Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball
Encyclopedia
Pittsburgh Panthers women's volleyball is the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division I intercollegiate
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...

 volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 program of the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...

, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. The Pitt volleyball team competes in the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

 and plays their home games in Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor of the university....

. Since the founding of the volleyball program in 1974, the Panthers have had 34 winning seasons, one of the nation's top all-time winning percentages, appearances in 14 national championship tournaments, and the most Big East tournament championships, eleven, in the conference.

The beginning

Pitt women's volleyball was founded in 1974 and was lead during its first season by coach Mary Kromer who guided the team, originally nicknamed the Pantherettes, to a 14-3 record in their first year of existence. Perhaps more impressively, in the first year of the program, and despite the fact that two of the starters never played volleyball before, the team was invited to participate in the Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) regional championship, where the team advanced to the quarterfinals. Kromer continued as coach for the programs second season, in which the team posted an 18-2 record and again appeared in the EAIAW regional championships.

Mike Hebert years

Prior to the 1976 season, Mike Hebert
Mike Hebert
Mike Hebert is a retired American volleyball coach.He coached since 1976 and in his career, he coached Pittsburgh men and women's team, New Mexico women's team, Illinois women's team, and Minnesota women's team...

, a former player at the UC-Santa Barbara who was teaching at Pitt, was asked by the university to coach the women's team although he'd never seen women play volleyball. He eventually accepted the part-time job to coach the up-start program for $1,500. Without many collegiate women's team sports in existence in the mid-1970s, Hebert and his team were pioneers who "invented things as [they] went along". Despite this, Herbert guided the Panthers to a fourth place finish in the EAIAW championships during his first two seasons. Under his guidance, Pitt broke through to national prominence in 1978 winning the EAIAW Championship and advancing to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women . The association was one of the biggest...

 (AIAW) National Large College Volleyball Championships where they finished with a 2-3 record and a 13th place national finish en route to a school record 41 wins. His part-time position turning full-time in his final season in 1979, which saw the Panthers successfully defend their EAIAW Championship and earn a return trip to the AIWA national championships. During this span he also collected EAIAW Eastern Region Coach of the Year awards at Pitt in 1978 and 1979. Herbert, who also served as an assistant coach for Pitt's men's team for the last two years of his stay in Pittsburgh, then left, citing family reasons, to take the head coaching job at the New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...

, eventually coaching at Illinois and Minnesota
Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball
Minnesota Golden Gophers volleyball is the NCAA Division I women's volleyball team at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.The program began its first season in 1972 under head coach Dee Jilek. Its current head coach is Mike Hebert who began his first season in 1996...

; along the way winning multiple national championships
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...

, the national coach of the year award, and earning induction into the American Volleyball Coaches Association
American Volleyball Coaches Association
The American Volleyball Coaches Association is an organization of nearly 5,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association....

 Hall of Fame.

Shelton Collier years

The program next turned to Ohio State assistant Shelton Collier, who in his initial season as head coach in 1980 guided the Panthers to tie a school record with 41 wins, and followed up in 1981 with a season that included a win at eighth-ranked Pepperdine
Pepperdine Waves
Pepperdine Waves is the name given to the sports teams of the Pepperdine University.-See also:* Pepperdine Waves alumni* 2011-12 Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team...

, an EAIWA Championship, and a ninth place finish in the final year of the AIAW national championships. In 1982, the women's volleyball program transitioned both into the NCAA, which took over the sponsorship of intercollegiate athletics from the AIWA, as well as into the Big East Conference
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

. In addition, the program permanently moved their home games from their primary home in Trees Hall
Trees Hall
Joseph C. Trees Hall is a multipurpose student, staff, faculty recreational facility on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Designed by the architectural firm of Deeter & Ritchey, Trees Hall first opened in 1962, and a second phase of...

 to the larger Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House
Fitzgerald Field House is a 4,122-seat multi-purpose athletic venue on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Fitzgerald Field House is named for Rufus Fitzgerald, a past chancellor of the university....

, which had previously hosted select volleyball tournaments and games. During Collier's tenure, Pitt established itself as the dominant volleyball team in the Big East from the start, winning the regular season Big East Southern Division tournament, without losing a game and losing only one set, in every year in which it competed: 1982, 1983, and 1984. Pitt also won the first ever Big East Tournament in 1982 without losing a game en route to the program's third 41-win season. Collier guided Pitt to capture additional Big East Tournament crowns in 1984, 1986, and 1988 and appeared in the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...

 in 1982
1982 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1982 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament was the second year of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship for Division I. In 1982, the tournament participants were expanded from 20 to 28....

