Pitt women's volleyball earns No. 3 overall seed for NCAA Tournament

The Pitt women’s volleyball team, which came up just short of earning a spot in the Final Four last season, is among the favorites to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

Sunday night, the Panthers (26-3, 13-3 ACC) received the No. 3 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament. It is the highest seed in program history, topping the No. 6 seed Pitt received in 2019.

The seedings closely followed the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Louisville, which handed Pitt two of its three ACC losses, is the top seed after going unbeaten in the regular season. Texas is No. 2, and Wisconsin earned the No. 4 seed.

BYU was the fourth-ranked team in the Nov. 22 AVCA poll.

The Panthers will host first- and second-round matches Friday and Saturday at Petersen Events Center. The Panthers will open against America East champ UMBC on Friday at 7 p.m. Penn State and Towson will play Friday’s other first-round match at The Pete at 4 p.m.

Towson, champion of the Colonial Athletic Association, is coached by Latrobe native Don Metil.

Penn State (20-10, 13-7 Big Ten) was ranked 15th in the nation in the Nov. 22 poll. The Nittany Lions, under coach Russ Rose, long have been one of the premier programs in the nation, owning seven NCAA championships.

West Virginia (19-9, 8-8 Big 12) qualified for the tournament for the first time. The Mountaineers will take on Illinois in the regional hosted by No. 7 seed Kentucky. Southeast Missouri State is the other team in the Lexington group.