Sunday, October 8
Coral Gables, Fla.
12:00 PM EST
Pitt
13-4, 6-0ACC
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Miami
9-3, 3-3ACC
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Pitt
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Miami
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Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Panthers Extend Winning Streak to 10 with Win at Miami
10/8/2017 6:22:00 PM | Volleyball
Pitt Remains Atop of the ACC with Undefeated Conference Record
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team remains atop of the ACC as the Panthers extended their winning streak to 10 straight matches after defeating Miami 3-1 in Coral Gables, Fla., Sunday afternoon.
"Absolutely proud of our team for finding a way to win today, even though things got tough down the stretch," said head coach Dan Fisher. "This was a big road trip for us and I am happy we were able to leave Florida with two wins."
The 10-match winning streak marks the first time Pitt has reached that feat since 2003 when the Panthers won 12 consecutive matches midseason, before continuing on to win a Big East Championship. Pitt also remains undefeated in the ACC at 6-0 on the season, with a 13-4 overall record.
"It doesn't feel like a streak to us," said Fisher. "The ACC has six or seven teams that could be number one on any given day so we're not taking any game lightly. We have a lot of matches left and are trying to stay in the moment."
Pitt defeated Miami (9-3, 3-3 ACC) in four sets, picking up the first two 25-19 and 25-16 respectively, before dropping the third frame 25-21. The Panthers finished off the Hurricanes in the fourth, battling to come away with a 26-24 victory.
"This match was a tale of two halves for sure," said Fisher. "A lot was going right for us at the beginning. We were putting the pressure on them pretty regularly through the first two sets and got out to a lead, but in that third set we made some mistakes and simultaneously Miami started playing better."
Pitt continued its dominance on offense, posting 61 kills and hitting at a .367 clip. Three Panthers finished with double-digit kills, including senior Mariah Bell (17), sophomore Nika Markovic (16) and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams (14). This marked the 10th straight match for Williams hitting in double-digits and is her 12th on the season. Markovic now has 10 contests in which she has hit 10 or more and now has eight in a row.
Assisting Pitt's attack was junior Kamalani Akeo who finished with 49 assists. The Panthers also tallied six aces with three coming from Bell.
Defensively Pitt held Miami to a .193 hitting percentage. The squad posted 10 total blocks, led by Markovic who matched her career high of six and sophomore Layne Van Buskirk with five. In the back row, redshirt junior Angela Seman dug up 15 balls to lead the team.
Set One: Pitt 25, Miami 19
The Panthers took the opening set from the Hurricanes, 25-19 behind solid play on both offense and defense.
Pitt hit .371 in the set, led by Bell with six kills, and held the Hurricanes to just 10 kills and a .121 clip.
The Panthers got out in front first in the opening set, taking a 14-11 lead thanks to a five-point run. The Panthers posted two kills and put up three huge blocks to force a Miami timeout.
Out of the break, the Hurricanes tied the frame but Pitt outscored Miami 6-2 over the next eight points to regain the lead 20-16. The Hurricanes opted for another break in action to regroup.
Miami was unable to stop the Panthers in the final points as Pitt went on to win the set.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Miami 16
The Panthers found success in the second set, downing the Hurricanes 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Pitt's offense was on point as the Panthers tallied 15 kills in 20 attempts, while committing just two errors to hit at a .650 clip. Pitt also tallied four blocks and an ace in the frame.
Trailing at the start, 3-1, the Panthers used a 10-2 run to take an 11-5 lead and push Miami into a timeout.
Pitt continued to extend its lead as multiple Hurricane errors put the Panthers out in front by 10, 18-8.
The visiting Pitt squad put away five more kills in its last seven points en route to victory.
Set Three: Miami 25, Pitt 21
The Panthers and Hurricanes battled in a close third set, with the outcome favoring Miami, 25-21.
Pitt took an early lead, 7-3, but the Hurricanes quickly came back to knot the set 7-7. From that point, there were seven more tied scores before Miami pulled ahead.
The Hurricanes outscored the Panthers 5-1 to take a 22-18 lead, forcing Pitt to use two timeouts in that span.
The Panthers were unable to battle back in the frame, setting up a fourth set.
Set Four: Pitt 26, Miami 24
Pitt earned the win in the final set as the Panthers defeated Miami in extra points, 26-24.
The battle continued from the previous set as the two teams exchanged back-and-forth points. Neither team led by more than two points at a time through the entire frame and there were 18 tie scores.
All of the action came late in the set as three straight points by Miami forced Pitt to call a timeout. Out of the break, but the Panthers answered with three straight points after a Miami serving error, Bell ace and a block by Markovic and Ndee.
Miami in turn took a break and once again came back to tie the score. Pitt earned set point first at 24-22, but back-to-back Hurricanes points knotted the frame 24-24.
Miami committed a hitting error on the following play, setting up Bell for the winning kill.
