Amanda Orchard

Classroom

An anthropology major and history minor, Amanda Orchard plans on attending graduate school after she completes her undergrad to receive her masters in social work. The senior was recently named to the 2014-15 ACC Academic Honor Roll, and prior to Pitt’s move to the ACC, was a Big East Academic All-Star during the 2013-14 academic year.

Character

The Cathy and John Pelusi Family Life Skills program was created at the University of Pittsburgh to help develop and prepare student-athletes for success while in college and for life after college. This program gives Orchard the option to participate in the Panther Leadership Academy, which assists in shaping good character and building leadership skills. She is now a 360 Degree Leader within the group, the highest possible rank in the academy. Through the program, Orchard was able to participate in the 2013 Panther Leadership Academy Conference. This event was a two-day conference at Pitt-Johnstown where she participated in workshops that focused on a variety of leadership topics, such as teamwork, work ethic, problem solving and much more. She also attends individual workshops that take place throughout each school year.

Orchard has also participated in various Pitt Professional Etiquette Series including dining, professional dress, business networking and communication.

Leadership is a trait that is instilled in Orchard. A well-respected teammate and student-athlete, Orchard was named co-captain of the 2015 Pitt volleyball team and is an officer on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

All-in-all, Orchard is a hard-working, motivated leader. She is the first to arrive at every lift, conditioning, practice and match she attends and the last to leave. She encourages her teammates year-round to help boost their confidence.

Community

Volunteering is a very important part of Orchard’s life outside of volleyball. Wanting to do social work following graduation, she is already well on her way there. Over the past two years, Orchard has led and attended mission trips to Haiti with a group of other student-athletes. While she made her first trip to Haiti in 2013, she spent time at the EBAC orphanage, teaching in the school and playing with the children. In 2014, the then junior chose to return to the country once again. She plans on returning every year moving forward, if possible.

In addition to her trips to Haiti, Orchard has visited the local Children’s Hospital multiple times and has helped with a local Pittsburgh program, Blessings in a Backpack. The program provides meals for elementary school children who qualify to take home food on the weekends in their backpacks. The children then return the backpacks to be filled again each Friday.

Competition

After spending her freshman and sophomore season fighting for playing time as outside hitter, Orchard moved to the middle at the request of head coach Dan Fisher. Since that point, Orchard has made a name for herself, racking up a list of accomplishments following a standout 2014 season. The middle hitter was named an honorable-mention AVCA All-American, first-team AVCA All-Region honoree and earned all-conference honors. The first player for Pitt to receive All-American recognition since 2011, Orchard set a school record with a .431 kill percentage, which also ranked her first in the ACC and sixth nationally. The Lake Zurich, Ill., native also set career-highs in ten statistical categories, including kills per set (2.11), blocks per set (0.85), and points per set (2.80).

During her career, Orchard has racked up 321 kills in 752 attempts with only 67 errors. This adds up to a .338 career hitting percentage, which currently ranks her third all-time in Pitt history. For 2015, the Panther was named to the All-ACC Preseason Team and looks to lead her team to the NCAA Tournament.