Pitt
Duquesne
Rossi Records 30 Digs Against Duquesne
9/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 8, 2009
PITTSBURGH—Senior Michelle Rossi, of Pitt’s women’s volleyball team, recorded a season- and match-high 30 digs in the Panthers’ 3-2 loss to Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center, this evening. Pitt slipped to 5-3 on the year with scores of 25-9. 16-25, 23-25, 25-20 and 9-15.
Rossi was just two digs shy of tying her career-high of 32 digs, and was the only player on either squad to record double figures in digs. On the year, she has 142 total digs, averaging 4.73 per set.
Rossi was solid in the first, which proved to be Pitt’s best defensive game of the night. In that set, Rossi collected seven digs, a set high, and aided the defense in holding the Dukes (7-1) to a negative .229 hitting percentage.
Senior Meagan Dooley led the Panthers with five kills and a .556 hitting clip, while junior Amy Town chipped in four kills. Sophomore Allyson Hodnik was perfect, setting all 11 kills of the Panthers kills in the first game.
Pitt jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a commanding 25-9 first set victory. However, Duquesne rallied back and took a 2-1 advantage off scores of 25-16 and 25-23 in the second and third sets, respectively.
The Panthers would knot the match at 2-2 with their best offensive set of the night, winning game four 25-20. The squad recorded a .316 hitting percentage collectively. Individually, junior Imani Harper posted a .750 percentage with three kills and a block, while Town went 7-for-10 and a .700 clip.
Pitt also recorded three aces in the set and Rossi tallied another seven digs.
Unfortunately, the Dukes would take the early lead in the deciding set and hold on for the victory at 15-9.
The Panthers travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the three-match Comcast Challenge on Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12. Pitt faces Baylor, Cal Fullerton and host New Mexico in the tournament.
