Panthers Travel to No. 22 Louisville, Notre Dame
11/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Match Notes | Live Stats/Video
PITTSBURGH – Following a sweep of No. 15 Florida State and Miami at home, the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team will travel to No. 22 Louisville and Notre Dame this weekend.
The Panthers [19-5, 9-3 ACC] have their eyes set on upsetting yet another top 25 team in Louisville [17-5, 11-1 ACC] on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center. Pitt will conclude the weekend with a match on Sunday, Nov. 8 against Notre Dame [6-18, 1-11 ACC] at Purcell Pavilion. Match time is slated for 1 p.m.
In the Panthers’ last outing against the Cards, Pitt won a hard fought five-set match. Pitt trails Louisville in all-time meetings, 12-8.
In its final match of the 2014 season, Pitt swept Notre Dame on the road, improving its all-time record against the Irish to 23-11.
BELL EARNS ACC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Sophomore Mariah Bell was named ACC Co-Player of the Week, alongside North Carolina’s Abigail Curry, as announced by league officials on Monday. Bell tallied 16 kills with a .344 hitting percentage against the top-ranked Seminoles and added 11 kills against the Hurricanes. She concluded the weekend with 4.50 kills per set.
ORCHARD NAMED FINALIST FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Senior Amanda Orchard is among 10 women’s volleyball student-athletes chosen as a finalist for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award, as announced by the organization on Friday, Oct. 30.
The Lake Zurich, Ill., native is one of three ACC student-athletes to be named finalists. The others are Florida State’s Nicole Walch and North Carolina’s Paige Neuenfeldt.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in September. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must be an NCAA Division I senior while excelling in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award, which is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, focuses on the total student-athlete package and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
GAINING GROUND
Following the Panthers upset of No. 15 FSU and victory over Miami, Pitt jumped 17 spots in the RPI to crack back into the top 50 at 39. In addition, the Panthers earned three votes in this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll.
A PLACE OF PERFECTION
Pitt is currently undefeated at the Fitzgerald Field House, the Panthers home court. The squad has won 11 straight matches at home and has just four remaining this season.
STATISICALLY SOUND
Pitt continues to hold a place at the top of the ACC leaderboards and remains among both team and individual NCAA category leaders. See a snapshot below of where Pitt sits in the top five of the ACC and top 25 of the NCAA.
ACC Statistics
1. Assists [13.84/set]
2. Kills [14.50/set]
4. Opponent Hitting % [.172]
4. Digs [15.44/set]
5. Blocks [2.62/set]
5. Hitting % [.248]
5. Service Aces [1.29/set]
Individual Ranks
2. Orchard [.426 hitting %]
3. Seman [4.60 digs/set]
Overall in the NCAA
5. Assists [13.84/set]
9. Kills [14.50/set]
Individual Ranks
10. Orchard [.439 Hitting %]
ATTACKING THE GAME
Throughout the season, Orchard has led the Panthers’ attack game. She has registered 205 kills and boasts a .426 attack percentage. This average places her 10th in the nation and second in the ACC.
KADI KILLERKANN
It’s no secret that graduate transfer Kadi Kullerkann is an offensive threat for the Panthers. The outside hitter leads the team in kills (308) and averages 3.58 kills per set.
Continuing her streak, Kullerkann has now registered 14 consecutive matches in which she has reached double-digit kills for a total of 22 on the season. That makes for all but two games this season that she has tallied ten or more kills.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
No. 22 Louisville
No. 22 Louisville enters this weekend after a 1-1 showing in the state of North Carolina. The Cardinals fell in their first ACC loss of the season last Friday to UNC, 3-1, snapping a 10-game winning streak. However, Louisville bounced back following a sweep of NC State.
The Cards currently rank first in the conference and fifth in the nation in kills per set (14.67). Leading the attack is senior Erin Fairs who has averaged 3.92 kills per set this season. Aiding in the attack is senior setter Katie George, who ranks fourth in the nation in assists per set (12.06).
Notre Dame
The Irish are having a tough season, earning just six total wins and a single conference win thus far. Notre Dame is currently on a seven game losing-streak after dropping matches to both the Tar Heels and Wolfpack.
#H2P
Be sure to follow the Pitt volleyball team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the squad. Live, in-game updates will be available through the team’s Twitter account, @PittVolleyball.