Head Coach Justin Haupt's Pitt-Johnstown volleyball team, 19-9 on the season and seeded sixth, will take on third-seeded Wheeling (WV) in Thursday's Quarterfinals of the 2024 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament hosted by Gannon University. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center in Erie.
Pitt Johnstown will be competing in its sixth NCAA Division II Regional Tournament and the program's second straight appearance.
The winner of the Pitt-Johnstown-Wheeling match will take on the winner of the No. 2 Indiana (PA)-No. 7 Shepherd (WV) match in the Atlantic Region Semifinals on Friday, December 6.
The Regional Quarterfinal matches are scheduled for Thursday at 11:00 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, and 7:00 p.m. The semifinals are on Friday at 5:00 and 7:30 p.m., and the Atlantic Regional Championship Match is on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
TICKET INFORMATION (BUY TICKETS)
Admission for each day of the tournament play will be as follows:
Adults $10.00
Students with I.D./Senior Citizens $5.00
Children, ages 2-12 $5.00
Children under the age of 2 shall be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
ATLANTIC REGIONAL SCHEDULE
All matches at Cathedral Prep's Hagerty Family Events Center
Thursday, December 5, 2024 – Quarterfinals
11:00 a.m. – No. 3 Wheeling vs. No. 6 Pitt-Johnstown
1:30 p.m. – No. 2 Indiana (Pa.) vs. No. 7 Shepherd
4:30 p.m. – No. 1 Gannon vs. No. 8 Shaw
7:00 p.m. – No. 4 Clarion vs. No. 5 West Virginia State
Friday, December 6, 2024 – Semifinals
5:00 p.m. – Winner of Q1 vs. Winner of Q2
7:30 p.m. – Winner of Q3 vs. Winner of Q4
Saturday, December 7, 2024 – Championship
7:00 p.m. – Winner of S1 vs. Winner of S2
Eight eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites. Regional competition will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches and will not include a third-place match. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the NCAA finals, Dec. 12-14, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Fall, S.D. Competition at the finals site will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches.
Pitt-Johnstown (19-9) is led by three all-conference selections in First-Team All-PSAC West setter
Adiamar Beaz and second-team selections in outside hitter
Lualis Alvarado and defensive specialist
Gabriella DeRenzo.
Alvarado's 403 kills and 3.77 kills per set lead the way for Pitt-Johnstown, while
Ellie Zuro (179 kills, 3.77 kills per set),
Mallory Pinske (205 kills, 1.95 kills per set),
Dannika Susko (182 kills, 1.73 kills per set), and
Natalie Lippincott (171 kills, 1.80 kills per set) are all averaging over 1.7 kills per set. Beaz paces the PSAC and ranks fourth nationally in aces per set (.62) and eighth in total aces (66). She is also leads in the conference and is 30
th nationally in assists per set (10.30) and fourth in the PSAC and 45
th in the country in total assists (1098). In addition,
DeRenzo is second in the PSAC and 19
th in NCAA Division II in digs per set (5.49) and is third in the conference and 33
rd nationally in total digs (587).
Wheeling, seeded third under 24
th-year Head Coach Christie Benner, enters the NCAA Regional Tournament at 25-10. The Cardinals are the Mountain East Conference tournament runners-up after suffering after suffering a four-set loss to West Virginia State in the title match.
Wheeling is led by Riley Kindall (429 kills, 3.61 kills per set), Katie Wilking (294 kills, 2.58 kills per set), and Mady Winters (260 kills, 2.20 kills per set, 137 blocks, 1.16 blocks per set)
Nationally, Karly Niesen ranks second in total assists (1, 355) and 16
th in assists per set (10.93), Winters is 15
th in total blocks, and Kindall is 20
th in total kills.
Pitt-Johnstown and Wheeling last met on Sept. 15, 2023, and the Cardinals earned a 3-0 win. Lippincott and Alvarado each had 10 kills for the Mountain Cats, while Tylah Yeomans' match-high 18 kills paced Wheeling.
