Nov. 13, 2009
Box Score
PITTSBURGH—Pitt’s women’s volleyball team ties a school record for Big East wins in a season, as the Panthers recorded a 3-1 victory over Seton Hall, this evening, at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers won with scores of 25-16, 27-25, 20-25 and 26-24. Pitt improved to 19-8 on the season and 11-2 in the Big East, while the Pirates slipped to 11-18 overall and 3-10 in the league.
The Panthers previously recorded 11 conference wins during the 2003 season, when they finished first in the Big East.
Junior Amy Town posted a match-high 16 kills and was one of three Panthers to record double-figure kills, as seniors Meagan Dooley and Melissa Stadelman posted 12 and 10, respectively. Sophomore Allyson Hodnik posted 32 assists and 10 digs.
Defensively, libero Michelle Rossi recorded a career-high 37 digs and is just three shy of surpassing the 2,000 mark in her career. Additionally, junior Melanie Feldman collected nine digs in the contest.
In the opening set, the Panthers held a 9-4 lead following back-to-back kills from Town. Pitt and Seton Hall then traded points through the next 10 serves, before Pitt began to pull away and took a nine-point lead, 20-11, after the Pirates committed two attack errors. Hodnik would then set Dooley for three kills on Pitt’s next four points.
Pitt won the set when Dooley and Hodnik combined on a block to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the match. Town and Dooley had four kills in the game.
In the second set, Dooley led all with a game-high six kills. Pitt took an early 3-2 lead in the set when sophomore Rachel Kalberer recorded back-to-back blocks. However, the Panthers would later trail 14-11 and take a timeout.
Later, Dooley tied the set at 15 with a kill, but Feldman gave Pitt a one-point advantage with an ace on the next serve. Pitt would lose the lead, again, as the Pirates held set point at 24-22. But, as we’ve seen in previous matches this season, Pitt strung together points and tied the set at 25. Seton Hall called a timeout as the Panthers held set point at 26-25 thanks to a Stadelman kill. Pitt would win the game off a Pirate error.
Trailing through much of the third set, Pitt dropped its first set in six matches, 25-20. The Panthers recorded nine hitting errors and totaled nine kills in the set. Sophomore Alyssa King recorded seven assists in the game, while Rossi collected six digs. Pitt did out-block the Pirates 7-2 in the set. Overall, the Panthers recorded 17 stuffs on the match.
In the final set of the match, a solo block from junior Imani Harper forced a Pirate timeout, as the Panthers trailed 13-8 in the game. The block capped off five consecutive Pitt points and forced a Seton Hall timeout. Hodnik held serve after the huddle and pulled Pitt within one, 13-12.
Later in the set, Rossi recorded one of Pitt’s three aces in the match and tied the game at 15. The two remained close through the rest of the set. A Kalberer and Dooley block held off a set-winning point for Seton Hall and tied the game at 24. On the very next serve, King and Dooley combined on a block to take the lead and hold match point. The Panthers would win the set and match on a Pirate error.
Rossi collected 16 digs in the final game and was one shy of tying the 2004 school record of 38 in a match.
Dooley, Rossi and Stadelman will all be honored on Sunday, prior to the Panthers hosting Rutgers at 1 p.m., in their 2009 home finale.
