Pitt aims higher as its All-Americans return
For veterans Lund, Ndee, chance to make another NCAA run an easy call
As Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee explain it, what might have seemed like a life-altering, painstaking decision was actually quite easy, something they reflect on several months later with an easygoing smile.
Following the end of last season, after their Pitt volleyball team made the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, both seniors had a choice to make. Do you take advantage of an extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA to make one last run at the dreams they carried with them to college four years ago? Or do you move on with your life?
They didn’t have to think long or particularly hard about it.
“This is the kind of place you want to keep being at,” Ndee said. “You don’t get to be around people like this all the time. It’s a blessing. For me, it was like why would I want to give up this family I’ve been a part of for so long when I have a chance to be here longer?”
For the past four years, Lund and Ndee have been at the epicenter of a Pitt program that has become a national force. During their college careers, the Panthers have gone 105-16 -- including 79-9 the past three years -- won three ACC titles and have maintained a
consistent presence in the top 10 of the national poll, all once unimaginable feats for a program with just one NCAA tournament appearance since 2004 upon their arrival in 2017. It hasn’t all been their work, of course, but their contributions have been unmistakable and undeniable.
And now, they’re back for more.
Pitt’s reigning all-Americans have returned for one more season, a move that bolsters the hopes for a team coming off the most decorated campaign in program history. The pandemic-altered 2020-21 season represented a breakthrough for the Panthers, who made it past the NCAA tournament’s second round for the first time ever. With a deeper and even more talented roster, headlined by its two most recognizable and accomplished faces, they’re out for even more.
“For us to finally get past that hump, to finally get past that little bit of a mental block for us was really great,” Lund said. “Going into this season, instead of being like ‘Oh my gosh, we have to get past the second round’ and all this talk about the second round. Now, it’s like ‘We’re going to win. We’re going to win everything.’”
Individually, there’s only so much left for Lund and Ndee to achieve.
Last season, both players were second-team allAmerica selections, tying them for the highest individual honor ever for a Pitt volleyball player. It was the second consecutive year Lund had made that team, making her the first player in program history to do so, and she repeated as ACC player of the year.
For all the honors they’ve amassed, and perhaps because of them, the dilemma over whether to come back for another season wasn’t much of one. Together, they announced their decision four days after the Panthers’ season ended. They knew well before then, effectively from the time it was revealed they could use an extra year of eligibility in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was like the worstkept secret in the world,” Ndee said.
“Definitely the best bit of recruiting I’ve ever done,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said, with a laugh.
There was, after all, a bit of unfinished business. For all the joy and pride last season’s NCAA tournament run provided, there was still a lingering and unshakeable longing for what could have been -- and what very nearly was.
The Panthers fell painfully short of the Final Four last season, losing in five sets to Washington. That result came after Pitt captured the first two sets and had a 23-22 lead in the fourth set (sets are played to 25 points). While they only dwell so much on the setback, it serves a motivational purpose.
“That always has to stand the test of time,” Fisher said. “They’ve been very committed in the early going of wanting to do more and get extra reps. But I think for players like Kayla and Chi, when I talk to them, they know they can do it. The question of ‘Are we good enough?’...we know we’re not the favorite, but we’re not shying away from knowing that we’re good enough to win a championship.”
The expectations surrounding Pitt are high and for good reason. Its top nine finishers in sets played last season are all back, a group that includes honorable mention all-American Chiamaka Nwokolo, as well as program fixtures like Sabrina Starks, Lexis Akeo, Kylee Levers and Valeria Vazquez Gomez. Added to that mix, among others, is middle blocker Serena Gray, a two-time honorable mention all- American who transferred to the program from Penn State in June.
Even by the Panthers’ lofty standards, it’s a group teeming with talent and potential. They open the season as the No. 9 team in the country, the highest preseason ranking in program history.
“Nobody really has a starting spot, which is awesome,” Lund said. “You’d think for us, maybe that would be a little scary being older girls who have been here. But we’re like ‘Are you kidding me? We love that.’”
For all they possess on paper, Pitt’s players know that’s not where games are won. They’ve reached their current perch by winning and to remain there, or advance even higher, they’ll have to continue to do just that, starting with a match Friday against No. 23 Rice.
There’s a conference title to win, one they failed to earn at least a share of for the first time since 2016. There’s a tournament in which they’re aiming to advance even further. There’s history to be made, the kind that ultimately lured back the team’s two stars.
“There was a bit of ‘We belong here,’” Ndee said of last season’s NCAA tournament run. “This wasn’t a fluke. This wasn’t a surprise. We belong with some of the top teams in the country. That’s who we’ve been. That’s who we are. That has kind of fired us up for this season. Now, everyone knows, right? That puts a little more fire on our back. We have to show up.”