Inside The Panthers

Pitt Volleyball Ranked No. 1 for First Time

The Pitt Panthers acheived their first ever No. 1 ranking in program history.

Dominic Campbell

Pitt Volleyball Celebrates after a point
Pitt Volleyball Celebrates after a point / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers achieved their first ever No. 1 ranking in volleyball, with the latest AVCA Coaches Poll placing them at the top of the country.

Pitt Volleyball Performances So Far

Pitt went into Eugene, Ore. and swept then ranked No. 10 Oregon on Aug. 30 and then the same with Long Beach State on Aug. 31. They then took on Buffalo at Fitzgerald Field House on Sept. 3 and swept them as well. 

The Panthers' victory over the Ducks got them their first season opener win since 2021, when they took down then ranked No. 23 Rice Owls at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C.

Pitt didn't just start the season undefeated, they also completely domianted in their victories as well. They held all three opponents below .200 hitting, with Oregon at .186, Buffalo at .026 and Long Beach State at .011. 

Top Teams Faltering

The Panthers are the only Final Four team from the 2023 season to still not have a loss on their record.

Wisconsin started their season 0-3, with losses in four sets to then ranked No. 6 Louisville on the road on Aug. 27 and then four sets to Texas on Sept. 1 and then in a sweep to No. 5 Stanford on Sept. 2, with the latter two defeats at the Women's College Volleyball Showcase at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. 

Texas lost a five set thriller to No. 18 Minnesota on Sept. 2, also at the Fiserv Forum and found themselves on the end of a reverse sweep at home by Miami on Sept. 7.

Nebraska won in four sets against then ranked No. 9 Kentucky in Louisville on Aug. 27, defeated both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and TCU at home Aug. 30-31, but lost in a sweep to ACC incomer SMU in Dallas on Sept. 3. 

Who is behind Pitt?

Stanford is 4-0 on the season and holds the No. 2 ranking in the poll. They swept Milwaukee on Aug. 30, outlasted No. 18 Minnesota in five sets and defeated No. 6 Wisconsin on Sept. 2 in four sets at the Fiserv Forum and swept No. 24 Marquette on their home court on Sept. 4.

Pitt will face off against Stanford on Oct. 20 at Fitzgerald Field house for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off on ESPN.

Rival Penn State is 5-0 on the season and comes in at No. 3. They defeated then ranked No. 15 Tennessee on the road in four sets on Aug. 30 and swept Temple in Philadelphia on Sept. 1. They also dominated No. 4 Louisville at home, sweeping them and holding them to a .091 hitting percentage, made a reverse sweep of then ranked No. 9 Kentucky on the road on Sept. 6 and swept Ball State on Sept. 7.

The Panthers will host the Nittany Lions in the Keystone Classic on Sept. 18 at the Petersen Events Center, with a 7:00 p.m. start on the ACC Network.

Louisville comes in at No. 4, Nebraska at No. 5, Texas at No. 6, unbeated Purdue at No. 7, Wisconsin at No. 8, unbeated Creighton at No. 9 and Kentucky at No. 10.

Georgia Tech rises from No. 19 to No. 15 after a big win on the road against then ranked No. 14 BYU on Sept. 7 and Miami makes it to the No. 20 spot. Florida State drops one spot from No. 20 to No. 21. ACC newcomer SMU was the last team to miss out on the top 25.

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Dominic Campbell
DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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