Pitt Volleyball Opens Season at Husky Invitational

Match Notes
Friday at No. 3 Washington: Live Stats | Live on Pac-12 National (Check Cable Provider for Channel)
Saturday vs. No. 9 Creighton: Live Stats | Live Stream
Saturday vs. Saint Mary's: Live Stats | Live Stream

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team will kick off the 2017 season with a tough slate at the Husky Invitational, August 25-26, at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.

THE SCHEDULE

The Panthers will begin their return to the NCAA Tournament by opening against back-to-back nationally ranked teams in No. 3 Washington and No. 9 Creighton. Pitt's first match-up against the Huskies is slated to begin at 9 p.m. EST Friday, Aug. 25, and will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.
The Panthers will continue the tournament Saturday, Aug. 26 taking on the Bluejays at 1 p.m. EST, before closing out the tournament with a final match on Saturday against Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. EST.

THE SERIES

Pitt and Washington will meet for just the second time in program history this weekend. The Huskies won the initial meeting 3-0, Sept. 16, 2010.
The Panthers will face Creighton and SMC for the first time in program history.

SCOUTING NO. 3 WASHINGTON

After advancing to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season in 2016 with a 29-5 overall record, Washington begins the 2017 season as the No. 3 team in the country.
The Huskies return all six of their starters from last season including three All-America selections in Courtney Schwan, Bailey Tanner and Crissy Jones. Schwan was a First-Team All-American and was named Pac-12 Player of the Year.

SCOUTING NO. 9 CREIGHTON

Creighton, who finished the 2016 season with a 29-7 overall record and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in program history, enters this weekend ranked ninth in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll and were picked to win the BIG EAST.
The Bluejays return three AVCA All-Americans in third-team performer Lydia Dimke and honorable mention honorees Jaali Winters and Taryn Kloth.
Dimke was second in the NCAA in total assists and is the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year.
Winters and Kloth, both outside hitters with big swings, recorded 3.61 kills/set and 3.20 kills/set last year respectively.

SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S

The Gaels enter the 2017 season after concluding last season with an 11-18 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the WCC to finish ninth overall.
SMC returns Lindsey Knudsen, the team's top offensive player in 2016 who tallied 3.03 kills/set and 2.72 digs/set.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt will continue non-conference play Sept. 2-3 when the Panthers head to Dayton, Ohio for the Dayton Invitational. Pitt will go head-to-head with Iowa State and host Dayton.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

Pitt begins the 2017 receiving votes (49) in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

Pitt landed two student-athletes on the 2017 ACC Volleyball Preseason All-ACC Team in returning ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo and AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree Stephanie Williams.
A redshirt sophomore from Eastlake, Ohio, Williams was a 2016 AVCA honorable mention All-America selection, in addition to an AVCA All-East Coast Region first team and All-ACC first team honoree. She finished the 2016 season with a team-leading 467 kills, ninth most in Pitt history, 308 digs and a team-high 16 double-doubles.
Akeo, who is the reigning ACC Setter of the Year, led the conference in 2016 with 11.71 assists/set in ACC play. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native was also recognized as an AVCA All-East Coast Region First team selection, after aiding Pitt in the postseason.

ACC PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

The Panthers earned their highest projection in program history in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, as they were selected to finish third in 2017.
Reigning ACC Champion North Carolina led the way as the Tar Heels garnered all 14 first-place votes. One point separated Pitt from Florida State for second and third place, while Notre Dame and NC State rounded out the top five, respectively.
The Panthers have continually improved their mark in the preseason poll after being predicted to finish ninth in 2014 and seventh in 2015 and sixth in 2016.

2016: A SEASON TO REMEMBER

The 2016 season marked the start of a new era for the rising program, as Pitt reached the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament for the first time since 2004.
Not only did the Panthers earn a bid to postseason play, but also went a step further by defeating No. 24 Dayton, 3-1, in the opening match to advance to the second round, a feat the program hasn't accomplished since 2003.
Pitt concluded the season 25-9 overall and 15-5 in ACC play, landing the Panthers tied for third overall in the conference.
Pitt recorded its third straight season with 20-plus wins 25. The Panthers have only hit that mark one other time since 2003.
Redshirt senior Jenna Potts and redshirt freshman Stephanie Williams earned AVCA Division I Honorable Mention All-America honors for their performances during the 2016 season.
Potts and Williams were also named to the AVCA All-East Coast Region First Team, along with sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo.
Six Pitt players earned all-conference honors, including Akeo who was named ACC Setter of the Year.
Joining Akeo are Potts and Williams who were named as first team All-ACC honorees, while Akeo and Mariah Bell were tabbed second team All-ACC. Freshmen Nika Markovic and Layne Van Buskirk were the Panthers final awardees, earning ACC All-Freshman honors. The Panthers' six All-ACC honorees are second most among ACC programs, trailing only North Carolina.

ROSTER REVIEW

The Panthers return six starters from last year's squad, including AVCA Honorable Mention All-America selection Stephanie Williams and ACC Setter of the Year Kamalani Akeo. The duo, in addition to senior Mariah Bell, redshirt junior Angela Seman and sophomores Nika Markovic and Layne Van Buskirk, will look to lead the team back to the postseason in 2017.
Pitt lost players from the 2016 roster but most notably redshirt senior Jenna Potts. The Panthers will look to find a way to replace the middle blocker who was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree, and was one of the squad's top blockers. Potts became Pitt's all-time leader in career total blocks (573) and block assists (509).
The 2017 freshman class features two incoming players in Chinana Ndee and Kayla Lund. Lund was an AVCA Under Armour Girls High School All-America Third Team selection as a senior and a three-time MaxPreps Underclass All-American. Ndee was also an Under Armour Girl's High School All-America selection earning honorable mention.
Senior transfer Alex Rosignol (Southern Illinois) will round out the Panthers' newcomers. Rosignol ranked 26th in the nation with a .376 hitting percentage, which was also third in the MVC.

MILESTONE/RECORD BOOK WATCH

Redshirt junior libero Angela Seman is 44 digs away from breaking into career digs category of the record book.
Junior Mariah Bell will look to break into the top 10 in career kills and aces in 2017. Bell is 287 kills away from moving into the top 10 in kills, including just 216 away from hitting 1,000 career kills. She also needs just 18 aces to enter the record book
Junior setter Kamalani Akeo currently sits ninth in career assists with 1,938. She is just 291 away from moving into eighth.

PLAYING THE RPI GAME

The Panthers are set to play four opponents that are ranked in the AVCA Preseason Poll in Washington (3), Creighton (9), North Carolina (11) and Florida State (15), in addition to Western Kentucky and Dayton who are both receiving votes.
Pitt has a tough slate ahead of them, with matches versus eight teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament, including Washington and Creighton, who bowed out in the Elite Eight.

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