PITTSBURGH — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that University of Pittsburgh freshman and Crestview High School graduate Abbey Emch has been named the ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week after a standout weekend. The honor is the first weekly ACC award of her young career.

Emch averaged 2.33 blocks per set and 1.75 points per set across two conference wins. She posted four blocks, two digs and a kill in Wednesday’s sweep of No. 7 Louisville, then followed with a career-high 10 blocks in three sets against Georgia Tech, helping hold the Yellow Jackets to a .051 hitting percentage. She also added two kills to her stat line on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Panthers earned the No. 1 seed for the third straight season in the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

With the top seed, the Panthers will once again have home-court advantage through the first four rounds, hosting back-to-back weekends of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt opens postseason play at 7 p.m. Friday against UMBC with the match streaming on ESPN+. A victory would set up a Saturday showdown at 7 p.m. against the winner of No. 8 seed Xavier/Michigan, with a berth in the regional semifinal on the line.

This year marks Pitt’s 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Panthers own a 26-20 all-time postseason record, while head coach Dan Fisher is 23-9 in NCAA Tournament play. Pitt enters the tournament riding a streak of four straight national semifinals and five consecutive Elite Eight appearances.