Friday, September 9
Pittsburgh, PA
1 PM
Pitt
vs
American
No. 7 Pitt Hosts Panther Challenge
9/8/2022 12:11:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers host three matches at Fitzgerald Field House
PITTSBURGH – No. 7 Pitt (5-1, 0-0 ACC) begins its seven-match home stand this weekend with the Panther Challenge. The Panthers will play three matches over the weekend against American, Bowling Green and Towson at Fitzgerald Field House.
LAST TIME OUT
Pitt went 3-0 last weekend, winning the BYU Nike Invitational in Provo, Utah. The Panthers defeated Cincinnati (3-2) and Utah State (3-0) before defeating then-No. 7 BYU (3-1). The win over BYU was their first home loss since 2019, snapping the nation's longest active home winning streak – 30 matches. It was Pitt's first Top-10 victory of the year and the 10th of the Dan Fisher era.
Pitt was impressively efficient throughout the weekend, posting. .303 hitting percentage as a team. Courtney Buzzerio, Julianna Dalton and Serena Gray were named to the All-Tournament team. All three recorded at least two kills/set, while hitting over .300. Against Utah State, the Panthers hit .493 as a team, making 41 kills on 69 swings with only seven errors. It was the highest hitting percentage in a single match since 2016.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Pitt has out-dug its opponents in all six matches, with senior libero Ashley Browske leading the way. She delivered 48 digs (4.36/set) at the Texas A&M Invitational, her highest average over a three-match span in her career. Browske leads the team with 78 digs, followed closely behind by Fairbanks who is averaging 2.91 digs/set through six matches, the second most by a setter in the ACC.
Serena Gray matched her career-high with nine blocks in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of Hawai'i.
She leads the team with 29 blocks thus far (1.26/set) - the most total blocks in the ACC by an individual. Sabrina Starks has been very impressive for her defense at the net. She made back-to-back blocks in the fourth set against USD to help Pitt force a fifth set, before making a season-best three blocks in her first start of the season, against Cincinnati.
RA¢HEL FAIRBANK$
Sophomore Rachel Fairbanks become the first Panther to record a triple-double in the 25-point rally scoring era and the first since 2006, when she delivered 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs in last Sunday's 3-0 victory over Texas A&M. She is one of 10 players in the nation to record a triple-double this season and one of just two to do so in a three-set sweep (also Noelani Helm of Portland).
Fairbanks is the only player in the country from a Power 5 conference to record a triple-double against a Power 5 opponent this year and is one of just four players to do so over the last three seasons – one of those other players is current Pitt RS Courtney Buzzerio, who did so at Iowa in the spring of 2021. The last player to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season, as a member of a team in one of the Power 5 conferences, was Buzzerio, back in her sophomore season (2019).
SCOUTING AMERICAN
The Eagles enter the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record, dropping only four sets in the process. This match will be their only Power 5 match of the season as they battle for the Patriot League Championship once again. American lost in the conference championship to Colgate last season and has won the title in 16 of the last 21 seasons. This is the 12th all-time meeting between Pitt and American. The Panthers lead the series, 11-0. Should Pitt win on Friday it would be the 12th straight victory over AU, the third longest active win streak vs. any Pitt opponent.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
BGSU 3-3 this season after taking two of three matches at its home tournament last weekend. The lone defeat came at the hands of No. 22 Western Kentucky in four sets. Bowling Green also just missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season, falling in five sets in the MAC Championship match, to Ball State. This will be the third Power 5 match for the Falcons after falling in three to No. 13 Purdue and defeating Tennessee, in Knoxville, in four sets. This is the 11th all-time meeting between BGSU and Pitt. The Panthers lead the series, 11-0.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers are 7-0 this season after a 4-0 weekend last week, hosting the Towson Invitational. They have only dropped three sets so far, one to Princeton and the other two to Rutgers. Towson, winners of the Colonial Athletic Association in each of the last three seasons, returns to Pittsburgh after falling to Penn State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season. This is the first-ever match between Pitt and Towson.
