Cat Flood relishes her role with Pitt women's volleyball as team vies for national championship

Cat Flood has become one of the most popular players on the top-ranked Pitt volleyball team, particularly among the younger crowd.

Maybe it’s her trademark two-tone hair, something she did on a teammate’s dare a couple of years ago, and it has stuck. She tried going back to one hair color last summer, but when a young girl came up to her at Pitt’s volleyball camp and asked, “Where’s Cat?” she decided it was time to go half-and-half again.

If her unique locks aren’t enough of a draw, her personality is. She always lingers after matches to sign autographs, pose for pictures, talk and shake hands.

“I don’t have any siblings, and I didn’t grow up around children,” the grad student from Wilmette, Ill., explained, “so I don’t know how to say no.”

Whatever the reason, Flood gets plenty of star treatment.

Funny thing, though. By many measures, she doesn’t fit the definition of a “star.” She hasn’t piled up the stats and accolades the way some of her teammates have done.

Most of the time, Flood (6-foot-2), though listed on the roster as an outside hitter, enters a match to serve and nothing else. She will get the occasional kill or dig, but her appearances often are brief, and it has been that way throughout her time with the Panthers.

And yet, she’s still here.

Flood could have transferred to any number of schools and played a regular role. In fact, she entered the portal after the 2023 season, but her desire to compete for a national championship has outweighed any need for personal achievement.

“Going to the final four three times in a row, I was like, maybe I’ve run this gauntlet. Let’s see what’s next for me in life,” she said. “But the whole time, I’m coming to the gym, I’m working out, I’m training and I’m watching (the team) train without me, and I was like, this isn’t right.

“I want to come back. I want to win a national championship, and I didn’t think I was going to do it anywhere else.”

As a serving specialist, she plays a key role in what has become one of the Panthers’ most reliable advantages. Through Wednesday’s win over No. 15 SMU — the Panthers (15-0, 5-0 ACC) travel to SMU for Saturday’s ACC rematch — Pitt ranked fourth in the nation at 2.39 aces per set.

In Wednesday’s straight-set win, Pitt served 10 aces, including one by Flood, her 15th of the season, which ranks third on the team. The Panthers can send a virtual Murderers’ Row of servers at opponents: Olivia Babcock, Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Flood and Rachel Fairbanks have at least a dozen aces each, with Babcock on top at 37.

“We (coaches) always used to talk about, ‘Oh, we’ve gotta pass, we’ve gotta pass, we’ve gotta pass,’ ” Fisher said. “And now it seems like a lot more coaches are putting more training into serving, and we want to be a team that can get our opponents stuck in every row, and starting out with a tough serve certainly helps.”

Added Flood: “(Opponents) don’t get a break.”

Flood likens her role to that of a football kicker or a baseball closer: infrequent yet expected to perform every time. She simply tries to stay focused until called upon.

“Over these past two years, the team growing confident in me has helped my confidence, and I love the pressure,” she said. “I think it’s fun to be in the big moments, like the closer, like the kicker, making that one play.”

Winning is fun, too, and Flood has experienced plenty. She has been on Pitt’s roster for 143 matches — she recently appeared in her 100th — with 125 of those being victories. Two ACC championships, four elite eights, three national semifinals.

The last hurdle is getting to the national championship match and, ultimately, winning. It’s the reason Flood came back: to play her role and push Pitt’s star to the top.

“We don’t have a weak link,” she said. “We could put anybody on the court, and we find a way to win every single time. It doesn’t feel like we’re scared. We’re so ready.”