Up Next
Pitt will remain on the road next weekend as the squad heads to Syracuse and Boston College. The Panthers take on the Orange Friday, Oct 13 at 1:30 p.m. and Eagles Sunday, Oct 15 at 1 p.m.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
"Absolutely proud of our team for finding a way to win today, even though things got tough down the stretch," said head coach Dan Fisher. "This was a big road trip for us and I am happy we were able to leave Florida with two wins."
The 10-match winning streak marks the first time Pitt has reached that feat since 2003 when the Panthers won 12 consecutive matches midseason, before continuing on to win a Big East Championship. Pitt also remains undefeated in the ACC at 6-0 on the season, with a 13-4 overall record.
"It doesn't feel like a streak to us," said Fisher. "The ACC has six or seven teams that could be number one on any given day so we're not taking any game lightly. We have a lot of matches left and are trying to stay in the moment."
Pitt defeated Miami (9-3, 3-3 ACC) in four sets, picking up the first two 25-19 and 25-16 respectively, before dropping the third frame 25-21. The Panthers finished off the Hurricanes in the fourth, battling to come away with a 26-24 victory.
"This match was a tale of two halves for sure," said Fisher. "A lot was going right for us at the beginning. We were putting the pressure on them pretty regularly through the first two sets and got out to a lead, but in that third set we made some mistakes and simultaneously Miami started playing better."
Pitt continued its dominance on offense, posting 61 kills and hitting at a .367 clip. Three Panthers finished with double-digit kills, including senior Mariah Bell (17), sophomore Nika Markovic (16) and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams (14). This marked the 10th straight match for Williams hitting in double-digits and is her 12th on the season. Markovic now has 10 contests in which she has hit 10 or more and now has eight in a row.
Assisting Pitt's attack was junior Kamalani Akeo who finished with 49 assists. The Panthers also tallied six aces with three coming from Bell.
Defensively Pitt held Miami to a .193 hitting percentage. The squad posted 10 total blocks, led by Markovic who matched her career high of six and sophomore Layne Van Buskirk with five. In the back row, redshirt junior Angela Seman dug up 15 balls to lead the team.
Set One: Pitt 25, Miami 19
The Panthers took the opening set from the Hurricanes, 25-19 behind solid play on both offense and defense.
Pitt hit .371 in the set, led by Bell with six kills, and held the Hurricanes to just 10 kills and a .121 clip.
The Panthers got out in front first in the opening set, taking a 14-11 lead thanks to a five-point run. The Panthers posted two kills and put up three huge blocks to force a Miami timeout.
Out of the break, the Hurricanes tied the frame but Pitt outscored Miami 6-2 over the next eight points to regain the lead 20-16. The Hurricanes opted for another break in action to regroup.
Miami was unable to stop the Panthers in the final points as Pitt went on to win the set.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Miami 16
The Panthers found success in the second set, downing the Hurricanes 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Pitt's offense was on point as the Panthers tallied 15 kills in 20 attempts, while committing just two errors to hit at a .650 clip. Pitt also tallied four blocks and an ace in the frame.
Trailing at the start, 3-1, the Panthers used a 10-2 run to take an 11-5 lead and push Miami into a timeout.
Pitt continued to extend its lead as multiple Hurricane errors put the Panthers out in front by 10, 18-8.
The visiting Pitt squad put away five more kills in its last seven points en route to victory.
Set Three: Miami 25, Pitt 21
The Panthers and Hurricanes battled in a close third set, with the outcome favoring Miami, 25-21.
Pitt took an early lead, 7-3, but the Hurricanes quickly came back to knot the set 7-7. From that point, there were seven more tied scores before Miami pulled ahead.
The Hurricanes outscored the Panthers 5-1 to take a 22-18 lead, forcing Pitt to use two timeouts in that span.
The Panthers were unable to battle back in the frame, setting up a fourth set.
Set Four: Pitt 26, Miami 24
Pitt earned the win in the final set as the Panthers defeated Miami in extra points, 26-24.
The battle continued from the previous set as the two teams exchanged back-and-forth points. Neither team led by more than two points at a time through the entire frame and there were 18 tie scores.
All of the action came late in the set as three straight points by Miami forced Pitt to call a timeout. Out of the break, but the Panthers answered with three straight points after a Miami serving error, Bell ace and a block by Markovic and Ndee.
Miami in turn took a break and once again came back to tie the score. Pitt earned set point first at 24-22, but back-to-back Hurricanes points knotted the frame 24-24.
Miami committed a hitting error on the following play, setting up Bell for the winning kill.
Up Next
Pitt will remain on the road next weekend as the squad heads to Syracuse and Boston College. The Panthers take on the Orange Friday, Oct 13 at 1:30 p.m. and Eagles Sunday, Oct 15 at 1 p.m.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
UP
UM
Kills
61
46
Errors
17
23
Attempts
120
119
Hitting %
.367
.193
Points
77.0
55.0
Assists
56
45
Aces
6
4
Blocks
10.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ Volleyball
L
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
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