Pitt Volleyball Clinches Top Seed in NCAA Tournament

Pitt Panthers volleyball clinched top seed in NCAA Tournament.

Dominic Campbell | 11 Hours Ago

No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps No. 3 Penn State in the Keystone Classic at the Petersen Events Center / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers volleyball finished off the regular season the best team in the country and will head into the NCAA Tournament with the top seed, with the Selection Show revealing their placement.

Why Hosting is Important in the NCAA Tournament

Pitt, with a No. 1 seed, will host through to the Final Four, as long as they win the First and Second Rounds at home.

Playing in front of your home fans throughout the first four games 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.

This is the third season in the past four that Pitt has hosted in the NCAA Tournament. They did so in 2021, defeating UMBC and Penn State in the first two games, Kansas in the Sweet 16 and No. 6 Purdue (No. 2 seed) in the Elite Eight.

They also hosted in 2023, defeating Coppin State in the First Round, No. 8 USC in the Second Round, No. 4 Washington State in the Sweet 16 and Louisville in the Elite Eight.

Pitt got a No. 2 seed in 2022, defeating Colgate in the First Round and No. 7 BYU in the Second Round at home. They then had to go to Madison, Wis., beating No. 3 Florida in the Sweet 16 and then stunning reigning National Champions, No. 1 Wisconsin, on their own court

The Panthers don't have any issue going on the road to defeat tough opponents, but playing at home in front of a passionate fanbase is a huge boost and will help them in their quest for a fourth straight Final Four and their first National Championship.

How Pitt Volleyball Earned the Top Overall Seed

Pitt finished the season 29-1 overall and 19-1 in the ACC. They won the ACC Title outright, making it three straight conference championships and six in the past eight seasons.

The Panthers spent 12 weeks ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the first time they ever had that ranking and no one came close to overtaking them throughout the season.

Pitt had 11 ranked wins on the season, including two victories each over No. 3 Louisville and No. 19 Georgia Tech, home-and-away, plus No. 6 Stanford, No. 10 SMU, No. 21 Florida State and No. 25 North Carolina, all at home, helping them win the ACC Title.

They also had big non-conference wins over then ranked No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 18, in a sold-out Petersen Events Center, plus road victories over then ranked No. 10 Oregon in the season opener on Aug. 30 and then ranked No. 23 USC on Sept. 11.

Pitt only dropped 10 sets all season and their sole loss came vs. then ranked No. 15 SMU on Oct. 12 on the road. The 10 sets dropped is the least of any Division I team.

Head coach Dan Fisher didn't necessarily get the non-conference schedule he wanted, but wins over Penn State, Oregon and USC were incredibly important early on in the season for Pitt and for their No. 1 ranking.

Pitt volleyball has a sensational cast, including three AVCA Division I Player of the Year Semifinalists, including sophomores in right side Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford, plus setter Rachel Fairbanks.

Who Else is a No. 1 Seed?

Nebraska and Penn State, who shared the Big Ten Title, both earned No. 1 overall seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

Both teams finished 29-2 and 19-1 in the Big Ten, but the Nittany Lions victory over the Cornhuskers in four sets at home on Nov. 29 gave them the automatic qualifier. It also gave the Panthers the top seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville, at 25-5 and 17-3 in the ACC, also got the No. 4 seed, despite losing to both Pitt at home on Nov. 27 and Stanford on the road on Nov. 30.

They also suffered losses to Penn State on the road on Sept. 7, Pitt on the road on Oct. 25 and Nebraska at home, but have the toughest strength of schedule, which mattered a great deal to the NCAA Division I Selection Committee.

Stanford, 25-4 and 17-3 in the ACC, just misses out on hosting for the third straight season and Creighton, 30-2, with their two losses coming in five sets on the road to Nebraska and Louisville, also just misses out on hosting.

Who Does Pitt Play?

Pitt will play Morehead State on Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the First Round at the Petersen Events Center. Morehead State is the automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference and Pitt is 2-1 against them, with a win most recently in 2001.

No. 8 Oklahoma faces UTEP, the C-USA automatic qualifier, at Dec. 6 at 4:00 p.m. The winners will face off on Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Both First Round matches and the Second Round match will take place at the Petersen Events Center.

If Pitt makes the Sweet 16, they'll host both those matches and the Elite Eight match, most likely at Fitzgerald Field House.

Where is the Final Four?

The Final Four will take place Dec. 19-22 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The semifinals take place on Dec. 19, with the first game at 6:30 p.m. and the second one following 30 minutes afterwards.

The National Championship takes place on Dec. 22 at 3:00 p.m. on ABC.

The Rest of Pitt's Bracket

SMU is No. 2 and will likely have a chance to face Pitt in the Elite Eight, with both teams having a chance to get the second win over each other. No. 4 Oregon also looks like the Sweet 16 opponent.

The other seeded teams include No. 3 Kentucky, who won the SEC, No. 5 TCU, No. 6 Minnesota and No. 7 Missouri.

𝐔𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧

1st & 2nd Round Hosts:
1️⃣ @Pitt_VB
2️⃣ @SMUVolleyball
3️⃣ @KentuckyVB
4️⃣ @OregonVB #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/cM2A0GF1Fw
— NCAA Women's Volleyball (@NCAAVolleyball) December 1, 2024