Pitt Closes out Home Slate with Wake Forest, Duke

Match Notes
Friday vs. Wake Forest: Live Stats | ACC Network Extra
Sunday vs. Duke: Live Stats | ACC Network Extra

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (19-6, 12-2 ACC) will play its final matches at the Fitzgerald Field House this weekend against Wake Forest (12-15, 4-11 ACC) and Duke (16-10, 8-7 ACC).

THE SCHEDULE

Pitt will face Wake Forest Friday, Nov. 10 in Pittsburgh at the Fitzgerald Field House. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
The Panthers will play their final match at home Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. against Duke. Sunday will be senior day, where the Pitt will honor its two graduating seniors Mariah Bell and Alex Rosignol prior to the start of the match.

THE SERIES

Pitt and Wake Forest will square off for the seventh time in program history. The Panthers have won five of six matches against the Demon Deacons with its lone loss occurring last season in October.
Pitt will face Duke for the 15^th time, with the all-time series tied 7-7. The Panthers will look to turn things around as they haven't defeated the Blue Devils since Nov. 17, 2014 in Durham, N.C. Pitt has lost its last three matches to Duke.

SENIOR FAREWELL

Seniors Mariah Bell and Alex Rosignol will play their final match at the Fitzgerald Field House Sunday versus Duke.
A four-year player for Pitt, Bell has participated in 114 matches for the Panthers in which she has tallied 923 kills, 679 digs, 133 total blocks, 106 aces and 58 assists. A Second-Team All-ACC honoree in 2016, Bell was part of the first Pitt volleyball team to reach the NCAA Tournament in 12 years and the first to advance to the second round in 13 years. She also sits in the top 10 in single-season service aces for her performance during the 2016 season, as she recorded 43 which marks the seventh-most in program history.
Rosignol joined the Panthers this season after spending three years at Southern Illinois, where she was a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honoree. During her short time with the Pitt volleyball program, she provided depth in the middle. Offensively, Alex tallied 33 kills en route to a .329 hitting percentage, while at the net, she has provided a solid block, tallying 39 on the season.

SCOUTING WAKE FOREST

Wake Forest enters the weekend with a 12-15 overall record and a 4-11 mark in conference play.
The Demon Deacons were victorious in their last match, sweeping Duke, but fell in their previous four matches to Notre Dame, Louisville, Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Wake Forest will rely on Kylie Long to lead the offense against the Panthers as she not only leads her team in kills (355), but also sits sixth in the ACC in kills per set with 3.59.

SCOUTING DUKE

Duke will visit Pitt with a 16-10 overall mark and a 8-7 record in ACC play.
In their most recent match-up, the Blue Devils were swept by Wake Forest Wednesday.
Cadie Bates who leads Duke in kills (304) and kills/set (3.01) will lead Blue Devil's attack. She also leads the squad in aces (22).

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt went 2-0 last weekend with wins over Miami and Florida State to earn season sweeps of both teams.
The Panthers opened the weekend with four-set victory against the Hurricanes in which Pitt out-hit Miami .346 to .172 and recorded more kills (56/47), digs (57/52), aces (8/4) and blocks (11/5). The Panthers had three players with double-digit kills including freshman Kayla Lund, who recorded a career-high 19 kills in the match, while hitting .364. In addition to Lund, sophomore Nika Markovic tallied a team-leading .448 hitting percentage with 15 kills, while redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams added 11 kills and hit a .321 clip to round out Pitt's attack.
The Panthers continued their winning ways with a sweep of the Seminoles Sunday. Pitt's defense was solid against a dominant Florida State team, posting 47 digs, 16 more than the Seminoles, in addition to nine team blocks. Junior setter Kamalani Akeo led the Panthers with 13 digs, and earned a double-double after posting 35 assists while running the offense. At the net, freshman Chinaza Ndee blocked five balls.

NDEE NAMED ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Chinaza Ndee was named ACC Freshman of the Week after having a standout showing for the Panthers, who went 2-0 on the weekend with wins over Miami and Florida State. This marks the second weekly honor for Ndee, who also earned ACC Freshman of the Week October 9.
Ndee was solid offensively, hitting at a .429 clip this weekend after registering 14 kills on 28 attempts. She only committed two errors, giving her 2.00 kills per set. The freshman was also impressive in at the net, tallying 12 blocks, including one solo.
Against the Hurricanes, Ndee hit .455 in the match, tallying five kills in 11 attempts without committing a single error. The freshman also posted a team-leading six blocks against a top-hitting Miami team.
On Sunday versus the Seminoles, Ndee added another six blocks, including one solo, while hitting .412. She put away nine kills on 17 attempts.

LOOKING AHEAD

Pitt has just two weekends left in the regular season, including four games that are all on the road. The Panthers will visit Georgia Tech and Clemson next weekend, before closing out the season at Virginia and Virginia Tech.

FIRST PLACE PANTHERS

Pitt currently sits tied with NC State and Louisville atop of the ACC with a 12-2 record in conference play.

LEADING LADIES

The Panthers currently lead the conference in hitting percentage (.272) and match win-loss percentage (.760).
Pitt also ranks second in kills/set (14.12) and team service aces (127), while sitting third in aces/set (1.41), assists/set (13.10), team kills (1,271) and team assists (1,179).

A FORCE IN THE ACC

Freshman Chinaza Ndee ranks third in the ACC with a .386 average in matches against conference opponents only.

WILLIAMS IN DOUBLE-DIGITS

Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams has hit in double-digits 19 times this season, including six where she has also recorded a double-double.
From Sept 9, 2017 to Oct 15, 2017, Williams posted 12-straight matches in which she recorded 10 or more kills.
On the season, Williams has tallied 281 kills, good for 3.19 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 309 kills, 3.81 per set, to lead the team and rank fourth in the ACC. Markovic boasts 171 digs, 28 aces and 73 blocks.
The Slovenian has recorded four double-doubles this season and has hit in double-digits 18 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 .320 for the Panthers, ranking 10^th 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 111-44 (.716) record with the University, while boasting 186 career wins as a head coach.

MILESTONE/RECORD BOOK WATCH

Junior setter Kamalani Akeo currently sits seventh in career assists with 2,859. She will look to climb further throughout the season, as she is 257 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 148 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 1,338 digs, good for seventh-best in program history. She is now just 76 away from moving into sixth (1,414).

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Pitt Closes out Home Slate with Wake Forest, Duke

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Alex Rosignol

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

Pitt Closes out Home Slate with Wake Forest, Duke

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kamalani Akeo

Mariah Bell

Kayla Lund

Nika Markovic

Chinaza Ndee

Alex Rosignol

Angela Seman

Layne Van Buskirk

Stephanie Williams

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