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Pitt Volleyball Loss Marks End of Historic Season

The University of Pittsburgh women's volleyball team made it to the regional semifinals, but ultimately lost to the University of Washington.

The University of Pittsburgh women’s volleyball team ended a historic run in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Monday. The team was the only unseeded team left in the tournament, and made it to the regional semifinals for the first time in the school’s history.

In an upset, the Panthers beat the number three seed University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday. Pitt went up against the six seed University of Washington Huskies Monday afternoon, and after a strong showing in the first two matches, lost the last three.

“We’ve been playing to win this whole tournament,” said senior Pitt player Chinaza Ndee. "And I think in that moment, being up 2-0, I think we just started playing not to lose.”

In a press conference after the game, Coach Dan Fisher said he’s proud of the team, and hopes their efforts will result in a “perception change” for Pitt’s volleyball program.

“You know, people have known we’re a good team for the last few years, but hopefully there’s more perception that ‘Hey, we’re a contender,’ and we’re someone who can make a deep run and can fight for a championship.”

Fisher said he hopes the loss motivates the team’s returning players, and pushes them to want to be better. Pitt will not advance to the national semifinals.

Julia Zenkevich reports on Allegheny County government for 90.5 WESA. She first joined the station as a production assistant on The Confluence, and more recently served as a fill-in producer for The Confluence and Morning Edition. She’s a life-long Pittsburgher, and attended the University of Pittsburgh. She can be reached at jzenkevich@wesa.fm.