Pitt Ready for Round Two with Syracuse, Boston College

Match Notes | Fish Report
Friday at Syracuse: Live Stats
Sunday at Boston College: Live Stats

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (13-4, 6-0 ACC), who is riding a 10-match winning-streak and is currently undefeated in ACC play, will look to have continued success this weekend as the Panthers face Syracuse (15-6, 6-1 ACC) and Boston College (5-12, 2-5 ACC) for the second time this season.

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt faces the Orange Friday, Oct. 13 in an afternoon tilt at the Women's Building in Syracuse N.Y. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m.
The Panthers close out the weekend in Chestnut Hill, Mass., facing the Eagles at 12:30 p.m. at Power Gym.

THE SERIES

Pitt and Syracuse square off for the 49^th time in program history, with the Panthers leading in the all-time series 37-11. Earlier this season Pitt defeated the Orange 3-1 in Pittsburgh.
The Panthers added a win to the all-time series against Boston College just a few weeks ago as Pitt downed the agles 3-1. The Panthers now own a 29-1 all-time record against Boston College.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE

Syracuse enters the weekend with a 14-6 overall record and a 6-1 record in ACC play.
The Orange are currently on a five-match win streak dating back to Sept. 28, with its lone conference loss coming from the Panthers.
Syracuse swept Boston College in a Wednesday night match in their most recent action.
Santita Ebangwese leads the Orange offensively with 173 kills and a .394 hitting percentage, in addition to defensively at the net with 104 blocks.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE

Boston College enters the weekend with a 5-12 record and a 2-5 mark in conference play.
On Wednesday, the Eagles dropped a three-set match to Syracuse, after defeating Georgia Tech and Clemson last weekend.
Boston College will rely on Cat Balido to lead the offense against the Panthers as holds a team-high 200 kills, 3.03 per set.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt moved to 6-0 in conference play after defeating both Florida State and Miami on the road.
The Panthers earned their first win on the road in Seminoles territory since 2005. Pitt was dominant in its attack, as the Panthers tallied 74 kills with five players in double-digits. Leading the squad's offense was junior setter Kamalani Akeo who tallied 55 assists in the match. Sophomore Nika Markovic led the squad with 21 kills, while both redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams and Mariah Bell posted 15. Sophomore Layne Van Buskirk and freshman Chinaza Ndee rounded out the players in double-digits, earning 13 and 10 kills apiece respectively.
Pitt remained atop of the ACC as the Panthers extended their winning streak to 10-straight matches after defeating Miami. The winning streak marks the first time Pitt has reached that feat since 2003 when the Panthers won 12 consecutive matches midseason, before continuing on to win a Big East Championship. Pitt continued its dominance on offense, posting 61 kills and hitting at a .367 clip. Three Panthers finished with double-digit kills, including Bell (17), Markovic (16) and redshirt Williams (14).

PANTHERS SWEEP ACC WEEKLY AWARDS

For the first time this season, Pitt swept the conference weekly awards, as the ACC announced that sophomore Nika Markovic earned player of the week and freshman Chinaza Ndee was tabbed freshman of the week on Oct. 9.
The duo led the Panthers to a 2-0 weekend on the road, as Pitt defeated Florida State and Miami.
Markovic was outstanding offensively, tallying 4.62 kills per set after putting away 37 kills in 79 attempts. The sophomore hit at a .304 clip on the weekend after seeing most of the sets coming her way. Markovic also tallied 17 digs (2.12/set), nine blocks (1.12/set) including two solo and seven assists.
Ndee did her job in the middle for the Panthers, as she hit .556 this weekend after registering 17 kills on 27 attempts. She only committed two errors, giving her 2.12 kills per set. The freshman had a big weekend at the net as well, tallying six blocks, including one solo.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt returns home to face North Carolina and NC State. The Panthers take on the Tar Heels Friday, Oct 22 at 7 p.m. and Wolfpack Sunday, Oct 24 at 1 p.m.

