Pitt falls to Nebraska 3-1 in Final Four, concluding historic season

Pitt’s postseason run felt like destiny.

Akin to Kenny Pickett’s star-studded campaign in his extra season of eligibility, Pitt seniors Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee wanted to take the program to heights it had never seen before when they announced their decision to return for a fifth year.

That accomplishment first took shape in a 26-3 regular season, earning the Panther’s highest-ever seed in the NCAA Tournament. The dream really came to fruition as the Panthers won four postseason matches in a row, advancing to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

But as head coach Dan Fisher said in the early hours of Friday morning, the dynamic duo’s time on the court would have to end at some point. 63 of the 64 teams in the NCAA Tournament field end their seasons in heartbreak, and the Panthers experienced that disappointing end with a 3-1 loss to No. 10 Nebraska.

Originally scheduled to start at 9:30pm, the Panthers’ match didn’t get underway until 10:34, thanks to a five-set masterpiece on the court beforehand. No. 1 Louisville suffered its first loss of the season 3-2, sending Wisconsin to the championship with a chance for another Big Ten school to follow suit.

After such a tight, back-and-forth battle minutes before, Pitt and Nebraska looked primed for another heavyweight slugfest of tight game scores. But the Panthers came out prepared, putting together one of their best first sets of the season.

Chiamaka Nwokolo got things started for the Panthers with a quick kill off a well-placed assist by freshman Rachel Fairbanks. Valeria Vazquez Gomez aced the Cornhuskers on the second point of the match, and suddenly the tone for the opening set was established.

Three early kills from Pitt’s postseason hero Leketor Member-Meneh helped the Panthers surge to a 7-3 lead, but the Huskers stormed back to 7-7 with some crafty serves. Ndee got Pitt back on track, recording three kills and a block in a span of six points to give Pitt a 14-8 edge.

Fairbanks ended the game with an ace, a fitting finish to Pitt’s 25-16 dominant first frame.

“I was thinking we were in trouble because Pittsburgh, they almost played a perfect game that first game,” Nebraska head coach John Cook said. “But one thing we talked about, just gotta stay with it, wear them down and hang in there.”

Now take the first set, and flip it. That’s basically what went down in game number two.

The Cornhuskers, boasting one of the top defenses in volleyball, locked in on Pitt’s hitters in the second set. Lindsay Krause, Kayla Caffey, and Madi Kubic established a powerful wall on the front line, and freshman sensation Lexi Rodriguez collected anything that slipped through the cracks.

Nebraska held Pitt to a .161 hitting percentage in the second set, and didn’t stop there. The Panthers could only muster a .081 hitting clip in the third set, which Lund attributed to their own mistakes rather than the Cornhusker defense.

“I think it was our offense that struggled a lot,” Lund said. “Whether it was setting, whether it was out-of-system setting or anybody else setting and our hitters not being in rhythm and getting to the ball. And then when we get a good set, not taking advantage of it.”

A championship-caliber tension filled Nationwide Arena with the match tied 1-apiece. Both teams traded blows in the third set, with neither able to produce any separation, until a late Cornhusker run.

With Pitt ahead 18-17 in the third, Ally Batenhorst notched a kill to tie things up. 6-foot-4 Lauren Stivrins stepped up to the plate for Nebraska, leading a 6-0 Nebraska run behind her serve to secure control of the set.

A set away from elimination, Pitt failed to seize momentum to start the fourth game. Nebraska won the first three points, eventually opening the cushion to 9-5. Tasting victory, the sea of red in the stands stood up in support of their double-digit seeded Cinderella squad.

But Pitt wouldn’t go down without a fight. The teams traded points back-and-forth, but the Panthers needed a run as the window began to close. Trailing 18-14 out of a timeout, Pitt libero Ashley Browske tallied the first kill of her career, thanks to a Cornhusker miscommunication on a free ball.

Krause missed on an attack attempt moments later, pulling the Panthers within two and forcing a quick Nebraska timeout. Member-Meneh and Gray put away three of the next four points, tying the set 20-20.

“The main thing we were telling each other is that at any moment we could play better,” Ndee said. “Fish said it doesn’t matter what we’ve done the last two sets, it matters what we do right now. I think we were trying to echo that with each other.”

The season was on the line, and Nebraska’s defense stepped up once again. A chaotic point finally led to Member-Meneh skying high for a powerful swing, but Stivrins and Krause sent it back to the ground emphatically to take a 21-20 lead.

Member-Meneh made an error on the next point, before a Nebraska service error kept Pitt within one. Back-to-back kills from Stivrins, however, set up triple match point for the Cornhuskers.

The Panthers fended off one of them, but Stivrins and Nicklin Hames blocked Lund’s last swing to end the Panther’s season. The moment the ball fell to the ground, Lund nodded in acceptance as she corralled her teammates for their final embraces together in a Panther uniform. The team then moved to the stands, where a section of family and friends waited behind the bench.

“We have people that traveled in from all over to be here for the night,” Lund said. “And so sharing a moment with them, our family, our loved ones who have supported us for five years in Pittsburgh, meant a lot.”

The loss ended not only the most successful Pitt volleyball season in school history, but the careers of program cornerstones Lund and Ndee. High-prestige recruits from hundreds of miles away, the pair came to Pitt in 2017 as promising prospects for a blossoming team, and leave with individual and team milestones the University had never seen before.

“I think they’re two of the greatest Pitt players ever for any sport,” Fisher said. “They’ve set the tone for how we do business for the last five years. And I don’t know if I can put it into words. I love them both a lot and we would not be here without them.”