, 1984
1984 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1984 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament was the fourth year of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. It began with 28 teams and ended on December 16 when UCLA defeated Stanford 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match....

, 1986
1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 20, 1986 when Pacific defeated Nebraska 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match....

, and 1987
1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 19, 1987 when Hawaii defeated Stanford 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match....

.

Sue Woodstra years

Sue Woodstra, a silver medalist for the U.S. National Volleyball Team
United States women's national volleyball team
The United States women's national volleyball team represents the United States of America in international volleyball competitions and friendly games, and is governed by USA Volleyball.-Current Squad:...

 at the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

, took over the Pitt program in 1989. During her tenure, she led her teams to Big East Conference Tournament Championships in each season as well as three Big East regular season championships, winning the regular season each year from when the Big East instituted round-robin play in 1990. She also led the Panthers to four post-season appearances including one Women's Invitation Volleyball Championship appearance in 1989 in which Pitt finished third, and three NCAA volleyball tournaments, including in 1990 where Pitt reached the regional semifinal. Woodstra's teams NCAA tournament teams were led by standout second team All-American outside hitter Ann Marie Lucanie, who won the Big East Tournament MVP award four straight years as well as a record three straight Big East Player of the Year awards, including in her senior year in 1993 under new head coach Cindy Alvear. In total, Woodstra compiled an overall record of 110-39 (.738) over four seasons as head coach.

Alvear and Beerman years

Cindy Alvear took over in 1993 leading Pitt to Big East regular season championships, Big East Tournament championships, and NCAA Tournament appearances in her first two seasons. This was followed by second place finishes in both the Big East regular season and tournaments in 1995 and 1996 with a National Invitational Volleyball tournament appearance in 1995. Pitt program slipped in the late 1990s, experiencing its first losing Big East record in 1999. Chris Beerman took over the program in 2000 and helped lead the team back to a winning conference record. A losing record in 2001, Pitt's first ever, snapped one of the longest NCAA records for consecutive winning seasons. However, the Panthers rebounded in a big way in 2003 by winning the Big East regular season and tournament championship and advancing into the second round of the NCAA tournament
2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 4, 2003 with 64 teams and ended December 18 when Southern California defeated Florida 3 games to 1 in Dallas, Texas for the program's third NCAA title....

. A second place finish Big East finish and at-large bid to the NCAA tournament followed in 2004, before the program experienced only its third losing season in 2007.

Toby Rens years

Toby Rens was hired to take over the program in 2008, immediately restoring the program to a winning season and his first year. In 2009, despite being picked to finish eighth in the Big East, Rens guided the Panthers to a school record twelve Big East wins and a second place finish behind Big East Player of the Year and third team All-American middle hitter Meagan Dooley. Heading into the 2010 season, the Panthers faced ten 2009 NCAA Tournament
2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
The 2009 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 3, 2009 with 64 teams and ended on December 19, when Penn State defeated Texas, 3-2, in the NCAA National Championship match. With the win, Penn State won its fourth overall title, and became the first team in the history of...

 participants, but faltered to 13-18 record and a loss in the first round of the Big East Tournament. This was followed by an 18-15 record and another first round Big East Tournament exit in 2011.

Post-season national tournaments

Since the founding of its volleyball program in 1974, Pitt has participated in post-season volleyball tournaments in 21 different seasons. Post-season play include 11 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...

 tournament appearances, 3 AIAW
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women . The association was one of the biggest...

 National Championship appearances, 8 EAIAW Regional championship appearances, and two NIVC tournament appearances.

AIWA

Prior to the NCAA taking on the administration of women's sports and championships in 1981, the AIWA
Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women
The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships. It evolved out of the Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics for Women . The association was one of the biggest...

 and its regional affiliates conducted regional and national championships in volleyball. In 1981, schools could compete in either the AIWA and NCAA and both organizations held championships, but by 1982, only the NCAA remained.
Regionals

EAIWA Regional Championship appearances (8)
  • 1974 (quarterfinals)

  • 1975 (?)
  • 1976 (4th)

    • 1977 (4th)
  • 1978 (1st)

    • 1979 (1st)
  • 1980 (3rd)

    • 1981 (1st)

    Nationals

    AIWA National Championship appearances (3)
    • 1978 AIWA National Large College Volleyball Championship (2-3, 13th)
    Preliminary pool
    W Oregon 2-0
    W Alabama 2-1
    L Texas-Arlington 0-2
    L San Jose State 0-2
    L Hawaii 0-2
     