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PANTHER CHALLENGE SCHEDULE
| No. 7 Pitt vs American | Friday, Sept. 9 | 11 a.m. | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets |
| No. 7 Pitt vs. Bowling Green | Friday, Sept. 9 | 7:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets |
| No. 7 Pitt vs. Towson | Saturday, Sept. 10 | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets |
LAST TIME OUT
Pitt went 3-0 last weekend, winning the BYU Nike Invitational in Provo, Utah. The Panthers defeated Cincinnati (3-2) and Utah State (3-0) before defeating then-No. 7 BYU (3-1). The win over BYU was their first home loss since 2019, snapping the nation's longest active home winning streak – 30 matches. It was Pitt's first Top-10 victory of the year and the 10th of the Dan Fisher era.
Pitt was impressively efficient throughout the weekend, posting. .303 hitting percentage as a team. Courtney Buzzerio, Julianna Dalton and Serena Gray were named to the All-Tournament team. All three recorded at least two kills/set, while hitting over .300. Against Utah State, the Panthers hit .493 as a team, making 41 kills on 69 swings with only seven errors. It was the highest hitting percentage in a single match since 2016.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Pitt has out-dug its opponents in all six matches, with senior libero Ashley Browske leading the way. She delivered 48 digs (4.36/set) at the Texas A&M Invitational, her highest average over a three-match span in her career. Browske leads the team with 78 digs, followed closely behind by Fairbanks who is averaging 2.91 digs/set through six matches, the second most by a setter in the ACC.
Serena Gray matched her career-high with nine blocks in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of Hawai'i.
She leads the team with 29 blocks thus far (1.26/set) - the most total blocks in the ACC by an individual. Sabrina Starks has been very impressive for her defense at the net. She made back-to-back blocks in the fourth set against USD to help Pitt force a fifth set, before making a season-best three blocks in her first start of the season, against Cincinnati.
RA¢HEL FAIRBANK$
Sophomore Rachel Fairbanks become the first Panther to record a triple-double in the 25-point rally scoring era and the first since 2006, when she delivered 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs in last Sunday's 3-0 victory over Texas A&M. She is one of 10 players in the nation to record a triple-double this season and one of just two to do so in a three-set sweep (also Noelani Helm of Portland).
Fairbanks is the only player in the country from a Power 5 conference to record a triple-double against a Power 5 opponent this year and is one of just four players to do so over the last three seasons – one of those other players is current Pitt RS Courtney Buzzerio, who did so at Iowa in the spring of 2021. The last player to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season, as a member of a team in one of the Power 5 conferences, was Buzzerio, back in her sophomore season (2019).
SCOUTING AMERICAN
The Eagles enter the weekend with a perfect 6-0 record, dropping only four sets in the process. This match will be their only Power 5 match of the season as they battle for the Patriot League Championship once again. American lost in the conference championship to Colgate last season and has won the title in 16 of the last 21 seasons. This is the 12th all-time meeting between Pitt and American. The Panthers lead the series, 11-0. Should Pitt win on Friday it would be the 12th straight victory over AU, the third longest active win streak vs. any Pitt opponent.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN
BGSU 3-3 this season after taking two of three matches at its home tournament last weekend. The lone defeat came at the hands of No. 22 Western Kentucky in four sets. Bowling Green also just missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season, falling in five sets in the MAC Championship match, to Ball State. This will be the third Power 5 match for the Falcons after falling in three to No. 13 Purdue and defeating Tennessee, in Knoxville, in four sets. This is the 11th all-time meeting between BGSU and Pitt. The Panthers lead the series, 11-0.
SCOUTING TOWSON
The Tigers are 7-0 this season after a 4-0 weekend last week, hosting the Towson Invitational. They have only dropped three sets so far, one to Princeton and the other two to Rutgers. Towson, winners of the Colonial Athletic Association in each of the last three seasons, returns to Pittsburgh after falling to Penn State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament last season. This is the first-ever match between Pitt and Towson.
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Players Mentioned
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OH
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MB/RS
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