Of all the teams Pitt volleyball has played in the Final Four, this year is the easiest.
But that’s not to say it will be easy for Pitt.
Texas A&M just beat the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Texas A&M has someone who played for the USA Senior National Team in senior opposite hitter Logan Lednicky. And Texas A&M is peaking at the right time.
Earning a trip to the National Championship isn’t ever going to feel like a cakewalk for anyone. But this year, it’s a bit easier for Pitt volleyball.
Pitt has run into two problems in the National Semifinals. They go by the names of Louisville and Nebraska, the two teams Pitt has been eliminated by in this round the past four seasons — the latter in 2021 and 2023, and the former in 2022 and 2024.
But in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight in Lincoln, Nebraska, Texas A&M solved both of those problems for Pitt, beating Louisville on Friday night and Nebraska on Sunday afternoon. So now, Pitt just has to solve the Aggies.
And Texas A&M isn’t as hard an equation to solve compared to Louisville and Nebraska.
Why Texas A&M is an easier problem to solve
Texas A&M does not have any Final Four experience at all — Pitt has multiple players with it. The pregame and start of the game jitters will still exist for the Panthers, but they should get over them far quicker than the Aggies.
Texas A&M has a coach who doesn’t know the challenges that come with coaching in a National Semifinal environment — Pitt does. Pitt head coach Dan Fisher has been here enough that Pitt fans should feel confident that he knows what to do and say at this stage — Texas A&M head coach Jamie Morrison might not.
Texas A&M played 10 grueling, emotional sets of volleyball this past weekend — Pitt played seven, not so grueling, emotional sets of volleyball. Yes, there have been four days of rest for the Aggies, but they most likely were not able to return to practicing fully like the Panthers were most likely able to after their game on Saturday.
But let’s not just look at the other side.
How Pitt’s changed from the previous National Semifinals
Pitt’s captain, redshirt senior middle blocker Bre Kelley, has completely flipped how she is looking at this Final Four compared to last season’s.
“In the past, we’ve always made it a point that we have to win the Final Four,” Kelley said. “This year, we have really emphasized, especially with our sports psychologist, to play ball.”
If Pitt wants to throw away the demons of the Final Four, something has to change, and the change that the captain is making for her mentality should put her and her team in a much more comfortable spot for such a high-pressure situation.
“This game is supposed to be fun. It’s not supposed to be severely taxing on your mind and body,” Kelley said. “This year I’ve definitely come in being, like, I just want to play volleyball with this team, play it to the best ability that we can, and have a blast on this court.”
This year, the team is taking it slowly, trusting their own process and not worrying about the result.
“The main message is just to stay in the moment,” Fisher said. “We don’t know what the outcome will be, but we certainly know how good we can be. Just trying to be ourselves.”
The flip from previous seasons that the Panthers are making might seem just like coach-speak, but in my opinion, it puts the team in a much better spot to finally get over the Final Four hump that has plagued this program.
Pitt volleyball’s fifth opportunity to advance to the National Championship game is tonight at 6:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN.
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