Pitt women's volleyball coach Dan Fisher makes sure players' bodies, minds ready for NCAA Tournament

Pitt’s Dan Fisher works diligently in an attempt to recruit elite volleyball players, female athletes who can jump as high as the nation’s best players and dig out balls inches from the floor.

But Fisher has been coaching long enough — 11 seasons at Pitt — to understand that athletic ability carries teams only so far. Other teams have great athletes, too.

So Pitt employs a sports psychologist whose goal is to reach players on a mental, even intellectual level.

“We spend all this time training our bodies,” Fisher said, “and we don’t spend a lot of time training our minds. (The goal is to) be more intentional about how you train your mental game.”

If Pitt’s recent success on the floor is any indication, mission accomplished.

Fisher’s team is preparing for its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and the Pitt women are no afterthought in the 64-team field. In fact, they earned one of four No. 1 seeds and will be hosts for first- and second-round matches Friday and Saturday at Petersen Events Center. USC (18-12) will meet Maryland Baltimore County (17-7), which features Avonworth grad Emily Ferketic, at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by Pitt (25-4) vs. Coppin State (27-4). Winners meet at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Pitt might be favored to advance — the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matches will be staged at Pitt’s Fitzgerald Field House — but Fisher and his players have loftier goals. Those were set as far back as their second Final Four appearance in 2022 when they lost to Louisville in the national semifinals, three sets to two.

“In our first meetings (before this season), we talked about being able to host, winning an ACC championship and, hopefully, winning a national championship,” said Fisher, whose all-time Pitt record is 283-66. “This is what we’ve been dreaming about and planning for.”

Pitt won a share of the ACC title — its fifth, all in the past seven seasons — with Florida State, both teams winning 16 of 18 matches against conference opponents.

The Pitt women proved they belong among the nation’s best teams — they are ranked No. 4 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and are fourth in the RPI — by confronting and largely defeating a challenging schedule.

A total of 11 Pitt opponents — almost one-fifth of the field — landed NCAA Tournament berths, and the Panthers own an 11-4 record against them, including seven straight-set victories (3-0). Pitt avenged one loss Nov. 18 by defeating Louisville, a No. 2 seed in the tournament.

“It’s not easy taking early-season hits, losing to (No. 4) BYU and (No. 2) Oregon, but I think it helped prepare us,” Fisher said.

Pitt is uniquely equipped to compete against the nation’s best teams, with a program-record seven women named to the All-ACC first or second teams. They include first-team selection Rachel Fairbanks, a senior and the ACC Setter of the Year. She recorded a career-high 748 assists, 152 digs, 53 aces and 40 blocks. Freshmen Olivia Babcock and Torrey Stafford also were named to the first team. Stafford’s older sister, Takenya, plays for Coppin State.

Pitt’s Chiamaka Nwokolo, Emma Monks, Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Emmy Klika were named to the second team.

The tournament format tests not only teams’ talent, but their endurance level. If Pitt defeats Coppin State, the women would have to play twice in a 24-hour period.

“A day in between is more ideal,” Fisher said. “That being said, we’re used to it. Preseason, we do it. The girls that play international volleyball are used to playing multiple days in a row.

“We’ve been lobbying as coaches for a day in between. There is now a day in between for the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8 rounds (Dec. 7 and 9). Ideally, for preparation and some rest and load reasons, a day in between is better.”