Pitt volleyball received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament during the Selection Show Sunday night, thanks to a strong finish to the regular season and a schedule filled with top opponents in the ACC and out-of-conference.
The Panthers finished the season 25-4 overall, 16-2 in the ACC and on a five match winning streak. Two of those wins included a sweep over the then ranked No. 8 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on Nov. 11 and a reverse sweep of then ranked No. 4 Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 18 in front of a program record 8,856 fans at the Petersen Events Center. Those two wins propelled the Panthers from a likely No. 2 seed to the much desired No. 1 seed.
Why Hosting is Important for Pitt Volleyball
The big benefit for Pitt volleyball earning a No. 1 seed comes with hosting through the Elite Eight. They did so when they earned their first No. 1 seed in 2021, coming in as the No. 3 team in the tournament. They defeated UMBC and rival Penn State in the first two rounds at the Petersen Events Center and then Kansas and No. 6 Purdue (No. 2 seed) in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively, at Fitzgerald Field House to make it to their first ever Final Four.
Playing in front of your home fans throughout the entirety of the NCAA Tournament is incredibly important, reducing travel time and making it easier to build momentum in a sport where that is vital, especially in close games.
Pitt earned a No. 2 seed last season and took on great teams throughout. This included a sweep over No. 7 BYU in the Second Round at the Petersen Events Center and then No. 3 Florida in the Sweet 16 and reigning National Champions No. 1 Wisconsin in Madison to make it to consecutive Final Fours. The win over Wisconsin is the greatest in Pitt volleyball history, but that isn’t a situation that any team wants to find themselves in consistently, when they could host instead.
How Pitt Volleyball Earned a No. 1 Seed
Pitt head coach Dan Fisher took his time with the 2023 schedule and put together a number of great teams in the non-conference to boost the résumé come Tournament time.
Teams that Pitt faced in the non-conference include include BYU, SEC champion Kentucky home-and-away, Marquette on the road, plus Oregon, James Madison, High Point and UMBC as well. UMBC won the America East and High Point won the Big South, while James Madison finished with a No. 24 ranking in the RPI, earning themselves an at-large bid.
Pitt beat Kentucky both times during Labor Day weekend and swept then ranked No. 24 Marquette on Sept. 8. They did lose to BYU and Oregon, but the BYU loss came on the first game of the season on Aug. 25 in Montana and they almost came back and reverse swept No. 7 Oregon on Sept. 14, but lost in five sets.
The Panthers also earned a share of the ACC Title for the second straight season. Their only losses came to the then ranked No. 6 Cardinals in a sweep on Oct. 13 and then a failed reverse sweep attempt in five sets against the Florida State Seminoles on Nov. 3, both on the road.
The loss to the Seminoles didn’t hurt as much in the end, as they would also finish 16-2 in the ACC, make the top 25 and earn the automatic qualifier spot for the conference in the NCAA Tournament with the win over the Panthers.
The Panthers also had a great win over the then ranked No. 13 Yellow Jackets on Oct. 6 at Fitzgerald Field House, reverse sweeping them, making it two reverse sweeps on the season.
The ACC also featured much better at-large bids than normal. Along with Louisville and Georgia Tech, Miami also made the tournament, improving Pitt’s RPI and their standing heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers defeated the Hurricanes on the road in four sets on Nov. 5 and swept them at home on Nov. 23.
Holly Strauss-O’Brien, the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee Chair and head of the Selection Committee for the NCAA Tournament, explained the decision to award Pitt the last No. 1 seed over Louisville on the Selection Show Sunday night.
“There’s a lot of conversation around that No. 4 spot and we don’t take that decision lightly,” Strauss-O’Brien said. “Coming down to Pitt and Louisville, fortunately they’re in the same conference and there’s a lot of common opponents. Pitt had 17 wins to Louisville’s 15 and in their last 10, they’ve won nine out of their last 10 to Louisville’s eight. They also have an additional two top 50 wins.”
Who Does Pitt Play?
Pitt Volleyball will face Coppin State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, 7 p.m. Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. This is the first NCAA Tournament for Coppin State, who won the MEAC, have a 27-4 record and are victorious in the past five matches.
No. 8 USC faces off against UMBC in the first matchup Friday at 4 p.m. The winner faces Pitt or Coppin State Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The Rest of the Pittsburgh Bracket
No. 2 Louisville is the big stand out in this bracket. The win on Nov. 18 proved the difference between either team earning a No. 1 spot and it showed with the seeding. The Selection Committee loves seeing Pitt and Louisville battle it out, so a potential matchup in the Elite Eight is exactly what they are envisioning, which would occur at Fitzgerald Field House.
The rest of the seeded teams include No. 3 Creighton, No. 4 Washington State, No. 5 Dayton, No. 6 Utah State and No. 7 Auburn.
The Other No. 1 Seeds
Power Houses Nebraska, Wisconsin and Stanford each got a No. 1 seed. Nebraska won the Big Ten and won their first 27 matches to start the season. Wisconsin and Nebraska split the regular season series and make it back-to-back seasons serving as No. 1 seeds. Stanford finished 26-3 and 19-1 in the Pac-12, winning their conference and will look to win their 10th National Title.
Pitt Regular Season Opponents in NCAA Tournament
Nebraska Bracket
No. 2 Kentucky
No. 5 Georgia Tech
No. 6 Florida State
No. 7 James Madison
Pittsburgh Bracket
No. 2 Louisville
UMBC
Wisconsin Bracket
No. 2 Oregon
No. 6 Marquette
Miami
Stanford Bracket
No. 4 BYU
High Point
Well researched article. Better than the volleyball mag one I just read that had incorrect info about Pitt….surprise, surprise and the RPI. Dan Fisher and staff are excellent. Pitt needs to continue to ensure we keep him long term. He is on the trajectory to be one of the top 10 all-time volleyball coaches. He currently has the best winning percentage of active division one coaches who have coached more than 10 years…..better than coaches at Stanford…. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, Louisville and of course Penn State….she barely has won over .500 of the matches she has coached.
The selection committee may enjoy Pitt-Louisville, but are there enough cardiologists in the city to cover that match?