Pitt
18-4, 6-3ACC
Virginia Tech
10-13, 3-7ACC
Pitt Volleyball Falls to Virginia Tech in Four Sets
10/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Season Stats | Conference Stats
BLACKSBURG, Va. - The University of Pittsburgh Volleyball Team (18-4, 6-3 ACC) fell to Virginia Tech (10-13, 3-7 ACC) by a score of 1-3 Friday evening at Cassell Coliseum to fall to 18-4 on the season and 6-3 in ACC play. The Panthers won the first set 25-21, but dropped three straight by set scores of 17-25, 17-25 and 21-25 respectively.
Junior Amanda Orchard played well in the loss, recording 11 kills on 20 attempts. The junior hit .500 on the night to lead both teams in hitting percentage. Senior Lindsey Zitzke notched a double-double in the match, tallying 23 assists and 10 digs.
The Panthers began the night on a high note, beating the Hokies 25-21 in the first set. Orchard knocked down six kills individually for Pitt and led the team with a .667 hitting percentage. The Panthers and Virginia Tech battled in the beginning as the Hokies were within two points of the Panthers. Pitt led 12-10 before slowly pulling away. The Panthers increased their lead to five points after a kill by Maria Genitsaridi and an attack error by Virginia Tech. This forced the Hokies to take a timeout. Pitt hit the twenties first, leading 20-15 which forced a second Virginia Tech timeout. The Hokies came back within three but Pitt notched two final points, both on Virginia Tech errors, to pick up the win.
Pitt's downfall began with a 17-25 loss in the second set, though the Panthers led 8-3 in the early part of the match which forced the Hokies to take a timeout. Virginia Tech scored four straight points to take an 11-10 lead which it didn't give it up for the remainder of the set. The closest Pitt came to catching the Hokies was when a kill by Genitsaridi put the score at 15-14 and pulled Pitt back within a point. The Panthers were unable to stop Virginia Tech after that, as the opposition went on three different point streaks to win.
Out of the intermission, Pitt began the third set in a tough spot as Virginia Tech scored six straight points to lead 7-1 after being tied 1-1. Head coach Dan Fisher was forced to take two timeouts within those eight points to try and slow the Hokies roll. Out of the second timeout, Kate Yeazel notched two straight kills and Delaney Clesen tallied two consecutive aces to pull the Panthers back within two points and only trail 5-7. Pitt kept the score close for the next eight points but the Hokies pulled away after scoring six consecutive, bringing the score to 17-9. The Panthers were unable to fight back as Virginia Tech continued to dominate, giving the Hokies a 2-1 overall lead after the third set.
Virginia Tech continued to control the match, as it opened the fourth set with nine straight points before committing a service error to give Pitt its first. The Panthers began to find a groove towards the middle of the rally pulling back within five after a kill by Casey Durham brought the score to 18-13 with the Hokies still leading. Virginia Tech called a timeout to regroup and came out taking the point. Thanks to a service error by the Hokies and kills by Genitsaridi and Durham, Pitt was back in the game and only trailed 16-19. This forced another timeout by Virginia Tech. While Pitt continued to keep the match close, the Panthers were unable to make their way back, losing the final set 21-25 and losing by a score of 1-3.
Pitt will conclude play this weekend on Sunday, Nov. 2 when it returns home to face Syracuse for the second time this season. The match is slated to being at 1 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.
Sunday's match will be a part of the `Pack the Pete' annual food drive. Fans who donate a bag of nonperishable food items when entering the match will receive free admission and be qualified to win two tickets to the `O Starry Night' concert hosted by CBS Radio 100.7 Star. The Radio station will be broadcasting live from the Fitzgerald Field House from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the day of the match.
Live stats will be available for the home match against Syracuse through PittsburghPanthers.com or fans can follow along with the in-game updates on Pitt's twitter account, @PittVolleyball.
