University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
Georgetown
Women's Volleyball Wins Its Fourth Match in Conference Play
10/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oct. 10, 2010
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh women’s volleyball team earned its fourth win in conference play, as the Panthers recorded a 3-1 victory over Georgetown, this afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt won the match with scores of 25-18, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-20.
The Panthers (9-12) improved to 4-2 in Big East action. Offensively, they were led by three with 11 kills, apiece. First senior Amy Town recorded her fourth double-double of the year with 11 kills and 11 digs.
Junior Kiesha Leggs recorded 11 kills on .429 hitting and chipped in four assisted blocks.
Next, senior Rachel Kalberer turned in 11 kills, while totaling two digs and assisting on two blocks.
On the defensive end, sophomore libero Margy Acton tallied 17 digs, six assists and two aces.
One of Acton’s ace gave Pitt its first lead in the opening set, 4-3. Several plays later, sophomore Jenn Katona attacked a set from senior Alyssa King to give the Panthers a 15-12 advantage in the game.
Next, senior Tara Rohall made a great play on an attempted dump from the Hoyas’ setter to keep the Panthers alive. Pitt would win the point, 18-13, with a hard swing from Katona.
The Panthers later led 22-15 thanks to a smart play from Kalberer. The Panthers continued on to a first-set win, 25-18, with a solo block from Town and a kill from Leggs.
Katona led all with a set-high five kills in the opener. She finished the match with seven.
In the second set, Pitt took a one-point lead, 7-6, after a long volley that included a great dig from Acton. The game would remain close, as Town found a spot between two defenders to give Pitt a 15-13 advantage.
However, the score would soon be knotted at 20 when Pitt was forced to take a timeout. The Panthers won the next point with a kill from Kalberer. Next, Pitt led 22-21 when sophomore Michelle Walker entered the contest and combined on a block with Leggs. The Panthers used an ace from senior Allyson Hodnik and a kill from Town to win their final two points of the set.
Pitt out-blocked the Hoyas 6-3 in the second set and 8-4 through the two sets. King also recorded an assist on 11 of Pitt’s 12 kills in the second game. She would finish the match with a team-high 26 assists.
As the match continued, Leggs gave Pitt a 9-7 lead in the third set with a hard swing over the middle. The game then experienced a series of ties, which included one at 16-16 when Georgetown would move ahead on the next play and begin pulling away.
A Leggs kills would make it a one-point game at 20-19 in favor of Georgetown, but the Panthers would later trail 23-20 and take a timeout. The Hoyas, however, won two of the next three points to force a fourth set.
Georgetown (13-9, 3-3 Big East) recorded four blocks and held Pitt to a .105 hitting percentage in that game.
After trailing 11-8 early in the fourth set, Hodnik recorded a kill after swinging on a high pass from Acton that tied the contest at 14-14. Kalberer then gave the Panthers a 16-15 lead with a kill from the right side, which forced a Georgetown timeout.
Pitt would eventually pull away, 20-16, with three blocks, two combined from Town and Harper and a solo from Harper.
A few plays later, Hodnik set Leggs for a kill that gave Pitt match point at 24-19. Georgetown would sideout, but another Leggs’ kill over the middle would secure the victory for the Panthers.
Leggs was a perfect 4-for-4 in the final set. Kalberer matched a game-high will four kills of her own.
As a team, the Panthers out-blocked Georgetown 14-10 in the match. Harper led the Panthers with eight total.
Pitt returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 16, with a 7 p.m. match at West Virginia.
