Just in a week, the world has changed for the Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball program. Early last week, the Panthers celebrated their advancement to the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship’s Final Four. In the decisive round, their opponents were the Louisville Cardinals. In the regular ACC season, they had already defeated the Cardinals both times. They had to make it 3-0 to reach the final. Coach Dan Fisher also had a celebration time. After all, he had earned the Division I National Coach of the Year title. However, just 7 days later, everything seems different. Pittsburgh Panthers failed to overpower their archrival in the semifinal. Meanwhile, their chance to make it to the final was washed away. And things started to fall apart. 

The volleyball fans have no qualms with Pittsburgh’s loss in the NCAA semifinal. Instead, they have an objection to something that came from the AVCA connecting the Panthers. What is it? 

Pittsburgh Panthers earn unexpected preference in the list 

The Race of the Roses is over. Penn State Nittany Lions claimed the national volleyball title on Sunday. Louisville finished runner-up. Both the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Nebraska Huskers ended their journey in the semifinal. So the expectation was to see the reflection of this result on the AVCA Top 25 list. On Monday (November 23), the list came. It has Nittany Lions on the top, claiming 60 votes from the volleyball coaches nationwide. Meanwhile, Louisville, Pittsburgh, and Nebraska stand, respectively, in the next three ranks. The issue was refueled from here only. Among the names, the Panthers have one vote. But what does it signify? 

Pittsburgh Panthers’ sole vote defines that a coach has voted for them, counting them as worthy of being the topper. Here come the questions, though. The Pittsburgh Panthers volleyball program ended their postseason, facing a 1-3 result from the Cardinals. Moreover, Nebraska had a more riveting game against the topper, PSU, in the semifinal. They accepted their defeat only after a neck-to-neck battle with the champion team. Yet in the list, Nebraska has zero in its bracket. So? Is it a matter of prioritizing the Panthers over everything? Volleyball fans have failed to look away from this issue. On X, they have deposited their anger. 

Volleyball fans make fun of the AVCA list 

“What a joke,” a fan commented on X. For them, the entire AVCA Top 25 seems to be “a joke” as it lacks depth and originality. It has the Pittsburgh Panthers with one top-place vote. That rings insane to the volleyball fans. The issue led another fan to write, “Whoever gave Pitt a #1 vote must not realize the tournament is already completed.” Notably, in the regular season, the Panthers had the top place in the weekly AVCA ranking. The Nebraska Huskers failed to topple them despite performing well against the ranked programs. Each week, the Panthers were habituated to seeing the most number of first-place votes landing in their bag. By penning such lines, the fan tried to point out that the season is already over. 

Another fan brought up the same topic. Their comment reads, “Voting Pitt number 1 when they didn’t even make the final is wild.” Yes, a 3-1 loss to the Louisville Cardinals failed to disrupt the Panthers’ supply line of receiving top-place votes. The question left the fans scratching their heads. Another follower left the same wondering, questioning, “My question is who voted Pitt #1 after losing their semi?” The answer is any coach listed in AVCA’s book. But the identity might not come. A few fans couldn’t believe the Huskers’ position on the table, after the Pittsburgh Panthers. 

“Pitt got a 1st place vote? What weirdo put that vote in? And Nebraska’s 4th vs 3rd?? Huskers lost to the Champs and we beat Louisville in the regular season IN Louisville. Oh well on to the next,” someone noted on X. The positions don’t come in that way, though. It entirely depends on the coaches’ votes. The maximum number of place-votes ranks the programs. Based on that, Nebraska has come in fourth place. In the meantime, a Huskers fan claimed, “Nebraska was clearly the number 2 team!!!  Any other result is completely BS!!” The discussion might not end there. It might open the door to further debates. Do you have any take on the placement and the voting? Drop those in the comment box.