Kamalani Akeo - Volleyball Coach

Kamalani Akeo

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
kakeo@athletics.pitt.edu
Phone:
412-290-2025

Kamalani Akeo was announced as an assistant coach for the Pitt volleyball program in February of 2023 after spending the previous two seasons as Director of Operations under head coach Dan Fisher.

“I believe Kamalani is one of the top young coaches of the game,” Fisher said. “I’m excited to promote her to assistant coach. She has a great knowledge of the game, how we train and our team culture. She’s someone I trust and I’m looking forward to seeing the impact she has on the program in this role.”

University of Pittsburgh | Assistant Coach

2024

Led the Pitt offense to a program and nation best .332 team hitting percentage. This marked the first time in program history the Panthers finished first nationally in the category.
Coached Rachel Fairbanks to yet another standout season. She earned AVCA First Team All-America, First Team All-ACC and AVCA East Coast Region Team honors in her senior year.
Fairbanks, the most decorated setter in program history, finished her career with 3,093 assists.
Helped Pitt to its fourth consecutive NCAA Division I Final Four.
Clinched the outright ACC Championship, the fourth consecutive season in which Pitt has shared or won an outright title.
Pitt advanced to the NCAA Regional Final for the fifth consecutive season.
The Panthers competed in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, marking the longest NCAA postseason streak in program history.
Pitt finished the season ranked No. 3 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the highest in program history.
2024 marked the 11th consecutive season with Pitt ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 50, finishing at No. 3.

2023

Earned a spot on the Volleyball Magazine College Coaching Hotshots list
Guided the Pitt offense to a top five finish with a .303 team hitting percentage, the best mark in a season during the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present)
Guided Rachel Fairbanks to her most successful season yet. She was named an AVCA First Team All-American, ACC Setter of the Year, First Team All-ACC, AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year and named to the AVCA East Coast Region Team.
Helped Pitt to its third consecutive NCAA Division I Final Four.
Won a share of the 2023 ACC Championship for the second straight season, marking the program's fifth ACC title over the course of seven seasons.
Pitt earned a spot in the NCAA Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive season.
The Panthers competed in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive season, marking the longest NCAA postseason streak in program history.
Pitt finished the season ranked No. 4 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the third season in a row.
2023 marked the 10th consecutive season with Pitt ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 50, finishing at No. 3.

University of Pittsburgh | Director of Operations | 2021-2022

Managed the day-to-day operations for the Panthers, including coordinating travel and meals for back-to-back Final Four runs in the NCAA Tournament, including hosting the NCAA Tournament 1st and 2nd rounds in 2021 and 2022 along with an NCAA Regional in 2021.
Pitt clinched its fourth ACC Championship in her second year in the Director of Operations position
The Panthers appeared in the NCAA Elite Eight for the third consecutive season, one of four teams in the nation to do so.
Pitt competed in the NCAA Tournament for a seventh consecutive season, marking the longest NCAA postseason streak in program history. All seven seasons have come with Petrone on the coaching staff.
The Panthers reached their first NCAA Final Four in program history.

University of Pittsburgh | Volunteer Assistant Coach | 2020

Primarily focused on helping Pitt's defense and serve receive
Tracked serve receive numbers in matches
Assisted with travel and food along with preparing scout data
Pitt advanced to the program's first NCAA Regional Finals, upsetting No. 3 seed Minnesota in the Sweet 16

A 2019 Panther Award winner and member of Pitt’s prestigious Varsity Walk, Akeo returned to Oakland in January following two professional seasons overseas, most recently playing for OK Nova KBM Branik in Slovenia in 2020.

Akeo’s collegiate career accolades at Pitt include being named the program’s first ACC Setter of the Year in 2016, in addition to two selections to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Coast Region Team (2016, 2017). She earned a nod to the All-ACC First Team in 2017, and the All-ACC Second Team in 2016. Akeo’s leadership helped the Panthers earn their first two ACC Championships, in 2017 and 2018. Pitt competed in three NCAA Tournaments during Akeo’s career (2016, 2017, 2018), reaching the second round in each season.

Akeo ranks third all-time in the Pitt volleyball record book with 3,956 career assists between 2015-18. She posted the program’s top two seasons during the rally scoring era (2008-pres.) in terms of assists with 1,379 in 2016 and 1,258 in 2017.

Akeo graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in human resource management and marketing.