Inside The Panthers

Pitt Volleyball Breaks Attendance Record vs. Penn State

The Pitt Panthers volleyball team broke their attendance record in win vs. Penn State.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates Point Against Penn State
Pitt Volleyball Celebrates Point Against Penn State / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyballt team broke their attendance record in the sweep over their rival in the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Panthers hosted 11,800 people at the Petersen Events Center for their victory over the Nittany Lions, their first ever sell-out at the venue for a volleyball match.

Pitt set their previous record of 8,865 against then ranked rival in the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals on Nov. 18, 2023, also at the Petersen Events Center. Pitt fell behind two sets in that matchup, before making a reverse sweep, en route to their second straight ACC Title.

The Panthers previously had a program record attendance of 5,195 against the then ranked No. 4 Nittany Lions on Sept. 22, 2019. The Panthers fought hard, but the Nittany Lions would pull out a victory in five sets, splitting the weekend series, as the Panthers went to Rec Hall and swept the Nittany Lions.

Pitt improves to 7-0 on the season, with this also their third straight ranked win, as they defeated No. 10 Oregon on Aug. 30 and No. 23 USC on Sept. 11, both on the road. It is also the first win at home vs. Penn State in the regular season since 1987.

"Just thrilled with the great crowd," Pitt volleyball head coach Dan Fisher said on the environment. "I thought the energy was incredible and just really appreciate the Pitt fans, the volleyball fans, the students, coming out and helping us make history..."

Panthers senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika, who led with 15 digs and was perfect in serve-receive, praised the fans for coming out in the way they day, which was much different than what she is used to.

“Walking out of the tunnel from the locker room for warm-ups, I got chills," Klika said. "Like, hearing the crowd cheering for us and looking around and seeing all the seats basically filled. I think it’s just a testament to like the spirit that, not just, like, our school has, but like, the city has around our team and volleyball in general and it feels very special to be a part of this group."

Penn State head coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley enjoyed the atmosphere despite suffering a sweep and hopes for a response from her team, after they lost their first match of the season.

"I mean, go Pennsylvania volleyball, right?" Schumacher-Cawley said. "I think it was an awesome crowd. We talked about embracing this atmosphere and it was a great learning lesson for this team and we need to rebound and get better and reset for Friday. It's a quick turnaround, but I think great teams can do that and learn from it. I'm confident these seniors will continue to do better and lead this group.

Pitt will host rival Louisiville in the Petersen Events Center again this season on Oct. 25. They will also play the First/Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in the venue, if they earn a top 16 seed, which they've done five of out of the previous six seasons.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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