University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
New Hampshire
Women's Volleyball Remains Perfect, Improves To 5-0
9/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 2, 2011
PITTSBURGH—Pitt’s women’s volleyball team earned a four-set victory over Rhode Island in its first match of the University of Pittsburgh Invitational, held at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers improved to 5-0, while the Wildcats slipped to 0-4. The scores of the match were 25-15, 23-25, 25-17 and 25-11.
Three Panthers recorded double figures in kills, as sophomore Monica Wignot tallied a match-high 15 and both senior Kiesha Leggs and junior Jasmine Dittrich chipped in 10, a piece. Dittrich posted a .500 hitting percentage in the contest and recorded two aces for the Panthers.
Defensively, junior Margy Acton collected a team-high 15 digs. Freshman Delaney Clesen came off the bench and added another 10 to the Panthers total. Freshman Lindsey Zitzke nearly had a double-double with 34 assists and nine digs in the match.
The Panthers jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first set when Clesen entered the game and served the first of three Pitt aces in the opener. A few plays later, Zitzke set Wignot for a kill to force a Wildcat timeout at 10-2.
The Panthers would string together a 7-2 run after that timeout, to force another New Hampshire timeout. The Pitt rally included two Wignot kills, as the Panthers led 17-4.
As the set continued, the Wildcats made a push to close the gap with an 8-5 rally of their own. They trailed 22-12, as a result. However, Clesen set Leggs for a kill to give Pitt a 23-12 advantage. Pitt would be held on 23 for the next three points before calling a timeout.
On the next serve, sophomore Maria Nicholas set Wignot for her fifth kill of the set to give the Panthers a sideout and set point. A New Hampshire attack error gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, the two teams were within a point of one another through the first seven points. That’s when the Wildcats began to pull away and took a 14-11 lead in the game. Pitt recorded a short rally that ended with a kill from junior Alex Phillips to pull within one, 14-13.
Next, sophomore Brenea White recorded a solo block to keep it a one-point contest, 15-14. A few serves later, Wignot recorded another kill to tie the set at 16. The Panthers would hold a slight lead at 18-17 with a kill from Leggs. However, Pitt soon trailed again before earning a sideout with another Wignot kill to tie the game at 20.
New Hampshire called a timeout and won the next three serves to take a 23-20 advantage in the game. The Panthers closed the gap when Zitzke set freshman Mechael Guess for back-to-back kills. The score stood at 24-23, which forced a Wildcat timeout. Following that chat, New Hampshire recorded a block to even the match at 1-1.
Pitt did, however, out-blocked New Hampshire, 10-4 in the contest. The Panthers hold a 42-22 blocking advantage over their opponents in the last five matches.
The Panthers immediately responded in the third set when they jumped out 9-4 with a kill from Dittrich. New Hampshire called a timeout to regroup. Pitt, however, continued to push as it came out of the timeout and recorded two blocks. The first was a solo block from Zitzke, her first of the year. Next, Wignot and Dittrich combined on a block to give the Panthers a six-point advantage, 11-5.
Later, Leggs recorded one of her six solo blocks of the season to put Pitt ahead by three, 18-15. New Hampshire would commit two attack errors to give Pitt their 20th point of the set. The Wildcats called a timeout, but the Panther won three of the next five points, before Dittrich’s kill gave the Panthers set point. Dittrich would then go back to serve and recorded an ace to put Pitt ahead, 2-1 in the match.
Zitzke scored the first point of the fourth set with her 14th ace of the season. Later, the Panthers led 13-7 after White and Zitzke combined on a block, following a long volley between the two teams.
Pitt continued to rally and took an 11-point lead in the fourth set, 19-8, with another ace from Zitzke.
Next, Leggs tipped the ball over the hands of two Wildcats on the right side of the net to give Pitt a 22-9 lead.
The Panthers committed an error on the next serve, but Zitzke assisted on kills by Dittrich and Wignot to give Pitt set point. New Hampshire held the Panthers for one serve, but a kill from Dittrich on the next volley sealed the victory for the Panthers.
Pitt returns to action this evening in a night cap against Penn State, at 7 p.m., at Fitzgerald Field House. Admission is free for all Pitt students, while adults are $5 and youth are $1.
