Pittsburgh, Pa. — It was a successful weekend in Lynchburg, Virginia as the High Point Panthers took down both Lamar University (3-0) and Liberty University (3-1) in the Liberty Mountain Madness Tournament. The Panthers improved their record to 3-2 behind stellar performances from Maya Bukovcan and Élodie Lalonde. The Panthers will head back on the road one more time for a three-match tournament in Pittsburgh before the home opener on September 17th.
The matchups
The Panthers open their weekend in Pittsburgh against the Wright State Raiders for the second all-time matchup between the two programs, with Wright State winning in three sets back in 2011. The Raiders are coming off a 2025 season where they went 21-11 and dominated Horizon League play with a 13-5 record. Wright State would go on to capture the program's fourth conference title in six years. Wright State would then lose to Purdue in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Raiders topped the preseason polls for the sixth time in the last seven years. Wright State is also returning four all-league award winners from a season ago, led by a pair of first-teamers in Lauren Yacobucci and Reilly Zegunis and second-team selections in Mya Ayro and Katie Sowko. The Raiders are led by fifth-year head coach Travers Green (97-36), who won three straight Horizon League Coach of the Year honors (2022, 2023, 2024).
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High Point will face its toughest task of the season as it takes on No. 2 Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday for the fifth all-time matchup, with Pitt winning all four prior matches. Pitt is off to a 7-0 start, where it has already beaten five top-25 opponents to begin its 2026 season. Pitt is coming off a dominant 2025 campaign where the Panthers finished with a 30-5 overall record and 18-2 in ACC play, as well as beating seven top-25 opponents. Pitt made it all the way to the national semifinal game, where it fell to Texas A&M in three sets. The Panthers were named ACC co-champions, sharing the title with Stanford, but it was the program's fourth straight title and seventh in the school's history. Pitt was picked to finish second in this year's preseason poll in the ACC. Also of note, seniors Blaire Bayless and Olivia Babcock, along with junior transfer Izzy Starck, have been named to the 2026 Preseason All-ACC Team. Pitt is led by senior Olivia Babcok, who currently leads the team with 109 kills. Babcock was last year's ACC Female Athlete of the Year and is the two-time defending AVCA Player of the Year. The Panthers are coached by Dan Fisher (357-74), who is in his 13th year with the program. Fisher has led Pitt to all seven of its ACC titles and five Final Four appearances.
To round out their weekend, HPU will take on the Jacksonville University Dolphins for the third all-time matchup, with the Panthers leading the series 2-0. In 2025 the Dolphins went 22-8 with a 12-4 conference record, ultimately losing in the semifinals of the ASUN tournament. Jacksonville was picked to finish second in the preseason polls, earning one first-place vote. The Dolphins also had two players make the preseason team, that being senior Claire Mrukowski and junior Haley Yount. Yount swept the preseason awards, earning Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Jacksonville is led by third-year head coach Alicia Manguiat, who is coming off a year where she was named the ASUN Coach of the Year while also leading the Dolphins to their first win in the ASUN Tournament since 2015 and best record since 2013.
Pittsburgh Invitational schedule
Volleyball – Pittsburgh Invitational vs Wright State
Friday, September 11 | 4 p.m. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Victory Heights Arena
Watch Live | ESPN+
Records: High Point 3-2, Wright State 3-3
Last time meeting: September 10, 2011 | Result: Wright State won 3-0
All-time record: Wright State leads 1-0
Volleyball – Pittsburgh Invitational at No. 2 Pitt
Saturday, September 12 | 5 p.m. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Victory Heights Arena
Watch Live | ACCN
Records: High Point 3-2, Pitt 6-0
Last time meeting: September 17, 2023 | Result: Pitt won 3-0
All-time record: Pitt leads 4-0
Volleyball – Pittsburgh Invitational vs Jacksonville
Sunday, September 13 | 11 a.m. | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Victory Heights Arena
Watch Live | ESPN+
Records: High Point 3-2, Jacksonville 3-3
Last time meeting: September 21, 2019 | Result: HPU won 3-1
All-time record: HPU leads 2-0
Weekend recap
High Point swept the weekend at the Liberty Mountain Madness with two victories over Lamar and Liberty. The team picked up its first 3-0 sweep of the season after defeating Lamar on Saturday. Bukovcan led the weekend with 24 kills on a .541 hitting percentage while adding 11 blocks. Lalonde was right behind Bukovcan with 23 kills and 11 digs on the weekend.
Notable player and team notes
Michella Chester's Week Two starting rotation
Maya Bukovcan was picked to Michella Chester's Week Two starting rotation after averaging 3.43 kills per set and 1.57 blocks per set.
Big South weekly awards (8/31)
The Big South Conference announced the first week of volleyball Player of the Week awards following the opening weekend of the 2026 season. High Point University was awarded two awards as Maya Bukovcan was named the Player of the Week and Remy Catojo was named Setter of the Week.
Preseason polls
The Big South Conference announced the 2026 Preseason Women's Volleyball All-Conference Awards and Preseason Poll on Wednesday afternoon. The High Point University volleyball team was unanimously voted the preseason favorite by the Big South head coaches after winning the 2025 Big South Tournament, making it the Panthers' 10th consecutive season being voted No. 1.
Along with being voted the preseason favorite, four HPU student-athletes were named to the All-Conference selection including, Élodie Lalonde, Maya Bukovcan, Remy Catojo, and Addison Freeland. Lalonde was named the Big South Preseason Player of the Year and Remy Catojo was voted the Big South Preseason Co-Setter of the Year along with USC Upstate's Kamyla Vega David.
