Saturday, August 26
Seattle, Wash.
7:00 PM EST
Pitt
1-2
3
vs
2
Saint Mary's
0-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
Pitt
25
22
25
20
17
3
Saint Mary's
22
25
22
25
15
2
Pitt Outlasts Saint Mary’s in Five-Set Thriller
8/26/2017 11:49:00 PM | Volleyball
Sophomore Nika Markovic Earns All-Tournament Team Honors
SEATTLE – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team earned its first win of the season in a five-set thriller versus Saint Mary's to close out the Husky Invitational Saturday evening.
The Panthers (1-2) opened the set with a 25-22 win over the Gaels (0-3), before dropping the second set by the same score. Pitt bounced back in the third to take a 2-1 lead, once again earning a 25-22 win. Saint Mary's send the match to five sets after defeating the Panthers in the fourth 25-20, but Pitt came out on top as they won the match in extra points, 17-15.
"Clearly it was a dog fight with two great teams," said head coach Dan Fisher. "Saint Mary's is such a well-coached team and they played such good defense that it was tough for us to put away a ball. It's something we've been struggling with this whole weekend but the story of the match was us sticking together as a team and finding a way."
"I was proud of Mariah Bell's contribution off the bench and clearly Nika [Markovic] carried a big load both defensively and offensively. It's still early in the season and we still have to sort some things out but I'm happy to get out of here with a win."
Sophomore Nika Markovic was phenomenal for the Panthers, earning her second double-double of the season with career-highs in kills and digs. The Slovenia native tallied 23 of Pitt's 77 kills and 27 digs, in addition to four blocks. She finished the match with a .263 hitting percentage and was named to the Husky Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Chinaza Ndee also found a groove on offense, recording 14 kills in 28 attempts with just four errors. The freshman posted a .357 clip and had a team-leading six blocks. Off the bench, Mariah Bell performed well, putting away 12 kills and eight digs, while freshman Layne Van Buskirk added 10 kills.
Defensively, the Panthers put up 97 digs and 21 blocks. Four players tallied double-digit digs, including junior Kamalani Akeo who tallied her second double-double of the day with 58 assists and 14 digs.
Set One: Pitt 25, Saint Mary's 22
After starting the set with back-and-forth points early on, the Panthers gained a 12-8 lead after four kills and a block put them out in front. However, the Gaels worked their way back, scoring five consecutive points to move ahead 13-12.
Pitt and Saint Mary's were tied five more times before the Panthers found themselves ahead by four, 23-19, following an ace by freshman Kayla Lund. The Gaels fought back within a point, 23-22, but consecutive kills by Markovic and Ndee gave Pitt its first set win of the season 25-22.
Set Two: Saint Mary's 25, Pitt 22
The Panthers continued their momentum in the second set, getting out to a quick 10-6 lead behind a potent offense. Saint Mary's used its first timeout and out of the break out scored the Panthers 5-3 to pull back within two of Pitt, 13-11.
The Panthers called a timeout of their own, but gave up another two points to the Gaels, which tied the set 13-13. The score remained tied or the Panthers stayed one to two points ahead of Saint Mary's until late in the set when the Gaels scored three straight points to find the lead after being down 19-18. SMC went ahead 21-19, which called for a Panthers timeout.
Out of the timeout, Pitt retied the score 21-21, but Saint Mary's battled to win the set 24-22 and tie the match 1-1.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Saint Mary's 22
The Panthers struggled to find a groove early in the third set. Pitt fell behind 6-2, which prompted a quick timeout call from Fisher.
Out of the Panthers' break, the squad found its way back thanks to a pair of kills by Bell and two errors by SMC. Pitt tied the score 8-8 and remained found itself ahead by just a point through most of the set.
The Panthers began to separate themselves just before hitting the 20-point mark. Three consecutive kills by Markovic, Ndee and Bell put Pitt ahead 19-16, calling for a Gaels timeout.
Out of the break, a huge block by Ndee and Akeo made it four straight points for the Panthers, but Saint Mary's outscored Pitt 6-2 to tie the set at 22 all.
The Panthers called a timeout to regroup and returned to score two straight to earn set point. Following a final timeout from the Gaels, redshirt junior Angela Seman closed out the third with an ace to give Pitt a 24-22 win.
Set Four: Saint Mary's 25, Pitt 20
The Panthers came out in the fourth set on fire behind a potent offense. Markovic and Van Buskirk combined to tally five of Pitt's first eight points on kills, before Saint Mary's called a timeout trailing by five.
The Gaels picked up momentum following the break, fighting back to tie the score 12-12 and eventually take the lead 14-13.
The Panthers remained behind following their first timeout call, prompting a second break in action from Pitt as Saint Mary's led 19-16. The Panthers fought back to pull within a point of the Gaels, 20-19, but SMC dominated in the final six points, outscoring Pitt 5-1 to take the set 25-20.
Set Five: Pitt 17, Saint Mary's 15
The Gaels tallied the first two points of the final set, but Markovic and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams answered with back-to-back blasts to tie the score.
After two more points for SMC, the Panthers put up four straight, including consecutive kills by Van Buskirk and another from Williams, to take a 6-4 lead.
Another tie score came and went as the Gaels put up two to make it 6-6 and worked its way back to take an 8-7 lead at the halfway point.
The two teams went back-and-forth, until a pair of blocks by Saint Mary's put the Gaels out in front 12-10.
Following a break by Pitt, SMC fought to earn the first match point, but Williams reversed the momentum for the Panthers, scoring five straight points for Pitt including the final point which fell in as an ace.
