Pitt senior Chinaza Ndee has taken her leadership role on the volleyball team in stride, navigating the team to success both on and off the court this year.

Pitt’s historic NCAA tournament run came to an end on Monday afternoon, and it happened in possibly the most heartbreaking way imaginable.

Just a few days after its first second-round NCAA Tournament victory, Pitt volleyball shocked the No. 3 Minnesota Gophers in a thrilling comeback. The Panthers will face No. 6 Washington in the Elite Eight on Monday at noon.

The Panthers swept No. 14 Utah behind a powerful performance from senior captain Chinaza Ndee, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Pitt volleyball rewarded its dedicated fans with a late-night sweep in the NCAA tournament first round last night. The Panthers face No. 14 Utah tonight, looking to reach the third round for the first time in program history.

In the program’s 46 seasons of competition, no Panther team has made it past the second round of the postseason.

Punxsutawney Phil may have had Pitt in mind when he predicted six weeks of winter before one of the most “beautiful and brightest” springs ever. The Panthers got the spring started in great fashion with a slew of accolades across multiple sports.

Pitt sports had an eventful weekend, with the gymnastics team finishing its season at the National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Regional Meet in Morgantown, West Virginia, volleyball concluding its regular season with a pair of conference matchups and softball continuing its difficult season at home in a series against Louisville.

Fresh off of a 3-0 win against North Carolina, Pitt volleyball head coach Dan Fisher certainly didn’t boast a false sense of security about his team’s postseason fate. He said the team still needed to win its last two matches to have “no doubt” it would receive one of the 18 at-large NCAA volleyball tournament bids.

“We still feel like we did have a home-court advantage.” Despite limited attendance, Pitt returned to form at the Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday, sweeping UNC for its 10th straight victory.