Pitt
15-2, 3-1ACC
Syracuse
7-11, 0-6ACC
Pitt Volleyball Continues ACC Success with Win Over Syracuse
10/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Final Stats (HTML) | Box Score | Season Stats
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In a four set match, the Pitt volleyball team (15-2, 3-1 ACC) downed ACC foe Syracuse (7-11, 0-6 ACC), 3-1, at the Women’s Building Sunday afternoon. The Panthers won the first, third and fourth sets by scores of 25-13, 25-23 and 25-23 respectively while dropping the second set 17-25.
The Panthers offense was on point in the win as three Pitt players recorded double-digit kills. Jessica Wynn tallied 15 while Maria Genitsaridi added 13 and Amanda Orchard had 10. Wynn also notched her sixth double-double of the year [15 kills, 16 digs] while Jenna Jacobson grabbed her first [19 assists, 12 digs]. Defensively Delaney Clesen pi cked up 22 digs and Kate Yeazel added five blocks.
Pitt picked up a first set win to get off to a solid start against the Orange. The Panthers began by taking a 5-1 lead with three of those five points coming from Genitsaridi, Jenna Potts and Yeazel kills. The Panthers continued to hold their lead throughout the rest of the set, only letting Syracuse come back to within five points. Pitt beat the Orange by 12 points while out-hitting them 15-8, and out-blocking them 8-4.
After taking the first set, Pitt dropped the second set, 17-25. The Panthers trailed most of the game but were keeping up in the beginning as they were tied with Syracuse 6-6 early on. The Orange scored four straight points to extend their lead to 10-6 and force a Pitt timeout. The Panthers tried to fight back but could not keep up with the Orange as they continued to pull further and further away. Syracuse standout Silvi Uattara, who finished with 21 kills, notched eight in the second set to help the Orange to their only win of the match.
The third set was a thriller, as Pitt and Syracuse battled to the end, but the Panthers were able to pull off a 25-23 win. Pitt held an 8-6 lead over the Orange early in the set but Syracuse fought back to tie it at 15 apiece. The Panthers were able to push ahead to take a four point lead heading into the final points of the set but the Orange weren’t ready to just hand the set to Pitt. With the scoreboard showing 22-18, Syracuse scored four straight points to tie the game at 22 all and then both teams scored to move the numbers to 23 all. Pitt finalized the win after scoring two straight points including a kill by Casey Durham and an ace by Orchard.
Set four was much of the same of set three. A close set which resulted in a Pitt 25-23 win. Syracuse recorded the first point of the set but the Panthers answered with three straight points including kills by Potts and Genitsaridi to take a 3-1 lead. However, that lead didn’t last long as Syracuse went on to score five straight points to force a Pitt timeout. The Orange led up until Pitt tied the game at 9-9. From that point on, the two teams exchanged back-and-forth points to come to a 19-19 tie set. Pitt took a late 23-20 lead but couldn’t keep it as the Orange came back to tie the score up again at 23 apiece. Thanks to a bad set which hit the floor by Syracuse and a final kill by Durham, Pitt walked away with the set win and the match win.
The Panthers will return to ACC action this coming weekend when Pitt takes on Georgia Tech on October 17 in Atlanta, Ga. for a 7 p.m. showdown. They will conclude their weekend in Clemson, S.C. when they take on the Tigers on October 19 in a 1 p.m. afternoon match.
Keep up with Pitt volleyball by following the team on Twitter at @PittVolleyball.