    • 1981 AIWA National Division I Volleyball Championship (2-2, 9th)
    Pool A
    L Texas 15-6, 15-7, 15-10
    L Michigan 15-8, 15-10, 14-16, 17-15
    Consolation Bracket
    W Ohio State 15-9, 15-9
    9th Place
    W California 15-12, 2-15, 16-14

    • 1979 AIWA National Division I Volleyball Championship (1-3)
    Pool 4
    L Pacific 13-15, 6-15
    W Southern Illinois 15-8, 15-12
    L Pepperdine 15-11, 5-15, 13-15
    L Ohio State 6-15, 2-15

    NCAA

    Pitt has participated in 11 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
    NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship
    The NCAA has contested team championships in women's volleyball since 1981. The following is a list of the champions of each division with their record for the year in which they won the championship, and the runner up, city, site and other final four participants for division I...

    s and has an overall record of 3-11 in the tournament.

    • 1982
      1982 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1982 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament was the second year of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship for Division I. In 1982, the tournament participants were expanded from 20 to 28....

    L San Luis Obispo (0-3) 9-15, 2-15, 5-15
    • 1984
      1984 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1984 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament was the fourth year of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship. It began with 28 teams and ended on December 16 when UCLA defeated Stanford 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match....

    L Nebraska (0-3) 6-15, 10-15, 16-18
    • 1986
      1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1986 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 20, 1986 when Pacific defeated Nebraska 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match....

    L Nebraska (1-3) 15-11, 5-15, 10-15, 7-15
    • 1987
      1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1987 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 19, 1987 when Hawaii defeated Stanford 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match....

    L Illinois (1-3) 15-5, 4-15, 3-15, 2-15
    • 1990
      1990 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1990 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 15, 1990 when UCLA defeated Pacific 3 games to 0 in the NCAA championship match....

    W Ohio State (3-1) 15-12, 15-13, 9-15, 15-13
    L Nebraska (0-3) 7-15, 11-15, 7-15
    • 1991
      1991 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1991 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 21, 1991 when UCLA defeated Long Beach State 3 games to 2 in the NCAA championship match....

    L Ohio State (1-3) 9-15, 15-17, 15-9, 7-15

    • 1992
      1992 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1992 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 32 teams and ended on December 19, 1992 when Stanford defeated UCLA 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match....

    L Stanford (0-3) 3-15, 2-15, 4-15
    • 1993
      1993 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1993 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 48 teams and ended on December 18, 1993 when Long Beach State defeated Penn State 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match.Long Beach State won the program's second NCAA title...

    L George Washington (2-3) 13-15, 15-10, 9-15, 15-12, 13-15
    • 1994
      1994 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 1994 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began with 48 teams and ended on December 17, 1994 when Stanford defeated UCLA 3 games to 1 in the NCAA championship match....

    W Iowa (3-2) 5-15, 16-14, 4-15, 16-14, 15-10
    L Notre Dame (1-3) 15-9, 11-15, 13-15, 13-15
    • 2003
      2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 4, 2003 with 64 teams and ended December 18 when Southern California defeated Florida 3 games to 1 in Dallas, Texas for the program's third NCAA title....

    W Penn (3-1) 28-30, 30-16, 30-18, 30-26
    L Penn State (1-3) 30-25, 31-33, 21-30, 21-30
    • 2004
      2004 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament
      The 2004 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament began on December 2, 2004 with 64 teams and ended December 18 when Stanford defeated Minnesota 3 games to 0 in Long Beach, California for the program's sixth NCAA title....

    L Ohio (0-3) 22-30, 26-30, 12-30


    NIVC

    The National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) was founded in 1989 as the Women's Invitational Volleyball Championship (WIVC). The post-season tournament existed for seven seasons from 1989 to 1995. Pitt participated in the post-season tournament in two seasons, finishing in 3rd place in 1989.
    • 1989 WIVC (3-1, 3rd place)
    W UAB (3-0), W Iowa State (3-0), W Texas Tech (3-1), L Wisconsin (0-3)
    • 1995 NIVC (0-4)
    L Fresno State (1-3), L Wisconsin (0-3), L Saint Louis (2-3), L Stephen F. Austin (0-3)

    Big East Championships

    Pitt has won more Big East Conference
    Big East Conference
    The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

     Tournament Championships (11) than any other school, winning seven straight from 1988 to 1994. Additionally, Pitt has been the Big East tournament runner-up five times. The Big East Conference began holding conference tournaments to crown a champion in 1982, but did not conduct round-robin play and crown a regular season champion until 1990. Prior to 1990, the Big East schools were organized into divisions and sometimes held regular-season divisional tournaments.

