No. 2 Pitt Prepares for NCAA Tournament

PITTSBURGH – No. 2 seeded Pitt (27-3, 17-1 ACC) begins its quest for a National Championship on Friday, hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament inside the Petersen Events Center. Pitt will take on Patriot League Champion, Colgate, in the second match of the day, after No. 7 seed BYU takes on Sun Belt Champion James Madison at 4 p.m. The first round winners will play each other in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 

NCAA TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

 
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This is Pitt’s 18th NCAA Tournament Appearance. Pitt is 14-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament Matches with an 11-6 record under Dan Fisher and a perfect 6-0 record in NCAA 1st Round matches under Coach Fisher.
 
Last season, Pitt became the first women’s program in Pitt Athletics history to reach the Final Four, defeating UMBC, Penn State, Kansas and Purdue en-route to the Final Four. The Panthers advanced past the second round for the first time in program history two years ago, reaching the Elite 8 in the 2020/21 season.
 
Pitt enters the tournament as a No. 2 seed, the highest seed in program history. This was made possible by the new format of the tournament. Pitt would have been a No. 1 seed last season as the No. 3 overall ranked team in the field. Pitt is the No. 6 ranked team in this tournament.
 
Rachel Fairbanks and Serena Gray were named to the All-Region Team last NCAA Tournament.
Fairbanks was two digs shy of a triple-double in the Elite 8 last year, making 10 kills, 28 assists and 8 digs against Purdue. Gray hit over .500 in three of four NCAA Tournament matches leading up to the FInal Four last year, including a 14 kill, .583 hitting, six block performance against Purdue in the Elite 8.
 
Both of Pitt’s graduate transfers: Courtney Buzzerio and Cam Ennis will be making their NCAA Tournament debuts this weekend.
 
PITT IN THE PETE
This will be Pitt Volleyball’s 12th match at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers are 8-3 all-time at the venue and 4-2 in the postseason. Pitt has won their last three matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC, Penn State last season and taking down No. 13 Georgia Tech in a five-set thriller last week (Nov. 23).
 
Last season, Pitt won both matches in the Pete, defeating UMBC and Penn State in the…