Pitt Hits the Road for Crucial Slate with Louisville, Notre Dame

Match Notes
Friday at Louisville: Live Stats | ACC Network Extra
Sunday at Notre Dame: Live Stats | ACC Network Extra

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (16-5, 9-1 ACC) will look to get back on track this weekend as the Panthers hit the road to face Louisville (15-6, 9-2 ACC) and Notre Dame (16-6, 6-5 ACC) in pivotal matches.

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt will face Louisville Friday in Louisville, Ky., at Cardinal Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Panthers then head to South Bend, Ind., where they will take on Notre Dame in Purcell Pavilion Sunday at 1 p.m.

THE SERIES

This will be the 23rd matchup in program history for Louisville and Pitt, a rivalry that dates back to the Big East days for the schools. The Panthers trail in the all-time series 9-13, but did sweep the Cardinals in their meeting last season.
Pitt will face another former Big East foe in Notre Dame for the 37th time in program history. The Panthers trail 12-24 in the all-time series, and were swept last season in the most recent meeting.

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE

Louisville enters the weekend with a 15-6 overall record and a 9-2 mark in conference play.
The Cardinals have won seven of their last eight matches, including their contest with Fighting Irish Wednesday which went five sets. Last weekend Louisville fell to Miami, but swept Florida State.
Sophomore Melanie McHenry leads Louisville with 273 kills, while junior setter Wilma Rivera leads the Cardinals with 791 assists.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame currently sits at 16-6 overall and 6-5 within the conference.
Prior falling to Louisville, Wednesday, the Fighting Irish were riding a three-match winning streak with wins over Clemson, Florida State and Miami.
Leading the way in kills for the Fighting Irish is Sophomore Jemma Yeadon with 319, followed by junior Rebecca Nunge with 196.

LUND EARNS THIRD ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK HONORS

Freshman Kayla Lund was named Co-ACC Freshman of the Week after having a standout showing for the Panthers, who went 1-1 on the weekend with a win over reigning ACC Champion North Carolina.
This marks the second week in a row that Lund was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Week, marking her third honor overall. This is also the third-straight week that Pitt has been represented in the weekly awards.
Lund had a solid weekend for Pitt, as the squad defeated the Tar Heels in straight sets Friday, while falling to NC State Sunday. The Wolfpack handed the Panthers their first loss in conference play and snapped Pitt's 13-match winning streak with their first win in program history in Pittsburgh.
The Pasadena, Calif., native tallied 23 kills between the two matches, while hitting at a .340 clip. She posted 3.29 kills per set, and recorded three service aces as well as five digs.
Lund opened the weekend with a nice offensive performance, hitting .333 against UNC. She tallied nine kills in 21 attempts. Against NC State, Lund hit .345 behind a team-leading 14-kill performance. She also was one of three players to record two aces, while picking up three digs and a block.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt defeated North Carolina Friday, October 20 for its 13th-straight win before falling to NC State Sunday, October 22 for its first ACC loss, breaking the winning streak.
The Panthers dominated their matchup with the Tar Heels, sweeping them handily. Pitt tallied 45 kills, while hitting at a .341 clip, compared to North Carolina's 27 kills and an attacking percentage of just .173. Leading the way for the Panthers was sophomore Nika Markovic with 16 kills, while attacking at a .500 clip with only three errors. Junior Kamalani Akeo added 33 assists, while redshirt junior Angela Seman contributed 10 digs.
NC State outlasted Pitt in four sets. Three different Panthers would reach double-digit kills, as freshman Kayla Lund notched 14, Markovic tallied 12, and sophomore Layne Van Buskirk recorded 10.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt returns home next weekend where they will square off for the second time this season with Miami Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. and Florida State Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh.

GONE STREAKING

Pitt's winning streak, which dated back to the Panthers win over East Tennessee State Sept. 9, closed out at 13-straight matches after falling to NC State Sunday, Oct. 22.
During the 13-game span, Pitt went undefeated in conference play, 9-0 before falling to the Wolfpack.
The Panthers swept eight opponents and have gone four sets with five. The squad has yet to go five sets during ACC play.
That winning streak marks the first time Pitt has reached that feat since 1993 when the Panthers won 13-consecutive matches to end the season, 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.

FIRST PLACE PANTHERS

Pitt currently sits tied with NC State atop of the ACC with a 9-1 record in conference play.
There are now no remaining undefeated teams in the ACC.

LEADING LADIES

The Panthers currently lead the conference in four different categories including assists per set (13.15), hitting percentage (.280), kills per set (14.28) and match win-loss percentage (.762).
Pitt also ranks third in team kills (1071) and team assists (986).

WILLIAMS IN DOUBLE-DIGITS

Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams had her double-digit kills streak ended at 12-straight games, ranging from East Tennessee State Sept 9., to Boston College on Oct 15.
She remains with 15 matches where she has had 10-plus kills and four where she has recorded double-doubles.
On the season Williams has tallied 223 kills, including 3.14 per set, while hitting at a .290 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 260 kills, 3.94 per set, to lead the team and rank fourth in the ACC. Markovic boasts 145 digs, 25 aces and 60 blocks.
The Slovenian has recorded four double-doubles this season and has hit in double-digits 14 times this season.
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 .350 for the Panthers, ranking fourth in the ACC.
Last season as a newcomer, she tallied a .345 hitting percentage, which ranked second for the Panthers. 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 100th win at Pitt with a 3-1 victory over Syracuse at home Sept. 22.
Fisher, who is in his fifth season with the Panthers, owns a 108-43 (.715) record with the University, while boasting 184 career wins as a head coach.

MILESTONE/RECORD BOOK WATCH

Junior setter Kamalani Akeo currently sits seventh in career assists with 2,720. She will look to climb further throughout the season, as she is 396 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 1,274 digs, good for seventh-best in program history. She is now just 140 away from moving into sixth (1,414).

Pitt Hits the Road for Crucial Slate with Louisville, Notre Dame

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

Pitt Hits the Road for Crucial Slate with Louisville, Notre Dame

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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