Pitt Volleyball Final Four Opponent, Start Time Revealed

Pitt Panthers volleyball knows their Final Four opponent and the start time.

Dominic Campbell | 5 Hours Ago

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates a Point / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers Volleyball is headed back to the Final Four and will face a familiar opponent in their biggest match of the season.

Pitt will face rival Louisville in the Final Four on Dec. 19, which will take place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. The NCAA awarded the Final Four to Louisville this year, prior, so this isn't a "home" match for Louisville.

Pitt Volleyball vs. Louisville Rivalry History

The rivalry between the two schools is one of the best in volleyball, with some of the most important matches in the sport happening in recent history.

Pitt and Louisville have met twice in the regular season for six consecutive seasons and this will serve as their ninth meeting in the past three season, their third straight battle in the NCAA Tournament.

The rivalry is also bolstered by two of the best coaches in the country in the Panthers' Dan Fisher and the Cardinals' Dani Busboom Kelly, who have helped their respective programs serve as one of the best in the country.

Pitt holds an 12-8 lead in the series since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014, but the series is 9-8 since Busboom Kelly took over in 2017.

The Panthers have six ACC titles, 2017-19 and 2022-24, and the Cardinals have four ACC titles, 2017 and 2020-22, during that time as well.

Both teams come out victorious at home more often than not in this matchup, with Pitt 13-7 and Louisville 9-5 in the rivalry.

Pitt faced off against Louisville at the Petersen Events Center last season on Nov. 18, 2023 and pulled off a dramatic reverse sweep in front of a then program record 8,865 fans.

The rivalry also extends further past the regular season into the NCAA Tournament, as Pitt and Louisville played each other in these past two postseasons.

They faced off in the 2022 Final Four in Omaha, Neb., with a back-and-forth match that went to five sets. Great serving from the Cardinals saw them dominate in that final set, 15-2, to make the Championship game.

Louisville looked like they would defeat Pitt again this past season in the Elite Eight, going up 2-0. Pitt would have the benefit of a great Fitzgerald Field House crowd and controlled the final three sets, reverse sweeping Louisville again, to make their third straight Final Four.

Pitt and Louisville battled back at the Petersen Events Center on Oct. 25, with the home team taking the five set victory in front of a crowd of 11,309 fans.

The Panthers then faced the Cardinals at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville on Nov. 27 and won in four sets, helping them win the ACC Title outright and earn their first ever No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This made it four straight wins over the Cardinals for the Panthers, tied for their longest win-streak in the all-time series.

How Did Both Teams Get Here?

Pitt swept both Morehead State in the First Round and No. 8 Oklahoma in the Second Round. They would face a tough opponent in No. 4 Oregon, who pushed them to five sets, but would outlast them to make the Elite Eight, where they swept No. 3 Kentucky to make their fourth straight Final Four.

Louisville finished their regular season 25-5 and 17-3 in the ACC, clinching the last No. 1 seed, allowing them to host through to the Final Four.

They swept Chicago State in the First Round, but had to comeback down from two sets to one and fight off match points vs. No. 8 UNI in the Second Round at home, winning in five sets.

Louisville then swept No. 4 Purdue in the Sweet 16 and after losing the first set to No. 2 Stanford in the Elite Eight, won the next three sets to make it back to the Final Four for the third time in the past four seasons.

Who are the Other Two Teams in the Final Four?

The other two teams that made the Final Four include No. 1 Penn State and No. 1 Nebraska.

Penn State swept Delaware State in the First Round, beat both No. 8 North Carolina in the Second Round and No. 5 Marquette in the Sweet 16 in four sets and then outlasted No. 2 Creighton in five sets in the Elite Eight, earning their first Final Four appearance since 2017.

Nebraska swept both Florida A&M and No. 8 Miami in the first two rounds, defeated No. 5 Dayton in five sets in the Sweet 16 and then swept No. 2 Wisconsin in the Elite Eight, making their second straight Final Four and third in four seasons.

The Nittany Lions defeated the Cornhuskers in four sets back on Nov. 29 at Rec Hall in State College, Pa., which allowed both teams to earn a share of the Big Ten Title.

When Does Pitt Volleyball Play Louisville in the Final Four?

Pitt and Louisville will start at 6:30 p.m. in their Final Four match, which ESPN will broadcast. This is 30 minutes earlier than the normal start time of 7:00 p.m.

Penn State and Nebraska will begin 30 minutes after the first match ends. The winners will face in the National Championship on Dec. 22 at 3:00 p.m. on ABC.

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Published 5 Hours Ago