Party at the Fitz: Panthers crush Purdue; advance to first Final Four
Dan Fisher was in just his first season at the University of Pittsburgh the last time his team faced Purdue. The No. 22 Boilermakers fended off a late comeback from the young Panthers, improving to 11-0 in the teams’ all-time series.
Eight years, three ACC championships, and 220 wins later, Fisher conquered Purdue - this time on a much bigger stage. Pitt stomped past the Boilermakers 3-1 on Saturday in the NCAA Regional Final, advancing to the Final Four for the first time in school history.
“When I first got here, I was just coming from an NAIA school,” Fisher said. “I was just focused on getting us in the NCAA Tournament first. So this, it’s far exceeded my own expectations.”
Purdue boasted one of the most intimidating defenses in the country entering Saturday’s match. The Boilermakers posted 16 blocks against Dayton in the Second Round, and libero Jena Otec set a Purdue postseason record with 27 digs in that match.
But Pitt made that defense look amateurish in the opening set, racking up 19 kills on a .533 hitting percentage. The bulk of that efficiency came from three Panthers: senior transfers Leketor Member-Meneh and Serena Gray and junior Chiamaka Nwokolo.
The Boilermakers won the first three points of the match, but two kills from Nwokolo kept the Panthers from falling far behind. With the Panthers trailing 12-14 later on, Member-Meneh caught fire, recording four kills in the next seven points to force a Purdue timeout.
Akeo made a service error out of the break, but Gray’s back-to-back kills gave Pitt a 20-16 cushion. Member-Meneh nearly started an earthquake in Pittsburgh with the force of her swing a few points later, setting up a set point the Panthers converted immediately for a 25-20 result. Member-Meneh, Gray, and Nwokolo combined for 15 kills on 18 swings in the first game.
The Panthers didn’t necessarily lose too much of their offensive success in the second game, but the Boilermaker hitters began heating up as well. It resulted in one of the wildest sets the Fitzgerald Field House has seen.
Pitt got the early edge this time, winning the first pair of points, but the Boilermaker’s took the next four. Multiple kills from freshman Raven Colvin put Purdue ahead 8-5, but Pitt soon clawed back to 9-9.
From there, neither team could take control. Like, at all. When Grace Cleveland put a well-placed ball away to pull within one at 12-11, the teams remained tied or one point apart for what seemed like an eternity. Gray’s ace finally put the Panthers up 19-17, but the Boilermaker’s immediately tied it back up.
Back-to-back kills from Colvin forced Fisher to call timeout, his team facing set point at 24-22. But Member-Meneh responded with a pair of her own, exciting the crowd as her second swing evened the set at 24.
It felt like a never-ending game of pickup basketball from there, neither team able to reach the win-by-two requirement. Except, of course, instead of missed layups and bricked threes, this one featured missile after missile from supreme athletes, drawing oohs and ahhs from the sold-out arena.
Offenses shined throughout the set, but defense wound up giving the Boilermakers the set 30-28. Purdue’s back row came up with two gigantic digs on the final point, including one on an uncontested Fairbanks spike, before a Member-Meneh swing collapsed into the net moments later.
But the Panthers turned to a different gear following the dropped set. Pitt stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, and never lost the lead. The team held Purdue to just 12 kills that game, posting 19 digs in a defensive clinic.
“I think this team believes,” Fisher said. “We’ve had a tough schedule. We’ve been in tough moments all year. I think our experience has a lot to do with it.”
A run in the middle of the set pulled the Boilermakers within one, but Gray, Member-Meneh, and freshman Rachel Fairbanks put together a lethal attack that the Boilermakers could not contain. Fifth-year senior Kayla Lund, who struggled offensively most of the match on Saturday, notched the kill that gave Pitt the set 25-20 and only increased the noise of the fans.
“I don’t think I realized how pack it was until there was one point where they were cheering, ‘Let’s go Pitt,” Lund said. “I was like ‘Woah, I don’t know if I’ve felt the energy in the Field House quite like that so that’s kind of where it hit me.”
The momentum back in Pitt’s corner, the Panthers had no plans of giving it back. Both teams traded blows early in the fourth set, but before long Pitt had built a 19-11 set on a five-point run. The Panther crowd remained on its feet the rest of the way, erupting when Gray’s final swing vanquished the Boilermakers for good.
Tears swam down the faces of multiple players as the Panthers stormed the court for a massive dog pile. Pitt had just made history, and Lund said all the pent-up emotions poured out as the team realized what it had just done.
“We had happy tears, maybe even some pissed-off tears because we knew that we could be here,” Lund said. “I’m so happy for the girls. I’m so happy for Fish and the coaching staff.”
Member-Meneh finished with a match-high 21 kills on a .383 hitting percentage. Ask she basked in the moment after the victory, she realized once again that she made the right choice coming to Pittsburgh for her final season.
“I prayed a lot before I decided to enter the [transfer] portal,” Member-Meneh said. “I told God that I wanted a good, supporting, loving coaching staff that would get me to my potential and I want teammates who would embrace. I got exactly what I wanted here at Pitt, and I’m just so grateful.”