PITTSBURGH – Associate Head Coach Kellen Petrone has been named the AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year, announced on Thursday for his coaching and recruiting efforts for the Pitt volleyball program.
Petrone was promoted this past spring after seven seasons as an assistant coach, as Head Coach Dan Fisher gave him the Associate Head Coach title. In his first season as Associate Head Coach, Petrone has helped Pitt to a 29-4 season, going 16-2 in ACC play. The Panthers have advanced to their third straight National Semifinals, the only team to do so in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The 2023 recruiting class, spearheaded by Petrone, was ranked as high as No. 5 according to prepdig.com, the highest ranked recruiting class in program history and the first Top 5 ranked class ever recorded at Pitt. His prowess as a recruiter is known nation-wide putting together back-to-back Top 10 recruiting classes (No. 9 in 2022 and No. 5 in 2023) in program history.
The class includes AVCA National Freshman of the Year and ACC Freshman of the Year, Olivia Babcock, and Third Team All-American and First Team All-ACC member, Torrey Stafford. The duo lead the Panthers in kills and points.
Petrone leads Pitt’s defensive efforts, and he has propelled the Panthers to second in the nation in blocks per set (2.97) and opponent hitting percentage (.138). Pitt’s block and back court defense has held 15 opponents to a team .100 hitting percentage or less.
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