Pitt dispatched Morehead State and Oklahoma in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, sweeping both opponents, and the Panthers will be in action again this week.
The action in Pittsburgh at the Petersen Events Center will resume on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. No. 7 Missouri will take on No. 3 Kentucky, and the Panthers will host No. 4 Oregon 30 minutes following the end of Missouri-Kentucky. Both matches will be on ESPN2.
The regional final will be held on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 between the winners of the two matchups.
The State College, Lincoln and Louisville regionals will also conclude this weekend, with the Final Four will begin on Dec. 19, and the national championship game is set for Dec. 22. Pitt has been to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours under Dan Fisher.
Pitt kicked off its tournament run with a sweep of Morehead State, outhitting the Eagles .265 to .114 — with 11 aces and 40 kills. Torrey Stafford led the way with a .313 hitting percentage and 14 kills.
The Panthers followed up with another sweep in the second round, outhitting the Oklahoma Sooners .250 to .183 — with four aces and 43 kills. It wasn’t the strongest hitting performance for Stafford or Olivia Babcock, but the Panthers rolled the Sooners.
Pitt is back in action against Oregon, who the Panthers swept in the season opener on Aug. 30. It will be a tough test against a good Ducks squad, but the Panthers have their eyes locked on the prize — the first national championship in program history. Fisher and crew have been close in recent seasons, and this squad is likely his best yet.
Pitt earned seven All-ACC honors (four first-team honors), the ACC Coach of the Year and the ACC Player of the Year. And it came as the Panthers are ranked No. 1 in the country with the No. 1 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Dan Fisher earned COTY, Olivia Babcock earned POTY (and first-team All-ACC) and Babcock, Torrey Stafford, Rachel Fairbanks and Emmy Klika earned first-team honors, Valeria Vazquez Gomez earned second-team honors and Bre Kelley earned All-Freshman honors.
