University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
2-1
Nebraska
3-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitt | 9 | 20 | 29 | 19 | 1 |
| NEBRASKA | 25 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 3 |
Pitt Volleyball Falls to No. 5 Nebraska, 3-1
8/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Season Stats
LINCOLN, Neb. - The University of Pittsburgh Volleyball team closed out the Nebraska Invite with its first loss of the season to host and No. 5 Nebraska, by a score of 3-1, at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday evening.
The Huskers (3-0) jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage, outscoring the Panthers (2-1), 25-9 and 25-20, in the first and second sets. However, the Panthers bounced back in the third set, 29-27, but were unable to push past Nebraska in the fourth, falling 25-19.
"On the day we are happy that we got the win in the morning but obviously would have liked a different outcome in the evening," said head coach Dan Fisher. "Early on in the game, the reality of it all was that nerves ended up being a part of the story. As we settled into the match we began to play more Pittsburgh volleyball. I was super pleased that we came back and battled after being shell-shocked, but hopefully we can use this to moving forward so we can be more prepared for when we play another top-25 team."
Graduate transfer Kadi Kullerkann finished the weekend with 35 kills, including 12 against the Huskers, while freshman redshirt Angela Seman closed out the tournament with 40 digs. Seman put up a season high 15 digs against Nebraska. Both were named to the all-tournament team.
"We knew Kadi [Kullerkann] would be the type of player we could set a lot of balls to and she definitely has been that for us this weekend," said Fisher. "Defensively I would consider it a successful night. We played really hard defense which was led by Angela Seman."
Also standing out offensively against the Huskers were senior Casey Durham and junior Maria Genitsaridi. Durham knocked down 10 kills for Pitt, while Genitsaridi added nine.
On the weekend, Amanda Orchard finished with a .350 hitting percentage, putting away 17 of her 40 total attempts, while only committing three errors. The Lake Zurich, Ill., native also posted 14 total blocks in the Panthers three matches.
Set One
While the Panthers held their own in the beginning, Pitt struggled to find a rhythm in set one and eventually dropped the opener, 25-9. The Panthers only trailed by a point early on, but a nine point run by the Huskers gave Nebraska a 17-7 advantage. The Huskers continued to add to their total, and in the end outscored Pitt, 17-2, to end the set.
Set Two
The Panthers began set number two of the night trailing once again again, but started to settle in midway through. Down 19-14, Pitt scored three straight points, which included a Genitsaridi ace and a Kullerkann kill, to come back within two of Nebraska, forcing a timeout call. Out of the break, the Huskers scored two points, prompting Fisher to also call a timeout. However the break didn't stop Nebraska, as the squad extended its run to four before finishing out the second set with a, 25-20, win.
Kullerkann led both teams with six kills in the second set.
Set Three
Following two tough sets, Pitt returned from intermission ready to play, taking down the Huskers, 29-27, in an extra points affair. Blocking was the name of the game for the Panthers, as they posted a total of nine blocks, four of which came from Orchard, to stifle the Huskers.
The Panthers led early in the second prompting a Nebraska timeout, however the break didn't quiet Pitt as it worked their way up to a six point cushion and a 14-8 lead over the Huskers. Orchard added her four blocks during the run, while Kullerkann added three.
Following a second Nebraska timeout, the Huskers battled back, outscoring Pitt, 9-2, to gain a 17-16 lead.
The Panthers earned a three-point, 21-18 lead late in the second set but the match-up continued on into extra points as both teams battled in a back-and-forth affair.
From that point, Pitt and Nebraska were tied seven more times before back-to-back kills by Genitsaridi and Durham put the Panthers ahead by two to take the third set.
Set Four
Down to start the fourth set, Pitt quickly jumped ahead to an 8-6 lead following two consecutive kills by Durham, and a kill and service ace by freshman Stephanie Williams.
However, Nebraska hit a turning point with the score tied, 12-12, scoring three straight to gain a 15-12 edge over the Panthers.
Following a media timeout, Nebraska continued to add to its total, scoring and additional four points and forcing Pitt into taking two timeouts, while the score sat at 18-13.
The Panthers fought back within five of the Huskers late in the fourth set, but Nebraska finished the match with a 25-19 win. Pitt held the Huskers for three match points before giving up the final kill.
Up Next
Pitt is set to co-host the Duquesne/Pitt Invitational, Sept. 4-5, at the Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers will host Youngstown State in their home opener on the 4th at 7 p.m. On Sept. 5, Pitt will host Colgate at Noon, before traveling downtown to the A.J. Palumbo Center to take on Duquesne at 7 p.m. to close out the invitational.
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