Season ends for Panthers with tough quarterfinal loss
After the moderator concluded the news conference Monday and thanked the participants for their time, Chinaza Ndee lingered in her seat in front of the NCAA-provided backdrop for a few extra seconds, taking in whatever else the moment had left to offer.
She gazed ahead, flashing a wide smile, and wiped her hand across her eye.
“The tears, lord Jesus,” she said, grinning. “The tears.”
Only about 45 minutes earlier, the Pitt volleyball player saw her senior season come to an end one game shy of the national semifinals, as Washington rallied from down two sets to defeat the Panthers in five sets. It ended a remarkable, captivating run for Ndee and her teammates that, for much of the afternoon, looked like it might continue for just a bit longer.
The tears were a product of sadness and reflection, of a dream that had built up being slowly taken away and of a college career potentially being over unless Ndee opts to use an extra year of eligibility afforded to fall sport athletes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But even as her eyes welled and a few droplets streamed down her face, there was still that smile and a self- aware,
I-can’t-believe-I’m-reallycrying laugh that accompanied it. She, like the rest of her teammates, was sad her time at the tournament was over, but she was just as grateful for everything the past week — to say nothing of the past several months and past four years — had offered her.
“We’re legit. We’re a good team,” Ndee said. “That’s all it is to me. I believe in us. It’s not even about sticking it to the doubters or anything like that. It’s just about showing the people what we’ve always been. I think that’s what we did in this tournament. I’m really, really proud. … We’re a good team. We’re one of the top teams in the nation.”
There was, of course, the heartbreak of Monday’s match in Omaha, Neb.
The Panthers won the first two sets and, despite relatively modest final margins, were in control throughout. In the third set, the complexion of the match shifted. Washington, the No. 6 national seed, won relatively easily, 25-16, and captured a closely contested fourth set, 26-24, in which the match’s momentum seemed to swing for good. In the fifth and final set, Washington jumped out to a 6-1 lead and put Pitt away, 15-9.
“Our offense wasn’t quite good enough,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said. “With the exception of that run in the fourth, I just felt like we got up two and we were kind of waiting for them to lose it. We kind of went away from what got us here — playing really aggressive volleyball.”
It was less a squandered opportunity for the Panthers than it was the Huskies being who they have been throughout the tournament. The Pac-12 champions won each of their first two matches in five sets, which included a victory Sunday against Louisville in which they stormed back from an 11-5 deficit in the final set.
Prior to this tournament, Pitt had never been past the second round, a mark it cleared with a straight-set sweep of No. 14 Utah last Thursday. Once there, it earned a thrilling, five-set triumph against No. 3 Minnesota
“People have known we’re a good team for the last few years but, hopefully, there’s more of a perception that we’re a contender, that we’re someone that can make a deep run and can fight for a championship,” Fisher said. “Hopefully that affects everything positively — our recruiting, our fanbase. That’s the hope.”
A 130-25 record the past five seasons has earned Pitt that standing.
Kayla Lund and Ndee, the Panthers’ top two players, are seniors and even if neither opts to capitalize on that additional season, there’s still a nice blend of youth and talent on the roster. Junior Sabrina Starks was a second-team all-ACC honoree. Sophomore Chiamaka Nwokolo and redshirt freshman Valeria Vazquez Gomez both started the vast majority of the time, with Nwokolo enjoying moments in the tournament in which she appeared to be a future star. Sophomore Lexis Akeo, the younger sister of former Pitt standout Kamalani Akeo, had a strong season as a setter.
“We’ve been one of the most, if not the most, successful program on campus for a while,” Ndee said. “It’s hard to say we’ve really changed that much. Obviously, we’ve made a deep run in the tournament. I think it’s making us bigger on a national stage, maybe. But as far as within Pitt, if you pay attention to Pitt sports that aren’t the footballs and basketballs of the world, you know we’ve been successful, at least since I’ve been here. I think we’ve been legit. I think this boosts us another level up.”
There are other, more institutional factors that are set, too. Fisher signed a seven-year contract in January 2020 that runs through the 2026 season. Recruiting has been humming and should be aided by the spurt in the tournament. Pitt’s Victory Heights facilities plan, which Fisher said is “back on,” includes a 3,500seat arena for volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling.
“It’s nice to be at a school where volleyball is valued,” Fisher said.
Gathering the team after the game was easy, as Fisher noted. They had fought too hard and achieved too much to feel defeated. Together, they will travel back to Pittsburgh one step short of a Final Four, but with memories and reminders of an unforgettable week.
“They let me push them,” Fisher said. “They have my back. I have their back. I just feel like with this group of seniors, the coach-player relationship is how it should be. It’s fun to come into work every day because I know we’re working toward the same goal.”