Epic Pitt - First Sweet Sixteen in Volleyball Program History
Zoe Faki’s final year of college volleyball in America seems to be ending on a great note. For the first time in program history, the University of Pittsburgh reached the final 16 teams in the national championship! Pitt (No. 18 national ranking) first reached the 48 best teams in NCAA D1 for the fifth consecutive season and traveled to Omaha, Nebraska, for the NCAA championship on April 14th. It is the 16th time that the Panthers compete in the NCAA Tournament, and Pitt is one of the four teams that represent the ACC conference along with Georgia Tech, Louisville, and Notre Dame.
In their first match on the 14th of April, the Panthers quickly defeated Long Island University with 3-0 and advanced to the second round of the tournament where they faced Utah (Top-10 in AVCA voting) on Thursday the 15th of April. The Panthers managed to sweep Utah 3-0 and qualified to the “Sweet Sixteen” for the first time ever in their program history. If they manage to overcome the obstacle of third-ranked Minnesota on Sunday at noon, then Faki will be the first Greek athlete to reach the Elite Eight teams of NCAA D1 volleyball.