Match Information
Colgate vs. Pittsburgh | Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 | 7 PM ET
NCAA Tournament First Round
Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
How to Follow
Livestream | ESPN+
Live Stats | ColgateAthletics.com
HAMILTON – Making its second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the Colgate volleyball team faces No. 6 Pittsburgh on Friday at 7 p.m. in a first-round matchup at the Panthers' Petersen Events Center.
Colgate (24-5, 14-2 PL) captured its second straight Patriot League championship under 17th-year head coach
Ryan Baker, who was named the Patriot League's Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career. The Raiders are making their sixth NCAA tournament appearance.
Patriot League Dominance
Colgate secured its third regular season championship in four years after going 14-2 during conference play. The Raiders plowed through the Patriot League tournament with a 3-0 sweep of Loyola in the semifinals and a 3-2 victory over Navy in the title match.
Baker guided the Raiders to 11 sweeps during the regular season and an 11-match winning streak, which started with a 3-1 victory over Tennessee – the program's first-ever win over an SEC opponent. The winning streak also featured a sweep of the Cornell Invitational, beating the Big Red, Temple, and UAlbany on consecutive days early in the season.
All-League Raiders
Julia Kurowski was named Patriot League Player of the Year and Setter of the Year, becoming the second player in conference history to win both awards in the same season. This was her third consecutive Setter of the Year honor after breaking the program's all-time assists record. The Lancaster, N.Y., native has 4,055 career assists and counting.
Abby Shadwick, who led the Raiders in kills, joined Kurowski with All-League First Team honors. The sophomore outside hitter averaged 3.05 kills per match, good for ninth in the Patriot League, and registered a .267 hitting percentage.
Scouting Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh (27-3, 17-1 ACC) earned the No. 2 national seed as an at-large selection, marking its highest NCAA tournament placement in program history. The Panthers reached the Final Four in 2021, marking their longest NCAA tournament run in program history, and they have earned at least the Elite 8 in back-to-back NCAA tournaments.
During the regular season, Colgate and Pittsburgh faced common opponents in Tennessee, American, and NC State. The Panthers beat Tennessee 3-0, while the Raiders beat the Volunteers 3-1, and they both swept American. Colgate lost to NC State 3-0, while the Panthers knocked off the Wolfpack 3-1. Pittsburgh's only home loss of the season came to Towson, whose only loss of the season came to Elon. The Raiders swept Elon in the NC State Tournament.
Tournament Structure
The tournament field consists of four regions of 16 teams each. Regional play will be hosted by the top 16 national seeds in the tournament with the top four remaining seeds hosting the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds.
Colgate and Pittsburgh meet in the second of two first-round matchups at the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m. on Friday. BYU and James Madison face off in the first matchup at 4 p.m. on Friday. The two winners advance to the second round and square off at 7 p.m. on Saturday.