Preview | Pitt athletics prepares for packed weekend slate

With the week nearly over, Panther fans can now sit back and enjoy a jam-packed slate of Panthers games this weekend. Most people know football is the king around this time of the year, but the other Panthers sports teams deserve attention too.

Here’s what to look out for from Pitt athletics this weekend.

Women’s Volleyball

No. 7 Pitt volleyball will head south to face NC State (15-4) Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina. The volleyball team is Pitt’s highest-ranked team out of all the sports right now, sitting on top of the ACC with a 17-3 overall record. 

The Panthers recently suffered their third loss of the season to No. 5 Louisville, whom they shared the conference title with last season. But the Panthers were able to bounce back quickly, as they finished two consecutive sweeps against Notre Dame and Virginia. 

Last time Pitt and NC State met, the Panthers walked away with a 3-1 victory led by graduate student Chiamaka Nwokolo’s 14 kills and graduate student Rachel Fairbanks’ 43 assists. 

With about a month left in the season, the Panthers’ challenges will only get harder. The Panthers have eight games left on their schedule and still have to face off against No. 5 Louisville again. Pitt will also have to face off against every other team in the top seven of the ACC standings to end the year. 

Men’s Soccer

In the midst of a down year, Pitt men’s soccer will look to finish their season strong. The No. 23 Panthers (6-4-3) will host No. 9 Duke (8-3-1) in a huge ACC matchup Saturday night. 

The Panthers just came off a 2-0 victory against cross-city rivals Duquesne on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils also came out victorious 2-1, last Friday night against NC State.

This game has some considerable implications as the season is quickly approaching an end. Both teams are still looking for a top four seed in the upcoming ACC tournament. The Panthers currently hold eight points in the standings, while the Blue Devils hold nine points. Both teams are sitting outside, as they need to surpass Virginia to enter the top four. 

These two teams tend to play each other competitively, as their series record is 4-5-3 in favor of the Blue Devils. Last season when these teams met in Durham, North Carolina, they played each other to a 0-0 draw. The Panthers could use a win to help solidify their place in the men’s tournament.

This game is also Senior Day for the Panthers, as they will honor midfielder Filip Mirkovic, midfielder Joao Souza, defender Fabian Grau and midfielder Mathys Lefebvre. 

After this game, the Panthers will head to Notre Dame on Oct. 27 to play their final game of the regular season.

Women’s Soccer

No. 18 Pitt women’s soccer will face off against No. 8 Clemson on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers just fell to No. 1 Florida State 3-2 on Thursday night 

Pitt is having one of its best seasons in program history, writing many records along the way. The Panthers are 12-2-1, which is on pace for the best record in Pitt women’s soccer history. This season also saw the Panthers take down Duke for the first time in program history. 

Just this week, the Panthers had three players make the top 100 midseason list. Defender Ashton Gordon came in at No. 41, forward Sarah Schupansky came in at No. 43 and forward Samiah Phiri came in at No. 80.

After the Clemson game, the Panthers will have only one game left in the regular season against Virginia Tech on Oct. 26. 

Swimming and Diving

The Panthers men’s and women’s teams both are heading to South Bend, Indiana, to compete in a dual meet against Penn State and Notre Dame. Both the men’s and women’s teams lost their previous two matches against Stanford and California. 

Coming into the matchup against Penn State and Notre Dame, fifth-year Jeremy Chen was named ACC swimmer of the week for his performances against Stanford and California, where he won the 100m and 200m breaststroke.

In the last duel meet, Dylan Reed defeated reigning men’s diving national champions California in the 1m and 3m. Sophomore Megan Iannon also was able to secure second place in both meets for the 1m and 3m competitions. 

After the dual meet in South Bend, the Panthers swimming and diving team’s next match is at home on Nov. 4 against George Washington.