Pitt volleyball team enters final 2 matches with ACC title, NCAA seeding on line

For the past several years, the quest for the ACC women’s volleyball title mostly has been a two-horse race between Pitt and Louisville. But with the expansion of the conference, the top of the standings has become more crowded.

As Pitt prepares to host Louisville at 7 on Wednesday night at Petersen Events Center, four teams remain in contention for at least a share of the ACC title.

The Panthers and Cardinals enter at 16-2 in the conference. Stanford, which defeated Pitt in five sets two weeks ago, also is 16-2. SMU is a game back at 15-3 and further jumbled the standings with its upset of Stanford over the weekend.

At stake along with the conference title is an almost-guaranteed spot among the NCAA Tournament’s top four overall seeds. The top four seeds will host matches through the national quarterfinals.

With the ACC having four of the top eight teams in Monday’s American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings — No. 4 Pitt (24-4 overall), No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Louisville and No. 8 SMU — it is well within the realm of possibility that two ACC teams could get top-four NCAA seeds. Pitt and Louisville did last year.

“I’d be surprised if we have two,” said Pitt coach Dan Fisher, in his 13th season. “I think we could. We’ll see how it plays out.”

Indeed, before tournament seedings are decided, there is a lot to unpack with the ACC race. Scenarios range from having an outright champion to a four-way tie on top.

Pitt can earn the title outright if it wins its final two matches — the Panthers close the regular season Saturday at Georgia Tech (11-7 ACC) — and Stanford (25-4) loses one of its final two matches (vs. Georgia Tech on Wednesday or at Louisville on Saturday).

Fisher said he knew the ACC would get tougher with the addition of Stanford, which has a record nine NCAA titles. SMU (23-5) has been the wild card. The Mustangs lost to Pitt twice this season but have road victories over Stanford and Louisville.

“When they came in, we knew they’d be good,” Fisher said of SMU. “… but I don’t know if we knew they’d be top-10 good. And you’re seeing really good teams this year from Miami, UNC and Florida State still really strong in the battle to make the Tournament.

“What I said at the start of the year has held true: We are the strongest conference in the country, and it’s proven now if you look at the top 10.”

That strength extends all the way down to seventh-place Georgia Tech, which could throw a wrench into the aspirations of Pitt and Stanford. The Yellow Jackets will travel cross-country to face Stanford before hosting Pitt on Saturday.

Fisher said Georgia Tech will be a tough out for his Panthers and the Cardinal, especially with the Jackets possibly fighting for their NCAA lives.

“I think they’re probably in the tournament, but if you’re them, you’re probably thinking, ‘Hey, we need to get one more resume win just to make sure,’ ” Fisher said. “They probably are feeling like, ‘We want to control our own destiny.’ ”

Before heading to Atlanta, the Panthers have some business to settle with archrival Louisville (24-4) and will do so with a couple of their key players battling injuries.

Freshman outside hitter Dagmar Mourits hasn’t played since mid-October because of an ankle issue. She was averaging 2.24 kills per set before her injury. Junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless, second on the team at 2.64 kills per set, got banged up in Pitt’s previous match.

On Monday, Fisher was optimistic about how their health was trending, but both are likely to be match-time decisions. Regardless of which players take the floor Wednesday at The Pete, the Panthers are right where they want to be.

“We started (the season) with a goal of winning the ACC and winning a national championship,” Fisher said, “so we are grateful to be in a position, with two games left, to have a decent seed in the tournament and to be in contention to win the ACC.”