Pitt Volleyball Announces Seating Change vs. Louisville

Pitt Panthers volleyball announced a seating change vs. Louisville on Oct. 25.

Dominic Campbell | Oct 1, 2024

Pitt Volleyball Hosts Louisville at the Petersen Events Center on Nov. 18, 2023 /

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball will host No. 4 Louisville on Oct. 25 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off at the Petersen Events Center, which will have a different seating arrangement than previous matches at the venue.

Pitt previously used general admission seating for volleyball at the Petersen Events Center, but will instead use a reserved seating model in the match vs. Louisville.

Tickets originally went on sale for the match at $12 for a single-match and $10 a person for a group of 15 or more.

The new model will price tickets at $30 for lower bowl sideline, six sections in 107-109 behind the team benches and 120-122 on the opposite side. The rest of the lower bowl is $20 and then the upper bowl is $10 per ticket.

Wow. This is quite a move — something Pitt never had to do in previous years when fans had plenty of elbow room.

Likely going to be another 11,000+ for this match. #H2P https://t.co/8xzpWmThb0 pic.twitter.com/QNNrsSPHGF
— James Santelli, Fan of #1 Pitt Volleyball (@JamesSantelli) September 30, 2024

Fans that bought a general admission ticket already, or are season ticket holders, can either take a seat in the upper deck or pay extra to sit in the lower bowl. Pitt Athletics sent out an email to those who bought a ticket prior.

Pitt athletics put out a ticket form for fans that still haven't bought tickets, which asks for first name, last name, email address, phone number, desired seating area and how many tickets are needed.

The match vs. then ranked No. 3 Penn State at the Petersen Events Center on Sept. 18, which Pitt won in a sweep, set a program record attendance of 11,800, the first sell-out at the venue for volleyball, with tickets general admission.

Pitt changing to a reserved seating model will allow fans to not line up prior to the doors opening, 90 minutes before match start, and simply have a seat. It will also reduce problems in Petersen Events Center with people holding seats and also not have single seats empty.

The change also hints that this match will likely see close to or sell-out, making this reserved seating model worth it for fans in the long run.

Season Ticket holders do miss out on not outright receiving a lower bowl ticket and those that bought prior also have to pay more to get seats that they would've had for cheaper.

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 recent history.

Pitt and Louisville have met twice in the regular season for the past five seasons and six times overall in the past two seasons.

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 program serve as one of the best in the country.

Pitt holds a 10-8 lead in the series since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014, but Louisville holds an 8-7 advantage since Busboom Kelly took over in 2017.

The Panthers have five ACC titles, 2017-19 and 2022-23, and the Cardinals have four ACC titles, 2017 and 2020-22, during that time as well.

Both teams have won their regular season games at home these past two seasons, with the home crowd playing a big role in each victory.

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 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 is 12-0 this season and swept every opponent they've faced, the only team in Division I to do the latter. They have threee ranked wins on the road against No. 10 Oregon on Aug. 30, No. 23 USC on Sept. 11 and ACC rival No. 13 Georgia Tech, plus one against rival No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 18.

Louisville is 10-2 in 2024, with ranked wins at home vs. No. 3 Wisconsin in four sets on Aug. 27, No. 15 Tennessee in a sweep on Aug. 28, No. 9 Creighton in five sets on Sept. 15 and ACC newcomer No. 3 Stanford in a sweep on Sept. 29, plus a win over rival No. 11 Kentucky in Lexington on Sept 18.

Their two losses came vs. No. 7 Penn State on Sept. 3 on the road and No. 3 Nebraska on Sept. 22 at home, both in sweeps.

Pitt and Louisville will battle it out once again at a likely sold out Petersen Events Center, with massive implications for the ACC Title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

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Published Oct 1, 2024