Pitt No. 1 in volleyball poll for 8th week in row; Penn State holds at No. 3 riding 12-match winning streak

For the eighth week in a row, the Pitt volleyball team took the top spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Panthers (19-1, 9-1 ACC) received 51 of the 61 first-place votes.

Pitt scored a big win over No. 4 Louisville, 3-2, this past Friday at Petersen Events Center then followed that with a win over Notre Dame.

Pitt senior setter Rachel Fairbanks was named ACC co-Setter of the Week on Monday for her role in the Panthers’ two victories over the weekend. It was her third such honor of the season.

She had 46 assists, nine digs and two blocks in the victory over Louisville and a season-high 47 assists, nine digs, three aces and a block in the four-set win over Notre Dame on Sunday.

Pitt hits the road this weekend for matches at Virginia and Virginia Tech on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

The top six in the AVCA poll remained the same, with Nebraska checking in at No. 2 (with nine first-place votes), Penn State at No. 3 (one first-place vote), Louisville at No. 4, Stanford at No. 5 and Creighton at No. 6.

The ACC again had seven teams among the top 25. Besides Pitt, Louisville and Stanford, the other ACC teams making the poll were SMU (No. 12) — the only team to beat Pitt this season — Georgia Tech (No. 15), Florida State (No. 23) and North Carolina (No. 25).

Virginia made the list of others receiving votes.

Penn State, meanwhile, has been arguably the hottest team in the country. Since being humbled by Pitt on Sept. 18, the Nittany Lions haven’t lost, raising their overall record to 20-1, 10-0 in the Big Ten.

Penn State’s two toughest conference matches loom. The Lions play at No. 7 Wisconsin on Nov. 9 then wrap up the regular season by hosting Nebraska on Nov. 29.