    Big East Championship Tournament

    Big East Tournament Champions (11)
    • 1982
    • 1984
    • 1986
  • 1988
  • 1989
  • 1990
  • 1991
  • 1992
  • 1993
  • 1994
  • 2003


  • Big East Tournament Runner-up (5)
    • 1983
    • 1985
  • 1995
  • 1996
  • 2004


  • Big East Regular Season

    The Big East did not begin sponsoring regular season conference play and regular season standings until 1990. Since that time, Pitt has won six regular season Big East Championships and finished second four times.
    Big East Regular Season Champions (6)
    • 1990
    • 1991
  • 1992 (tie)
  • 1993
  • 1994 (tie)
  • 2003 (tie)


  • Big East Regular Season Runner-Up (4)
    • 1995
    • 1996
  • 2004 (tie)
  • 2009 (tie)


  • Big East Southern Division Tournament

    In some years, prior to the establishment of round-robin conference play and standings in 1990, the Big East held regular season division tournaments. In the three years that Pitt participated in the Big East Southern Division Tournament, it did not lose a match and lost only one set to claim three Big East Southern Division Tournament titles.

    Big East Souther Division Tournament Champions (3)
    • 1982 (3-0)
  • 1983 (3-0)
  • 1984 (6-0)

  • National awards

    • AVCA All-Americans
    1993 Ann Marie Lucanie, Second-team
    2003 Wendy Hatlestad, Third-team
    2009 Megan Dooley, Third-team

    • Academic All-American
    1985 Judy Young
    1987 Noreen Coughlin
    2009 Meagan Dooley, ESPN the Magazine
    ESPN The Magazine
    ESPN The Magazine is a bi-weekly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut in the United States. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998....

    First Team

    • Honorable Mentions
    1984 Ulana Kohutiak, Volleyball Monthly
    1987 Denise Frawley, Volleyball Monthly
    1988 Denise Frawley, Volleyball Monthly
    1990 Jenelle Lantagne, Asics
    1993 Ann Marie Lucanie, Asics
    2003 Megan Miller, AVCA

     
    2004 Megan Miller, AVCA
    2004 Gini Ullery, AVCA
    2004 Megan McGrane, AVCA
    2005 Megan McGrane, AVCA
    2006 Diana Andreyko, AVCA
    2009 Michelle Rossi, AVCA


    Big East awards

    • Regular Season MVP
    1985 Sue Hoover (South Division)
    1986 Sue Hoover (South Division)
    1987 Denise Frawley (South Division)
    1990 Jenelle Lantagne
    1991 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1992 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1993 Ann Marie Lucanie
    2003 Wendy Hatlestad
    2004 Megan Miller
    2009 Meagan Dooley

    • Tournament MOP
    1982 Julie Gaul
    1984 Ulana Kohutiak
    1986 Lisa Stewart
    1988 Denise Frawley
    1989 Jenelle Lantagne
    1990 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1991 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1992 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1993 Ann Marie Lucanie
    1994 Carrie Thornton
    2003 Megan Miller

    • Libero of the Year
    2003 Megan McGrane
    2005 Megan McGrane
    2009 Michelle Rossi

    • Rookie of the Year
    1987 Jenelle Lantagne
    1990 Anne Marie Lucanie
    2004 Diana Andreyko

    • Coach of the Year
    1987 Shelton Collier
    1990 Sue Woodstra
    2003 Chris Beerman

    • Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year (across all sports)
    1987-88 Noreen Coughlin
    2009-10 Meagan Dooley


    Pitt Volleyball Season by Season Results


    Men's volleyball

    Varsity men's volleyball was sponsored at the University of Pittsburgh for five seasons from to 1979 to 1983 before it was dropped as a varsity sport due to athletic department budget cuts. The team was coached by Ray Reilly, and in only its second season of existence, went 8-0 against its division of the Eastern Collegiate Volleyball League (ECVL), winning its division and finishing third in the league championship. In the program's final year, the team, led by All-East players David Baird and Tony Zortea, defeated a top ten team for the first time in program history, finished third in the ECVL, and was ranked 12th in the final NCAA volleyball poll.

    External links

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