Pitt Concludes Weekend with Sweep of Dayton

Sunday, September 3

Dayton, Ohio

1:00 PM EST

Pitt

2-3

Dayton

3-3

Pitt

Dayton

Pitt Concludes Weekend with Sweep of Dayton

9/3/2017 4:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Earn First Sweep of Season

DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team swept the University of Dayton Sunday afternoon at the Frericks Center in Dayton, Ohio, to close out its second tournament of the season.

The Panthers (2-3), who picked up their first sweep of the season, defeated the Flyers (3-3) 25-21, 25-19 and 25-19.

"The story was definitely one of playing good volleyball and putting the pressure on them," said head coach Dan Fisher. "We know that Dayton is going to be a really tough team in its conference so we're looking at this as a really good win at this point in the season."

"Something we've been working on and struggling with is making a lot of unforced errors, but tonight we took a big step in the right direction. We had Stephanie [Williams] with 26 attempts and only one error and Mariah [Bell] was also low in errors. All of our pins did a really nice job of making the other team have to block. We put the ball on the court and played at a really high level."

The Panthers saw impressive offensive performances from redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams, senior Mariah Bell and sophomore Nika Markovic. Williams led Pitt with 13 kills on 26 attempts, committing just one error. She hit .462 on the match.

Bell added 10 kills to the Panthers 41 and only committed three errors. Markovic walked away with the highest hitting percentage, racking up a .571 clip after going 8-for-14 with not a single error. She also earned Pitt's two aces on the day and had three blocks.

The Panthers saw action from both junior Kamalani Akeo and redshirt freshman Kylee Levers at the setter position. Levers finished the match with a team-leading 18 assists, while Akeo tallied 16.

Defensively, redshirt junior Angela Seman dug up 19 balls.

All-Tournament Team
Markovic and Williams were both named to the Dayton Invitational All-Tournament Team after top-notch performances this weekend.

Through two matches, Markovic finished with 24 kills in 46 attempts and committed just five errors to hit a team-high .413. The sophomore also racked up 3.00 kills per set, five service aces, 10 digs and seven blocks.

Williams registered a team-high 3.12 kills per set and 25 kills, while posting 13 digs, three blocks including one solo and an ace.

Full Team
Samara West - Iowa State (MVP)
Hali Hilligas - Iowa State
Stephanie Williams - Pitt
Nika Markovic - Pitt
Amber Erhahon - Dayton

Set One: Pitt 25, Dayton 21

Pitt got out to a strong start at the beginning of the opening set, finding a 9-5 lead behind a five-point run. Williams posted two kills for the Panthers, while Markovic added one and an ace, in addition to one by freshman Chinaza Ndee.

The visiting Pitt team would make it six straight following a timeout call by the Flyers and eventually lead by seven, 15-8.

Dayton called for a second timeout and began to find some momentum, scoring three straight to pull back within five, 18-13.

Fisher used Pitt's first timeout to regroup, but would be forced to call another as the Flyers closed the gap bringing the score to 23-20.

The Panthers would outlast Dayton in the end as back-to-back errors by the Flyers gave Pitt a 25-21 win.

Set Two: Pitt 25, Dayton 19

The Panthers and Flyers battled to take the lead at the start of set two. Pitt got out in front first, 10-7, as Levers set up four straight kills, two to Bell, and one apiece to Ndee and Williams.

Dayton would catch the Panthers and find them itself ahead 12-11, forcing Pitt to call a timeout.

Out of the break, the two teams would return to fighting for a lead, exchanging back and forth points.

The Panthers separated themselves late in the match, pulling ahead by four, 20-16. Errors continued to plague the Flyers, putting them in a situation to call their second timeout, but the break was unhelpful as Pitt went on to take set two, 25-19.

Set Three: Pitt 25, Dayton 19

It was a back-and-forth affair to open the third set as the Panthers and Dayton were tied seven times before the Pitt found a four-point lead, 13-9.

The Flyers remained within reach, pulling back within two, 16-14, but the Panthers continued to gain point separation as Bell put away three kills to make it 20-16.

It was a smooth ride to the end of the set for Pitt, who went on to win 25-19 as Markovic put away the final two kills.

Up Next
The Panthers will continue non-conference play Sept. 8-9 when they head to Bowling Green, Ky., for the Western Kentucky Invitational. Pitt will face Saint Louis, WKU and East Tennessee State.

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