Volleyball Sweeps Syracuse For Beerman's 100th Victory
11/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Volleyball Sweeps Syracuse For Beerman's 100th Victory
11/20/2004
PITTSBURGH ?
The win over Syracuse was Pittsburgh Head Coach Chris Beerman?s 100th at the helm of the Panthers in just his fifth season. Pittsburgh was sparked by the play of its seniors, including Megan Miller (Milford, Conn./Jonathan Law), who came back from a four-match absence to knock down 13 of her 20 attempts for a season-best .650 hitting percentage. Joining her in the starting lineup were Lindsey Macke (Ft. Thomas, Ky./Notre Dame Academy) and Melissa Whaley (Ancaster, Ontario/St. Mary?s Secondary), who played well in Miller?s absence to earn major playing time against the Orange.
Macke had 25 assists and seven digs, while Whaley had five kills and a key solo block in game three to keep the Panthers (21-7) ahead of the Orange (25-7) for good. Freshman Diana Andreyko (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) had a match-high 15 kills in 30 attempts and added six digs and two blocks. Junior Gini Ullery (Tracy, Calif./Tracy) was also among the leaders with 14 kills and seven digs on the outside, while junior libero Megan McGrane (Muncie, Ind./Delta) led all players with 27 digs, averaging nine per contest.
The Panthers never trailed in game one and won the set, 30-25, before taking the final two by 30-22 and 30-19 scores to advance to the final for the second consecutive year against the Fighting Irish (17-8), who defeated Boston College, 3-1, in the first semifinal on Saturday. Pittsburgh ended Notre Dame?s unbeaten streak against Big East opponents at home last season in the final, winning in three straight games at the Joyce Center. The Panthers and Fighting Irish have won 19 of the 22 Big East volleyball titles since the league?s establishment in 1983.