Volleyball Earns 20th Victory Against Syracuse
11/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Volleyball Earns 20th Victory Against Syracuse
11/14/2004
SYRACUSE, N.Y. ? The Pittsburgh volleyball team fought back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat host Syracuse, 3-2, to earn its 20th win of the season and the No. 2 seed in the Big East Championships, held this coming weekend at Fitzgerald Field House.
The Panthers (20-7, 8-2) will meet the Orange again in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday after Sunday's five-game thriller. The win marked Pittsburgh's fourth 20-win season in five years under the direction of head coach Chris Beerman. The win also marked Beerman's 99th career win at Pittsburgh.
Despite getting easily defeated in game one, 30-17, Pittsburgh battled back to take a 30-28 decision in game two. Syracuse (25-6, 8-2) took a 2-1 lead with a 30-28 win of its own in game three but Pittsburgh battled back again to win game four, 30-27, before winning the fifth and final set by a score of 15-12.
Junior Gini Ullery (Tracy, Calif./Tracy) took the second-most swings in Pittsburgh history with 88 attempts and came up with a career-best 30 kills and 10 digs for a double-double in the victory. Middle hitter Ashley White (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East/Indiana), making her fourth start in place of injured senior Megan Miller (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law), had 11 kills and just one error in 18 attempts for a .556 hitting percentage to go along with a team-best four blocks.
Also contributing to the Panthers' offensive output were senior Melissa Whaley (Ancaster, Ontario/St. Mary's Secondary) with 12 kills and 11 digs for a double-double off the bench and freshman Diana Andreyko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) with 11 kills and 10 digs to go along with four blocks. Senior setter Lindsey Macke (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) came off the bench to record 62 assists and chipped in 12 digs for a double-double of her own. Junior libero Megan McGrane (Muncie, Ind./Delta) had a match-high 28 digs for the Panthers.
Kristen Conway led the Orange with 18 kills and added 11 digs for a double-double. The Panthers' win ended Syracuse's 12-match winning streak heading into Saturday's semifinals rematch.
Notre Dame earned the conference's regular season title with a win over West Virginia on Sunday to earn the No. 1 seed and the Fighting Irish will play No. 4 seed Boston College, which earned a spot with a win over St. John's on Sunday.
For tickets to the Big East Championships, held at Pitt's Fitzgerald Field House, log on to http://www.pittsburghpanthers.com/ or call (412) 648-PITT (7488) or (800) 643-PITT.
Big East Championships Schedule
Saturday, November 20
1 p.m. ? #1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Boston College
3:30 p.m. ? #2 Pittsburgh vs. #3 Syracuse
Sunday, November 21
2 p.m. - Semifinals winner meet for Big East Championship and automatic berth into NCAA Championships