Transfer of power: Pitt volleyball beats Purdue, reaches NCAA Final Four for 1st time

The foundation for the Pitt women’s volleyball team was firmly in place before Leketor Member-Meneh decided to transfer from Missouri and move 720 miles to play for the Panthers.

Convincing the 5-foot-8 St. Louis native and senior outside hitter to leave home showed eighth-year Pitt coach Dan Fisher the Panthers were ready to break through.

Member-Meneh shined Saturday, recording a team-high 21 kills at Fitzgerald Field House to help Pitt reach unprecedented heights, beating Purdue 3-1 (25-20, 28-30, 25-20, 25-15) to reach the Final Four for the first time in program history. Pitt will play No. 10 seed Nebraska on Thursday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

But the prospect of reaching the sport’s biggest stage wasn’t what sold Member-Meneh on the move.

“I prayed a lot before I decided to enter the transfer portal,” Member-Meneh said. “I told God that I wanted a good, supporting, loving coaching staff that would get me to my potential, and I want teammates who were amazing and were going to embrace me. I got exactly what I wanted at Pitt.”

The volleyball team became the third in school history — after the 1941 men’s basketball team and 2020 men’s soccer team — to reach the national semifinals.

Transfers certainly have strengthened Pitt’s core and turned a program on the rise into a juggernaut.

“Well, I think it just shows something special is going on at Pitt,” Fisher said. “I think it shows you that we have a great team culture and one that people want to be a part of.”

Pitt also benefited from 14 kills from Penn State transfer Serena Gray.

Beating Purdue ended another long losing streak for Pitt. The Panthers, who last played the Boilermakers in 2013, had lost their previous 11 matches to Purdue.

Fisher wasn’t sure this level was ever possible.

“I came here from an NAIA school,” Fisher said. “I never dreamed of being in this moment. I was just trying to get us to the NCAA Tournament. So this has far exceeded my own expectations. I’d say this has been an amazing group to work with.”

The Panthers (29-3) didn’t take many missteps against Purdue. Pitt found its legs after the Boilermakers hit at a blistering pace in the first set. Purdue (26-7) built a 4-1 lead by putting away four kills, including two from Caitlyn Newton.

The Panthers, who were efficient offensively in the first set — hitting 57.1%(19 of 28) — surged ahead for good, 15-14, following two kills by Member-Meneh and an attack error by the Boilermakers.

Purdue coach Dave Shondell felt the Boilermakers were out of sorts early.

“It was a good slugfest, but I didn’t feel like we were really engaged the way we needed to be from a serve-pass standpoint,” Shondell said. “I was warned about this from other coaches about how fast Pitt transitioned and how fast they get on the ball.”

Wild momentum swings marked the second set. Purdue stole the set, which featured 18 ties and nine lead changes, 30-28 following attack errors from Kayla Lund and Member-Meneh.

Pitt took advantage of errors by the Boilermakers to win the fourth set. The Panthers never trailed after opening with a 4-0 run thanks to three Purdue attack errors and a kill by Chiamaka Nwokolo.

Pitt pulled away in the fourth set after the score was tied 10-10.

Purdue committed a service error, which was followed by two kills from Member-Meneh and one from Gray to stretch the Panthers’ lead to 14-10.

Pitt never trailed again and would score the winning point on a kill by Gray.

“When I was transferring, I wasn’t thinking ‘Yeah I want to go to a Final Four or win a national championship,’ ” Gray said. “I just wanted to develop myself as a player and I wanted to be around teammates and a coaching staff that would facilitate my development as a player. This is beyond what I could have imagined.”