Friday, September 29
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7:00 PM EST
Pitt
10-4, 3-0ACC
3
vs
0
Virginia
4-11, 0-4ACC
1
2
3
F
Virginia
14
23
17
0
Pitt
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Extends Win Streak to Seven with Sweep of UVA
9/29/2017 10:27:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers Continue ACC Play Sunday Against Virginia Tech
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team extended its win streak to seven straight matches after sweeping Virginia Friday evening at the Fitzgerald Field House.
The Panthers (10-4, 3-0 ACC) defeated the Cavaliers (4-11, 0-4 ACC) in straight sets 25-14, 25-23 and 25-17.
"We were good again offensively tonight and I thought we played well in the back row," said head coach Dan Fisher. "I thought we could have served and passed a little bit better, but as a whole really happy. I thought we took it serious and for the most part executed what we wanted to do."
Pitt was dominate on offense against Virginia, hitting .410 on the match, while tallying 52 kills. The squad put up 51 assists on the night, as well as 42 digs.
Sophomore Nika Markovic, who posted 17 kills to mark her eighth match in double-digits and fifth straight, led the attack along with Stephanie Williams. The redshirt sophomore finished with 15 kills and hit .433. Markovic hit for a .500 clip.
Aiding the Panthers' attack was junior Kamalani Akeo, who tallied 42 assists.
Defensively, Markovic gained her third double-double of the season by adding a team-leading 14 digs to her double-digit kills.
Set One: Pitt 25, Virginia 14
Set one went to the Panthers, 25-14, after a stellar performance by Pitt's offense. The squad's attack hit for .515 in the opening frame, while tallying 19 kills.
The Panthers dominated in the early points of the set as 11 of Pitt's first 12 points came by way of kills.
Virginia called a timeout to regroup as the Panthers got out to a 12-5 lead, but was only able to tally one point before Pitt went on a five-point run to make it 17-6.
The Panthers limited the Cavaliers to just eight more points before the conclusion of the match, while holding them to a .121 clip in the first frame.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Virginia 23
A late push in the second set gave the Panthers a 25-23 win over Virginia and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Cavaliers earned their first lead of the game at the opening of the second set and remained ahead through the early points of the frame.
Pitt called its first timeout of the match trailing 13-11, but returned to the court to tie the score. Following back-and-forth points, Virginia once again found a lead, forcing Fisher to take his second timeout.
Trailing by one, 19-18, Pitt returned from the break to score two straight thanks to consecutive kills by Markovic and senior Mariah Bell, giving the Panthers a 20-19 advantage.
Losing their edge, the Cavaliers called the first of two timeouts but were unsuccessful after each as the Panthers closed out the frame.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Virginia 17
Pitt took the final set 25-17 to sweep the match. The Panthers got back on track with their attack, hitting .405 in the frame behind a solid performance from Markovic.
Markovic tallied seven of Pitt's 18 kills in the set and had six digs.
The Panthers took the lead from the start of the set and got out to a 14-10 lead at the first break. Virginia called a timeout as Pitt took the four-point lead but was unable to contain the home team as they extended their lead to 18-11.
The Cavaliers called a final timeout trailing 22-16, but were only able to score a single point before the Panthers concluded the set.
Up Next
The Panthers will close out their homestand against Virginia Tech Sunday, October 1 at 1 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers (10-4, 3-0 ACC) defeated the Cavaliers (4-11, 0-4 ACC) in straight sets 25-14, 25-23 and 25-17.
"We were good again offensively tonight and I thought we played well in the back row," said head coach Dan Fisher. "I thought we could have served and passed a little bit better, but as a whole really happy. I thought we took it serious and for the most part executed what we wanted to do."
Pitt was dominate on offense against Virginia, hitting .410 on the match, while tallying 52 kills. The squad put up 51 assists on the night, as well as 42 digs.
Sophomore Nika Markovic, who posted 17 kills to mark her eighth match in double-digits and fifth straight, led the attack along with Stephanie Williams. The redshirt sophomore finished with 15 kills and hit .433. Markovic hit for a .500 clip.
Aiding the Panthers' attack was junior Kamalani Akeo, who tallied 42 assists.
Defensively, Markovic gained her third double-double of the season by adding a team-leading 14 digs to her double-digit kills.
Set One: Pitt 25, Virginia 14
Set one went to the Panthers, 25-14, after a stellar performance by Pitt's offense. The squad's attack hit for .515 in the opening frame, while tallying 19 kills.
The Panthers dominated in the early points of the set as 11 of Pitt's first 12 points came by way of kills.
Virginia called a timeout to regroup as the Panthers got out to a 12-5 lead, but was only able to tally one point before Pitt went on a five-point run to make it 17-6.
The Panthers limited the Cavaliers to just eight more points before the conclusion of the match, while holding them to a .121 clip in the first frame.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Virginia 23
A late push in the second set gave the Panthers a 25-23 win over Virginia and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Cavaliers earned their first lead of the game at the opening of the second set and remained ahead through the early points of the frame.
Pitt called its first timeout of the match trailing 13-11, but returned to the court to tie the score. Following back-and-forth points, Virginia once again found a lead, forcing Fisher to take his second timeout.
Trailing by one, 19-18, Pitt returned from the break to score two straight thanks to consecutive kills by Markovic and senior Mariah Bell, giving the Panthers a 20-19 advantage.
Losing their edge, the Cavaliers called the first of two timeouts but were unsuccessful after each as the Panthers closed out the frame.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Virginia 17
Pitt took the final set 25-17 to sweep the match. The Panthers got back on track with their attack, hitting .405 in the frame behind a solid performance from Markovic.
Markovic tallied seven of Pitt's 18 kills in the set and had six digs.
The Panthers took the lead from the start of the set and got out to a 14-10 lead at the first break. Virginia called a timeout as Pitt took the four-point lead but was unable to contain the home team as they extended their lead to 18-11.
The Cavaliers called a final timeout trailing 22-16, but were only able to score a single point before the Panthers concluded the set.
Up Next
The Panthers will close out their homestand against Virginia Tech Sunday, October 1 at 1 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
VA
UP
Kills
33
52
Errors
16
11
Attempts
97
100
Hitting %
.175
.410
Points
44.0
61.5
Assists
33
51
Aces
3
2
Blocks
8.0
7.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballOH
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