PITTSBURGH — Angela Seman is accustomed to the bumps and bruises that go with being a libero.

She’s also accustomed to winning.

The Seneca Valley graduate and redshirt sophomore for the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team is experiencing a great deal of both these days with the Panthers.

“When I’m out there, the adrenalin kicks in,” Seman said. “I don’t feel anything. Afterwards, though ...”

With her right thigh tightly wrapped, Seman was key in the back row in an upset win over nationally ranked Michigan Sunday.

She had 26 digs as Pitt beat the No. 22 Wolverines in five sets.

Seman also had 20 digs in another upset win over a ranked opponent earlier in the season in a five-set triumph over No. 25 Colorado State.

Seman said those two wins have given her and Pitt enormous confidence.

“We beat two Top 25 teams and we have proven ourselves,” Seman said. “Coming into the season we had so many freshmen who were playing key roles, we didn’t know if we’d be as good as last year, but those freshmen have really stepped up.”

So has Seman, who is fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in digs this season with 147.

Last year she was also fifth in the ACC in digs.

This year, though, she has improved her serve — one of the biggest areas she focused on this offseason.

“My biggest challenge was getting the toss down and loading my arm correctly,” Seman said. “I must have served 500 balls this preseason trying to fix it.

“It’s important because it gets the other team out of system,” Seman added.

That work has paid off.

“Her serve is much stronger,” said Pitt volleyball coach Dan Fisher. “She worked on it a ton.”

But Seman’s biggest strength is her play in the back row, something she excelled at during her days at Seneca Valley.

That has carried over to her collegiate career.

“You definitely have to be fearless and Ang certainly is,” Fisher said. “The floor’s hard. That’s what she’s up against, but she does an amazing job.

“She’s as good as she was last year,” Fisher added. “Probably even better.”

Seman has tried to hone her defensive skills even more.

It’s not good enough to simply keep the ball off the floor. Seman wants to be able to also set up her teammates with a well-placed dig.

“The thing I always tell myself is dig with a purpose,” Seman said. “I try to get the ball in the air, high middle, 10 feet off the net, so our setters can do something with it and set up our hitters at the net.”

That’s often easier said than done.

Seman’s biggest adjustment has been the speed of the college game.

“Everything is a lot faster,” Seman said. “It’s definitely more challenging.”

Seman, though, has never been one to shy away from a challenge.

During her true freshman season, she was redshirted. She used that year to study the college game and improve her skills for the rigors of Division I volleyball.

When her turn came last season, she took full advantage of it.

She has imparted that knowledge to the strong freshman class this season highlighted by Layne Van Buskirk of Windsor, Ontario.

The young Pitt roster is trying to crack the NCAA tournament.

“We’ve been in the Top 50 the last two years, but just missed the NCAA tournament,” Fisher said. “We scheduled our RPI a little tougher this year in the hopes of getting a better shot. They’ve been surprising me a little bit. Angela is only a sophomore and we have two freshmen playing well.”