PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was an atmosphere typically reserved for the biggest basketball game of the year, or a football matchup with West Virginia. The sellout at the Petersen Events Center on Wednesday was for Pitt volleyball.
They home team didn’t disappoint, a 3-0 win over third ranked Penn State, 25-15, 25-19, 25-19.
Pitt volleyball earned the support of the largest home crowd ever, 11,800. Over the years Panthers head coach Dan Fisher has grown the program from an afterthought to the number one team in the country. They are the only program to be in the Final Four each of the last three seasons. Pitt is also the only team in the country to not lose a set this season.
“I’m thrilled with the great crowd,” Fisher said. “I thought the energy was incredible. Just really appreciate the Pitt fans, the volleyball fans, the students coming out and helping us make history.”
The 12 th year Panthers coach said it’s one more drop in the bucket for what is happening with the overall popularity of volleyball. Noting they continue to set new attendance records at multiple venues.
“Walking out of the tunnel for warmups, I got chills hearing the crowd cheer for us and looking around and seeing all the seats basically filled,” said senior Emmy Klika. “I think it’s just a testament to the spirit that not just our school has but our city has around our team and volleyball in general. It feels very special to be a part of this group.”
“Obviously we had a big crowd, but we were trying to create energy for ourselves,” said All-ACC sophomore Torrey Stafford. “Feeding off of the crowd but also just creating our own energy on the court.”
It was a series that the Nittany Lions used to dominate, now the Panthers have won three of the last four.
“I don’t think we thought of it necessarily this is an in-state rivalry, that’s why we have to win,” Klika said. “I think we just kept our standards high. We just wanted to play a good, clean game. We wanted to play for our crowd and the fans that come to support us and each other. It was definitely hyped up about the in-state thing, but I think we just were ready to put on a show and come out on top.”
There is one thing missing from the Pitt volleyball climb, to stand on the top of the mountain. Fisher said lacking that title is keeping them from being the elite program.
“We have girls, that’s their goal,” Fisher said. “We have girls that came back for a fifth and sixth year for that reason. Our fanbase knows the talent that we have. That is what we want to do.”
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