Weekend Preview: Multiple teams face tough weekend challenges

Pitt volleyball looks to continue its winning ways on the road against two high-profile opponents, while both the cross country and tennis teams look to impress in tournaments.

Televised tilt in Florida highlights weekend volleyball action

Pitt women’s volleyball faces two important road tests at Miami and No. 21 Florida State this weekend as the team tries to climb the ACC standings.

The Panthers are 11-6 on the season and are coming off a five-set loss against Virginia at Fitzgerald Field House. Even though it was in a losing effort, the Panthers set a season-high in blocks with 17. Pitt will need to continue its defensive intensity when it travels to the sunshine state.

Pitt is 2-1 against Miami and 3-2 against Florida State in its history against both teams. This weekend should prove to be a more difficult challenge, however, as both teams are improved from years past.

The Hurricanes are 11-3 on the year and undefeated in ACC play, having also won their last four games.

The Seminoles are ranked 21st in the country, and are 10-5 overall. The game will be televised on ROOT Sports and ESPN3, as both teams continue to receive national recognition.

The Panthers were featured as one of ESPN’s Capitol One Cup Performances of the Week after their straight set win over Virginia Tech. It had been Pitt’s third consecutive straight set win before their loss to Virginia on Saturday.

Cross country team returns to familiar event

Pitt men’s and women’s cross country will compete in the Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Saturday at Schenley Park. Races begin at 11:45 a.m.

The women’s team is familiar with the CMU Invitational, having raced in the event last fall. The results, however, were less than stellar as the team finished 11th in a field of 17 teams.

The men’s team last participated in the CMU invitational in 2011, when the lead runner from that race was Ben Kisley, who is now a senior. Kisley finished with the seventh best time for the Panthers at the Notre Dame Invitational last week, and was 139th overall.

The Panthers are coming off an away race against Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, where the women’s team continued its progressive improvement. Morgan Perry was the first Pitt runner to finish, placing 37th.

The men’s team has been a model of consistency this season, as the top three runners have impressed of late. Among Michael Runco, Rich Addison and Cullen Davis, at least one runner of the trio has finished in the top three in all of Pitt’s races.

After Saturday’s races the Panthers will have just one more before the ACC Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Tennis to be tested in national tournament

The Pitt women’s tennis team will travel to Flushing Meadows, N.Y., this weekend to play in the USTA Billie Jean National Tennis Center College Invite.

The team will play at the site of the U.S. Open, one of the major tournaments of the international tennis circuit. The Panthers, led by seniors Jocelyn Lu and Taylor Washington, look to compete in the heavily contested singles and doubles tournaments.

The events take place all day, and the Panthers are one of 19 schools sending players to the tournament. The tournament includes Harvard, Princeton, Rutgers, Saint John’s, Connecticut, Seton Hall and other well known college tennis programs.

The Panthers will be tested in most matches in their second-to-last tournament of the year. Pitt wraps up their fall season next weekend at the ITA Atlantic Regional in Charlottesville, Va.