Pitt volleyball faithful send off Panthers to Final 4 confident of team's national title chances

Pitt volleyball — from coach Dan Fisher and his staff to the Panthers players as well as their fan base — has been here before.

The Panthers departed Fitzgerald Field House on Tuesday afternoon to travel to the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., as fans sent them off to their fifth consecutive Final Four.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the No. 1-seeded Panthers (30-4) face No. 3 Texas A&M (27-4) in the national semifinals, with a chance to advance to the title game on the line. The Panthers have lost in the semifinals the past four years.

“They work so hard,” said Kathleen Neurohr of Greensburg, who attended Tuesday’s send-off with her sister, Marsha. “We’ve been following them for so long, and we think this is finally going to be their year.

“I think they’re determined. They have such a taste for it, and they’ve been there now. They know what they’re up against, and I think they’re going to do it this year. The stars have aligned.”

And they’re off! pic.twitter.com/FglJE6ZRVs

— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) December 16, 2025

Marsha Neurohr, also of Greensburg and a graduate of Pitt (1983) like her sister (1975), believes the Panthers are riding a strong wave of momentum into Thursday’s showdown.

Noting that the season began inauspiciously with back-to-back losses to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 16 Florida, she sees those struggles as being in the rearview mirror.

“Early in the year, you could tell they were just getting to get to know each other,” Marsha Neurohr said. “But as the year’s progressed, they have improved significantly and they’re peaking at the right time. This is when you want to play your best, and they are.”

The Neurohr sisters, owners of season tickets for multiple Pitt sports dating to their undergraduate days in Oakland, do not limit their support of the volleyball squad to home matches.

Prior road trips to watch Fisher and Co. have included the 2021 Final Four in Columbus, Ohio, where Pitt fell to Nebraska in four sets, as well as to Virginia and Virginia Tech during ACC play.

“It’s an exciting sport, and if you come to one match, you’re hooked,” Kathleen Neurohr said.

The Neurohrs are still considering traveling to Kansas City, but for others, their tickets are punched.

Pitt volleyball season-ticket holders Kathleen Neurohr (left) and Marsha Neurohr, both of Greensburg, were among the NCAA Tournament send-off crowd for the team Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, at Ftzgerald Field House. (Justin Guerriero | TribLive)

Sophia Freemyer, a Fairfax, Va., native and senior environmental engineering student at Pitt, is part of the Panthers band journeying to the Final Four, along with her friend and fellow piccoloist Becca Mischler.

For Freemyer, this marks her third trip to the Final Four, whereas Mischler, an Erie native and fourth-year student majoring in environmental science, is going for the first time.

Naturally, a spot on the travel band roster is highly coveted, especially for a sport like volleyball that is among Pitt’s most successful in recent years.

A multitude of factors go into selection.

For starters, all Pitt varsity marching band members must audition to be part of the home volleyball band. From there, a pep band (playing at select away games) is chosen, with seniority and instrumentation taken into account.

But all of that is done and settled for Freemyer and Mischler.

Up next is a visit to Kansas City, and supporters expressed confidence that 2025 is Pitt’s moment to bring home its first national championship.

“This is absolutely going to be the year,” Freemyer said. “I feel it in my bones that this is the year they finally go all the way.”

Mischler struck the same chord.

“We’re going all the way,” she said. “I can feel it.”

Fisher knows better than anyone what his team is capable of and doubtless shares his supporters’ enthusiasm about Pitt’s prospects for breaking through the Final Four barrier this year.

On Tuesday, Fisher took a moment to recognize the enthusiastic backing his team has received this season.

“It’s been just another year where Pittsburgh shows it’s a great sports town and a great volleyball community,” Fisher said. “It means a lot.”