Dominant Offense Leads Pitt to Sweep of Clemson

Friday, November 17

Clemson, S.C.

7:00 PM EST

Pitt

22-6, 15-2ACC

Clemson

7-23, 2-16ACC

Pitt

Clemson

Dominant Offense Leads Pitt to Sweep of Clemson

11/17/2017 9:38:00 PM | Volleyball

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Pitt Remains Tied Atop of the ACC

PITTSBURGH – A dominant offensive performance by the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team led the Panthers to a sweep of Clemson Friday evening at Jervey Gym.

Pitt, who is now 22-6 on the season and 15-2 in the ACC, remains tied atop of the conference standings after downing the Tigers (7-23, 2-16 ACC) in straight sets, 25-17, 25-21 and 25-13.

"On the night we had three really good performances from our pin hitters and it was balanced," said head coach Dan Fisher. "Clemson pushed us a lot, especially in the second set, and I was happy to get out of there with a three-set win."

The Panthers' offense was outstanding in the match, tallying 41 kills and hitting at a .312 clip. Pitt's most dominant set came in the third as the Panthers recorded 14 kills on 21 attempts, while committing just two errors for a .571 hitting percentage.

Three Pitt players finished with double-digit kills, with redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams leading the way with 12. She was following by sophomore Nika Markovic who tallied 11, while freshman Kayla Lund put away 10.

All three were very consistent as Williams led the squad with a .455 hitting percentage, while the other two both recorded an average over .360. Junior setter Kamalani Akeo set up the Panthers attack with 31 assists.

Defensively, Pitt held the Tigers to just 26 kills and a .162 hitting percentage. The Panthers posed 24 digs, led by redshirt junior Angela Seman, and 8.5 blocks led by freshman Chinaza Ndee.

Set One: Pitt 25, Clemson 17

The Panthers got out in front in the match after defeating the Tigers in the opening set 25-17. Williams led Pitt with a .429 hitting percentage, while the Panthers held Clemson to just six kills and a .080 average.

The visiting Panthers led early on in the opening frame, forcing the Tigers to take its first timeout as Pitt posted consecutive kills by Ndee and Markovic to earn a 12-8 advantage.

Following the break, the Panthers found a groove and extended their lead to seven, 19-12. The Tigers called a second timeout to regroup, but were only able to cut Pitt's lead to five. Clemson handed Pitt its final five points on errors.

Set Two: Pitt 25, Clemson 21

The Panthers continued their winning ways in the second set with a 25-21 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Despite trailing by as many as four points in the early portion of the frame, Pitt battled back to find a 16-14 lead to force a Clemson timeout. The Tigers scored the first point out of the break but three-straight points by the Panthers, including two kills by Williams, brought along a second timeout call by Clemson.

The Tigers outscored Pitt 6-3 over the next nine points to pull within three, 23-20, but following a timeout by the Panthers, a Clemson error, a Lund kill solidified the win.

Set Three: Pitt 25, Clemson 13

Pitt dominated the Tigers in the final set of the match, 25-13. The Panthers hit .571 in the frame with 14 kills and led by 10 points at one point in the set.

Following a back-and-forth affair between the two teams that saw the score tied 9-9, a 10-point run by Pitt gave the Panthers a 19-9 lead in the match. Led by Williams, who served 10-straight balls including three aces, Pitt's run featured kills by Markovic and Lund, and multiple blocks by the Panthers.

Pitt didn't let up, forcing Clemson to call its second timeout trailing 21-10, but the break did nothing as the Panthers went on to win 25-13.

Up Next

Pitt will make the short trip to Georgia Tech to take on the Yellow Jackets Sunday, Nov. 19 at O'Keefe Gym in Atlanta. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

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