Panthers Down the Orange to Remain Perfect in ACC Play

Friday, October 13

Syracuse, N.Y.

1:30 PM EST

Pitt

14-4, 7-0ACC

Syracuse

14-7, 6-2ACC

Pitt

Syracuse

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

Panthers Down the Orange to Remain Perfect in ACC Play

10/13/2017 4:11:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Pitt Earns 11th-Straight Victory

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team remains perfect in conference play after defeating Syracuse for the second time this season. The squad swept the Orange Friday afternoon at the Women's Building in Syracuse, N.Y. to mark its 11^th-straight victory.

The Panthers, who are now 14-4 on the season and 7-0 in conference play, downed the Orange (14-7, 6-2 ACC) in straight sets 26-24, 26-24, 25-19.

"We did a really nice job in tough moments, just staying in it and playing as a team," said head coach Dan Fisher. "Our offense continues to do a good job and I believe we are a pretty tough team to stop right now. I didn't think we played our best defensively the whole afternoon, so we have some work to do there."

Pitt's offense was on point as the Panthers hit .388 with 54 kills. Three players hit in double-digits including sophomore Nika Markovic and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams who both had 14 apiece and freshman Chinaza Ndee who finished with 10. Ndee hit for a .643 clip after committing just one error in 14 attempts, while Williams hit .429 on the match.

This marks 11 straight-matches for Williams hitting in double-digits and 14 total on the season, while Markovic extended her streak to nine-straight and 12 overall.

Junior Kamalani Akeo aided the Panthers attack with 42 assists, while Markovic finished with two aces.

Set One: Pitt 26, Syracuse 24

Battling from behind, Pitt took the first set, 26-24.

Pitt struggled to find a rhythm at the start of the first set, falling behind 11-6. The Panthers were forced to take a timeout to regroup and returned from the break to outscore the Orange 4-1 to pull back within two, 12-10.

Syracuse called its own timeout to slow Pitt, but back-to-back kills by Williams and senior Alex Rosignol, in addition to an ace by Markovic tied the set at 13 all. The Panthers found a one-point lead late in the set, 17-16, but a 6-2 run by the Orange would give them a 22-19 lead.

Following a Pitt timeout, kills by Markovic and sophomore Layne Van Buskirk in addition to multiple Syracuse errors gave the Panthers set point, 24-23. The Orange fought off the initial set point but two straight kills by Williams would end the set in Pitt's favor.

Set Two: Pitt 26, Syracuse 24

Pitt extended its lead to 2-0 after defeating Syracuse 26-24 in the second set.

In another tight frame, the two teams battled back-and forth and remained neck and neck until the late points of the set.

Trailing 19-18, Pitt used a four-point run to make it 22-19 behind two kills by Williams, one by Van Buskirk and an Orange error.

Syracuse used the first of two timeouts, with the second coming just points later as the Panthers earned set point 24-22. The Orange battled until the end but straight kills by Van Buskirk and Markovic concluded the set.

Set Three: Pitt 25, Syracuse 19

Pitt earned its 11^th-straight victory following a 25-19 third-set win.

The Panthers got off to a great start in the third frame, moving ahead 6-2 but the Orange battled back to tie 10-10.

Pitt used a 7-3 run over the next 10 points to led 17-13 and force a Syracuse timeout, but the Orange were unable to regroup and stop the Panthers.

Pitt went on to earn set point 24-17 and take the frame 25-19.

Up Next
The Panthers will continue their road trip at Boston College with a 12:30 p.m. match-up Sunday, Oct. 15.

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