digs/set making 3.33/set in Pitt's four victories. She made 22 digs in the Panther's five-set win over Wisconsin, the second most by a Panther in an NCAA Tournament match in the modern scoring era. Her 3.33 digs/set in the tournament lead all non-defensive specialists at the Final Four.
Fairbanks 2022 Highlights
Fairbanks has been one of the most exciting all-around athletes in the sport this season. She became the first Pitt player in the modern scoring era to record over 100 kills, 750 assists, 250 digs and 30 aces in a single season. She 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 and followed that by becoming the first Panther in program history to achieve a triple-double in an NCAA Tournament match in program history, 10 kills, 28 assists and 13 digs vs. BYU. She is the only player in Division I this season to have achieved multiple triple-doubles in three set matches and is the only Panther in the modern scoring era to record multiple triple-doubles of any kind in the same season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their NCAA Tournament with their second straight NCAA National Semifinal appearance. Pitt will take on fellow ACC Co-Champions, Louisville, on Thursday, Dec. 15 at approximately 9:30 ET inside the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb.
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