The run to the 2021 Final Four not only provided invaluable experience, but it showed the Pitt volleyball team exactly what more needed to be done to get over the hump.
A defeat to 10th-seeded Nebraska in the national semifinal stung for the third-seeded Panthers. They had all of the talent and team composition to reach that championship match and contend with eventual champion Wisconsin.
Nearly a calendar year later, the red-hot Panthers feel leveled up. They feel energized. They feel ready.
It all begins Friday evening, with a 7 p.m. first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Colgate inside the Petersen Events Center.
"We're in good spirits," coach Dan Fisher said this week. "We're feeling good about winning the ACC. That's the fourth time in six years. This group has come together really well. We obviously lost some key contributors from a year ago, so we're glad to be in this position. We think we have a team that can make a deep run. We think we have a team that can win a national championship, but we're going to start with this weekend."
The Panthers ended the season with a 27-3 overall record and a 17-1 mark within the ACC, and they tied with Louisville for the conference mark. Pitt enters the first round of the tournament having won 20 of its last 21 matches, sans a defeat at No. 4 Louisville on Nov. 18.
This team is not just good; it is great. And battle tested.
Pitt is 5-2 against ranked teams this season, including wins at No. 7 BYU, against No. 5 Ohio State, at No. 10 Georgia Tech, against No. 2 Louisville, and against No. 13 Georgia Tech. In those five victories against ranked foes included the sweep against the Buckeyes in September, a point which captains Ashley Browske and Chiamaka Nwokolo considered a launching pad for their season.
"I think when we were able to win against Ohio State and see our true potential against a quality team like Ohio State, it really gave us the confidence to be like, 'hey, we're one of the best teams in the country,'" Browske said. "I think that gave us the motivation to continue to get better, and I do think we are on the way of still playing our best volleyball."
Added Nwokolo: "Yeah, I was going to say the exact same thing."
The Panthers are one of the best attacking teams in the country. They check into the tournament ranked 23rd in the NCAA with a .268 hit percentage, and their 13.99 kills per set rank 19th in the country.
Among ACC teams, Pitt ranked first in points per set (18.01), first in assists per set (12.98), first in kills per set, and second in hit percentage. Middle blocker Serena Gray was third in the ACC in hit percentage at .406, Courtney Buzzerio's 4.23 points per set and 3.58 kills per set ranked sixth and seventh in the ACC, respectively, and Rachel Fairbanks' 6.90 assists per set were ninth in the ACC.
Those are a lot of stats thrown at the wall, but those are telling in noting how many different ways Pitt can attack an opponent. The Panthers' depth is absolutely tremendous, and regardless of rotation, just about anyone can efficiently get the ball over the net.
"We always want to be the team that's spiking and hitting more than the other team," Fisher said. "It's not that we won't tip, but we want to be the more aggressive team, and so we look at how many kills do we have against the other team. We look at the numbers, but we also just look at -- you can do the eye test, too. Is there a ball that someone could've really gone after and maybe scored a point and they just sent over a free-ball because they were timid. We want our girls to be courageous."
Four on the Panthers' front line tallied 200 or more kills this season: Buzzerio (379), Valeria Vazquez Gomez (309), Julianna Dalton (234), and Gray (208). Three Panthers -- Fairbanks, Buzzerio, and Vazquez Gomez -- registered 20 or more service aces.
Buzzerio, Vazquez Gomez, Gray, and Dalton each accounted for 280 or more points this season, with Buzzerio tallying 448 of Pitt's 1,909.5 points (23.5%) this season.
"It's been really important to get here," Fisher said of his depth. "(Setter) Lexis (Akeo) was not at full speed for a lot of the year. Luckily, she is now. We had Cam (Ennis) setting, and we've used Cam on the outside, we've used two different liberos, we have four very good middles right now. It's been one of the hardest years I've had of seeing a lot of talent not always in the roles they want. The most important part, it's made our practice gym better. It also gives us strength knowing if someone's having an off-day, someone can come in and get the job done."
But, for as good as Pitt's offense is; it might be a better team overall on the defensive end.
Pitt ranked eighth in the NCAA in holding opponents to a .151 hit percentage, while finishing in a tie for 27th in the country with 2.59 blocks per set. Nwokolo's 1.13 blocks per set and Gray's 1.10 blocks per set were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the ACC. As a team, Pitt was second in the ACC in allowing 11.15 kills per set.
Complementary volleyball. Offense turns into defense. Synergy. It is this combination and blend of talent with effort and coaching that has given the Panthers tremendous success in Fisher's tenure.
And which could carry them over the edge in this tournament starting on
Pitt has won at least a share of the ACC championship in four of the last six seasons, and culture is the main focal point of why.
"I think it starts with our coaches and recruiting," Nwokolo said. "I think they do a good job at recruiting a certain type of person that is willing to grow and is willing to adapt and buy into our culture. I think that's where it starts. We don't just take anybody just because they're really good. We make sure that they're going to buy into our program, too, before they ask them for a spot on our team."
Pitt is a No. 2 seed and hosts the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. A win over Colgate on Friday would set up a match with the winner of seventh-seeded BYU and James Madison, which tip off at 4 p.m. on Friday inside of the Petersen Events Center. That second-round match would be played at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Wisconsin is the top seed in Pitt's quadrant of the bracket.
A No. 2-seed is nothing to scoff at, but considering Pitt's RPI ranking of third, it was surprising to see the Panthers not land a No. 1-seed. Texas (RPI 1), Louisville (RPI 2), Wisconsin (RPI 4), and Stanford (RPI 5) earned the No. 1 seeds.
"We were in the group of people who could've gotten that last spot," Browske said, "but, also, we were expecting anything. I think the position that we're in allows us to become really battle tested. If we get past all these people in our path, then we're going to feel really confident going into the Final Four."
Browske noted words from Vazquez Gomez from when the Panthers found out they were selected as a No. 2 seed and not a No. 1:
"She was like, 'hey, if you're not motivated by this, what are you doing here?" Browske said. "I think we all can just take a second and be like, 'yes, we did great things this season, but what are we going to do, and how are we going to move forward in this path in the NCAA?"
