University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt Ranked No. 2 In Latest AVCA Top 25 Poll
8/31/2026 3:45:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt Volleyball team is ranked No. 2 in the country, according to the first poll of the regular season released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Pitt climbed two spots from its preseason ranking of No. 4 after starting the season 4-0 with three wins over ranked opponents.
Pitt had 1,510 total voting points and earned six first place votes. Nebraska remained the No. 1 team in the country with 1,569 points and the remaining 57 first place votes. Pitt has two wins over teams ranked in the top five in No. 3 Kentucky and No. 5 Wisconsin. Stanford is sandwiched by those two teams at No. 4.
Louisville, Arizona State, SMU, Texas and Creighton round out the top 10. Notably, Kansas is No. 16 despite a loss to Pitt and ACC foe North Carolina is No. 19. Pitt's next opponent, BYU is No. 24, and Tennessee is No. 22, which Pitt will face in Orlando on Sept. 9.
Pitt is ranked in the AVCA Top 25 poll for the 136th consecutive week – every poll since the start of the 2018 season. The No. 2 ranking for Pitt is the highest since the Panthers were ranked No. 1 for 13 straight weeks during the 2024 season. In total, Pitt has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 22 times in the program's history.
Pitt will look to extend its undefeated start by playing at No. 24 BYU Friday at 8 p.m. The Panthers will then play at Utah, a team just outside the top 25 with 33 voting points, Sunday at 3 p.m. Pitt will close out the road trip by playing No. 22 Tennessee in the Shriner's Children's Showdown at the Net at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Fla. on Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m.
