Pitt Volleyball Announces Class of 2025 Signings

Pitt Panthers announced their volleyball Class of 2025 signings.

Pitt Volleyball Class of 2025 Signees Abbey Emch and Samara Coleman / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers announced their volleyball Class of 2025 signings, who will play important roles for the program in the future.

Nov. 13 marked the early signing period for volleyball programs and committed recruits across the country signed their National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play for their school.

Pitt announced that both middle blocker Abbey Emch and outside hitter Samara Coleman both signed their NLIs to join the program for next season.

"With the addition of Samara and Abbey we will continue to compete at the highest level both in the ACC and nationally," Panthers head coach Dan Fisher said in a press release. "They're the type of people others want to be around. It is going to be a joy to show up to work with these two on th

Emch hails from New Waterford, Ohio and played for Crestview High School, just a little over 60 miles northwest of Pitt's campus, near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border.

She had an incredible senior season, averaging 6.4 kills per set, 0.8 aces per set and hit .501. She also played well in the back row, averaging 3.0 digs per set and a 94.0% reception in serve-receive.

Emch finished her high school career playing 338 sets and making 1,577 kills, 726 digs, 206 aces and 317 total blocks. She was had a 102-6 record over four seasons at Crestview, including winning 310 of 338 those sets.

She also earned District Player of the Year, MVAC Player of the Year, First Team All-Ohio, First Team All-District, FirstTeam MVAC and AVCA girls high school All-Region honors.

Emch's versatility playing at middle blocker and also as an outside hitter will benefit her greatly at the collegiate level, as she stands at 6-foot-4, giving her a chance to dominate at the net.

"Abbey is someone that we couldn't be more excited to officially welcome to our team," Fisher said in the press release. "We have known her for a long time, and she has grown up around our program. Abbey is someone we expect to flourish right away in our gym. She is a great blocker, has the ability to score, and has experience in all of the front row positions. We know she is going to be a big impact player on our program."

Coleman stands at 6-foot-1 and plays for Grand Oaks High School in Spring, Texas and for her travelball team, Houston Skyline. She also has experience in the USA National Team Development Program.

She has a vertical jump at 30 inches with one arm and a standing reach of 90 inches, according to herHudl. Her vertical helps her excel against her opponents and it doesn't hurt her to have such great power behind each swing.

Coleman has had a great senior season so far, averaging 5.4 kills per set, 0.4 aces per set and is hitting .332. She also plays well in the back row, with 2.6 digs per set and a 96.5% reception rate on opponent serves.

She made 499 kills, 4.1 per set, while hitting .351 as a junior. She also 49 service aces, 0.4 per set, made 309 digs, 2.5 per set, and excelled in serve-receive, making just 29 errors on 745 serves.

Coleman received a number of accolades for her efforts in 2023, including Texas State Writers Association Class 6A Player of the Year and VYPEHouston Public School Player of the Year.

"Samara has been playing at the highest level of club and USA volleyball from a young age," Fisher said in the press release. "She is also a Texas State Champion. She has a great arm, a big jump, and her improvement in her serve receive in the last two years is impressive. Samara is a great fit for us on the court and within our team culture." 

Pitt volleyball also has five Class of 2026 commitments in outside hitter Ayanna Watson and libero/setter Trinity Thompson from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, outside hitter Lola Sageer from Liverpool High School in Liverpool, N.Y., libero/defensive specialist Izzy Masten from Tri-West Hendricks High School in Lizton, Ind. and setter Isabella Hoppe from nearby Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa.

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