Up Next
Pitt will continue non-conference play Sept. 2-3 when the Panthers head to Dayton, Ohio for the Dayton Invitational. Pitt will go head-to-head with Iowa State and the Flyers.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers (1-2) opened the set with a 25-22 win over the Gaels (0-3), before dropping the second set by the same score. Pitt bounced back in the third to take a 2-1 lead, once again earning a 25-22 win. Saint Mary's send the match to five sets after defeating the Panthers in the fourth 25-20, but Pitt came out on top as they won the match in extra points, 17-15.
"Clearly it was a dog fight with two great teams," said head coach Dan Fisher. "Saint Mary's is such a well-coached team and they played such good defense that it was tough for us to put away a ball. It's something we've been struggling with this whole weekend but the story of the match was us sticking together as a team and finding a way."
"I was proud of Mariah Bell's contribution off the bench and clearly Nika [Markovic] carried a big load both defensively and offensively. It's still early in the season and we still have to sort some things out but I'm happy to get out of here with a win."
Sophomore Nika Markovic was phenomenal for the Panthers, earning her second double-double of the season with career-highs in kills and digs. The Slovenia native tallied 23 of Pitt's 77 kills and 27 digs, in addition to four blocks. She finished the match with a .263 hitting percentage and was named to the Husky Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Chinaza Ndee also found a groove on offense, recording 14 kills in 28 attempts with just four errors. The freshman posted a .357 clip and had a team-leading six blocks. Off the bench, Mariah Bell performed well, putting away 12 kills and eight digs, while freshman Layne Van Buskirk added 10 kills.
Defensively, the Panthers put up 97 digs and 21 blocks. Four players tallied double-digit digs, including junior Kamalani Akeo who tallied her second double-double of the day with 58 assists and 14 digs.
Set One: Pitt 25, Saint Mary's 22
After starting the set with back-and-forth points early on, the Panthers gained a 12-8 lead after four kills and a block put them out in front. However, the Gaels worked their way back, scoring five consecutive points to move ahead 13-12.
Pitt and Saint Mary's were tied five more times before the Panthers found themselves ahead by four, 23-19, following an ace by freshman Kayla Lund. The Gaels fought back within a point, 23-22, but consecutive kills by Markovic and Ndee gave Pitt its first set win of the season 25-22.
Set Two: Saint Mary's 25, Pitt 22
The Panthers continued their momentum in the second set, getting out to a quick 10-6 lead behind a potent offense. Saint Mary's used its first timeout and out of the break out scored the Panthers 5-3 to pull back within two of Pitt, 13-11.
The Panthers called a timeout of their own, but gave up another two points to the Gaels, which tied the set 13-13. The score remained tied or the Panthers stayed one to two points ahead of Saint Mary's until late in the set when the Gaels scored three straight points to find the lead after being down 19-18. SMC went ahead 21-19, which called for a Panthers timeout.
Out of the timeout, Pitt retied the score 21-21, but Saint Mary's battled to win the set 24-22 and tie the match 1-1.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Saint Mary's 22
The Panthers struggled to find a groove early in the third set. Pitt fell behind 6-2, which prompted a quick timeout call from Fisher.
Out of the Panthers' break, the squad found its way back thanks to a pair of kills by Bell and two errors by SMC. Pitt tied the score 8-8 and remained found itself ahead by just a point through most of the set.
The Panthers began to separate themselves just before hitting the 20-point mark. Three consecutive kills by Markovic, Ndee and Bell put Pitt ahead 19-16, calling for a Gaels timeout.
Out of the break, a huge block by Ndee and Akeo made it four straight points for the Panthers, but Saint Mary's outscored Pitt 6-2 to tie the set at 22 all.
The Panthers called a timeout to regroup and returned to score two straight to earn set point. Following a final timeout from the Gaels, redshirt junior Angela Seman closed out the third with an ace to give Pitt a 24-22 win.
Set Four: Saint Mary's 25, Pitt 20
The Panthers came out in the fourth set on fire behind a potent offense. Markovic and Van Buskirk combined to tally five of Pitt's first eight points on kills, before Saint Mary's called a timeout trailing by five.
The Gaels picked up momentum following the break, fighting back to tie the score 12-12 and eventually take the lead 14-13.
The Panthers remained behind following their first timeout call, prompting a second break in action from Pitt as Saint Mary's led 19-16. The Panthers fought back to pull within a point of the Gaels, 20-19, but SMC dominated in the final six points, outscoring Pitt 5-1 to take the set 25-20.
Set Five: Pitt 17, Saint Mary's 15
The Gaels tallied the first two points of the final set, but Markovic and redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams answered with back-to-back blasts to tie the score.
After two more points for SMC, the Panthers put up four straight, including consecutive kills by Van Buskirk and another from Williams, to take a 6-4 lead.
Another tie score came and went as the Gaels put up two to make it 6-6 and worked its way back to take an 8-7 lead at the halfway point.
The two teams went back-and-forth, until a pair of blocks by Saint Mary's put the Gaels out in front 12-10.
Following a break by Pitt, SMC fought to earn the first match point, but Williams reversed the momentum for the Panthers, scoring five straight points for Pitt including the final point which fell in as an ace.
Up Next
Pitt will continue non-conference play Sept. 2-3 when the Panthers head to Dayton, Ohio for the Dayton Invitational. Pitt will go head-to-head with Iowa State and the Flyers.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
UP
SMC
Kills
77
48
Errors
38
21
Attempts
215
178
Hitting %
.181
.152
Points
93.0
75.5
Assists
67
42
Aces
4
10
Blocks
12.0
17.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballRS/MH
/ Volleyball
L
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OH
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