University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
(14-2, 2-1ACC)
Notre Dame
(4-12, 1-4ACC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notre Dame | 23 | 18 | 13 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Notre Dame for Second ACC Win
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Season Stats | Match Notes: Syracuse
PITTSBURGH - In a sea of pink for breast cancer awareness night on Friday, the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (14-2, 2-1 ACC) picked up its second conference win of the season after sweeping Notre Dame (4-12, 1-4 ACC) by set scores of 25-23, 25-18 and 25-13 at the Fitzgerald Field House.
Serving was a key to tonight's win for the Panthers as they recorded 12 total service aces to tie their season high. Junior Jenna Jacobson had four of those 12 aces. Pitt also crushed 42 kills on the night with Mechael Guess leading the way with ten kills. Maria Genitsaridi added nine. Delaney Clesen recorded 14 digs for the Panthers to lead them defensively while Amanda Orchard added four blocks.
The first set of the game was close between Pitt and Notre Dame, but the Panthers pulled out the 25-23 win. The two teams exchanged points the entire first half of the set before Notre Dame pulled away to take an 18-13 lead and force a Pitt timeout. Pitt didn't give up and fought back to tie the game at 22-22 on back-to-back kills by Jessica Wynn and Kate Yeazel. This forced the Fighting Irish to take a timeout. Though Notre Dame recorded the first point after the timeout, Pitt scored three straight, including Genitsaridi and Guess kills, to come from behind and win the first set.
After a close first set, the Panthers bounced back to take set two 25-18. Pitt took an early 7-3 lead to force a quick Notre Dame time out. Three of Pitts points were kills from Genitsaridi, Potts and Wynn while Lindsey Zitzke added a fourth point. Errors by Notre Dame gave the Panthers the other three. As the set continued, Notre Dame came back to tie the game at 11 apiece which was the closest they came to leading during the second set. From that point on, the Panthers only gave up seven more points and ran away to win 25-18. Pitt recorded half of their total service aces during the second set with six.
The third set was Pitt's quickest of the night, downing the Fighting Irish 25-13. Pitt began the game with four straight points which included Yeazel and Wynn kills, a Genitsaridi service ace and a Notre Dame error. Once Pitt took a 9-3 lead, Notre Dame took its first time out. The timeout didn't stop the Panthers as they came out ready to go and scored four more points to lead 13-3. Jenna Jacobson recorded two of the four points on service aces. The Panthers continued to dominate the third set, hitting the twenties before Notre Dame ever hit double digits. Pitt went on to win 25-13 and swept Notre Dame. Guess and Yeazel each tallied five kills apiece during the third set, while as a team, the Panthers notched 16 kills and hit .308.
Pitt will finish this week of play when they travel to Syracuse this Sunday, Oct. 12. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 with the start time slated for 1 p.m. Live in-game updates will be available through the team's twitter account, @PittVolleyball and live stats can be found on PittsburghPanthers.com.