GOING STREAKING

Pitt is currently on a 10-match win streak dating back to Sept. 9 as Pitt defeated East Tennessee State in its final game at the WKU Invitational.
During that span, the Panthers have gone undefeated in conference play, 6-0.
The winning streak marks the first time Pitt has reached that feat since 2003 when the Panthers won 12 consecutive matches midseason, before continuing on to win a Big East Championship.
The program's longest streak occurred in 1987 under head coach Shelton Collier, as Pitt won 24 straight matches.

PITT IN THE ACC

Pitt currently sits atop of the ACC with a 6-0 record in conference play.
NC State is the only other team undefeated in the ACC as they also hold a 6-0 record.
The Panthers currently lead the conference in three different categories including hitting percentage (.274), kills per set (14.29) and match win-loss percentage (.765). Pitt ranks second in assists per set (13.11) and team kills (886).

PANTHERS TAKING SETS

In the last 10 matches, Pitt has dropped just five sets in 35 total played.
On the season, the Panthers have dropped just 19 sets out of 62 total.
The squad has swept seven opponents, defeated five in four sets and one in five.

WILLIAMS IN DOUBLE-DIGITS

Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams has earned double-digit kills in 10 straight matches dating back to the Panthers contest against East Tennessee State Sept. 9.
She now has 13 matches where she's had 10-plus kills and four where she has recorded double-doubles.
On the season Williams has tallied 195 kills, including 3.20 per set, while hitting at a .281 clip.

MAKING HER MARK

One of three international products on the roster, sophomore Nika Markovic has had a major impact on the Panthers' success since her arrival in 2016.
So far this season, the right side hitter has dominated both sides of the ball for Pitt. She has tallied 212 kills, 4.00 per set, to lead the team and rank third in the ACC. Markovic boasts 127 digs, 15 aces and 51 blocks.
The Slovenian has recorded four double-doubles this season and has hit in double-digits 11 times this season, including eight consecutive matches.
Last season, the Braslovce, Slovenia native was sidelined in early October due to foot surgery for three games. She was also limited in three more contests before being given the full go on Oct. 28 against NC State.
The team fell into a lull in her absence, producing a 2-4 record. After her return, Pitt picked up its play, rattling off four straight wins, including an upset at home against No. 8 North Carolina.
In the upset over the Tar Heels, Markovic had a career-high 19 kills, which led the Panthers. She also produced 10 kills in the win over NC State that same weekend, and tallied 19 digs over the two games. She was honored as the ACC Freshman of the Week for her efforts.
Markovic ended her freshman campaign with 233 kills and a .266 hitting percentage. She also racked up 39 aces, second best on the team.

PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF

In 2016 as a freshman, Layne Van Buskirk was one of the most efficient attackers for Pitt and the now-sophomore is picking up right where she left off.
The Windsor, Ontario native is hitting .352 for the Panthers, ranking fifth in the ACC.
Last season as a newcomer, she tallied a .345 hitting percentage, which ranked second on the Pitt squad. As the lone freshman in the top 10 of the category, Van Buskirk's clip ranked sixth in the ACC.

HITTING 100

Head coach Dan Fisher earned his 100^th win at Pitt with a 3-1 victory over Syracuse.
Fisher, who is in his fifth season with the Panthers, owns a 105-42 (.714) record with the University, while boasting 182 career wins as a head coach.

MILESTONE/RECORD BOOK WATCH

Junior setter Kamalani Akeo currently sits seventh in career assists with 2,476. She will look to climb further throughout the season, as she is 536 assists away from sixth place (3,116).
Senior Mariah Bell will look to break into the top 10 in career kills and aces in 2017. Bell is 158 kills away from moving into the top 10 (1,071) in the category and just 87 away from hitting 1,000 mark. She also needs just four aces to enter the record book (110).
With her 33 digs at the Dayton Invitational, Angela Seman broke into the career digs category of the record book. The redshirt junior now boasts 1,239 digs, good for eighth best in program history. She is now just 27 away from moving into seventh (1,266).

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Pitt Ready for Round Two with Syracuse, Boston College

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

Pitt Ready for Round Two with Syracuse, Boston College

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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