Gophers Volleyball preview

NCAA tournament: round of 16

Noon vs. Pittsburgh in Omaha • Streamed on ESPN3

Pitt looking for even bigger upset

Gophers update: The No. 3 Gophers (16-2) enter the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in coach Hugh McCutcheon's nine seasons. His teams have lost three times in this round. The Gophers continue to put together a three-headed attack with Stephanie Samedy, Adanna Rollins and Taylor Landfair, who all had double-digit kills in the three-set victory over Georgia Tech in the round of 32. Redshirt senior Regan Pittman remains a mainstay as a middle blocker; she's nine blocks away from 500 for her career. The Gophers are 8-9 in program history in this round.

Pittsburgh update: The Panthers (18-4) entered the NCAA tournament with an at-large bid and were not among the 16 seeds, but they are playing like they maybe should have been. Pitt upset No. 14 seed Utah in the round of 32. Pitt has never played in a Sweet 16 game, but it enters the matchup on a roll. The Panthers haven't lost a match since October. Kayla Lund (299) and Chinaza Ndee (262) lead Pitt in kills. Lund also leads the team in service aces (32) and digs (242).

NICK KELLY