Panthers Sweep CSU Bakersfield

Saturday, September 3

Santa Barbara, Calif.

10:00 PM

Pitt

4-1

CSU Bakersfield

1-5

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Pitt	25	25	25	3
CSU Bakersfield	20	21	15	0

9/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Sept. 4, 2016

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team defeated CSU Bakersfield by way of sweep Saturday evening to earn its second win of the UCSB Thunderdome Invitational in Santa Barbara, Calif.

After a thrilling five-set win against #25 Colorado State earlier in the day, the Panthers [4-1] returned to the court to defeat the Roadrunners [1-5] 25-20, 25-21 and 25-15.

"I was really pleased with the win tonight," said head coach Dan Fisher. "For a younger team it's a big challenge to come back after the win we had in the morning and to refocus. It's especially difficult against a team like Bakersfield who plays such great defense. They are an emotional team and pushed us to the limit. It was a nice win."

Junior Mariah Bell put together her second consecutive double-digit kills showing with a team-leading 10 while freshman Layne Van Buskirk added nine and junior Kelsey O'Neill added seven. O'Neill concluded the match hitting .500 (7-0-14) and added four blocks, while Van Buskirk put up six.

Pitt had a strong serving night, notching eight aces with Bell, freshman Zoi Faki and senior Maria Genitsaridi each tallying two apiece.

"We had nice offensive performances by Mariah [Bell] and Kelsey [O'Neill]," said Fisher. "I also thought senior captain Maria [Genitsaridi] came in and provided a lift for us."

Set One: Pitt 25, CSU Bakersfield 20
Pitt started strong in the opening set against CSU Bakersfield, using a four point run to get out to a 9-3 lead.
However, the Panthers were forced to take a timeout as the Roadrunners scored five of the next six points to come back within two, 10-8.
After remaining within a point, CSU Bakersfield tied the set at 14 all but the Panthers separated themselves with back to back kills by Genitsaridi and O'Neill along with a Roadrunners attack error to make it 17-14.
Pitt held a slight lead over CSU Bakersfield for the remainder of the game en route to a 25-20 first set win.

Set Two: Pitt 25, CSU Bakersfield 21The Panthers and Roadrunners opened the second set with back and forth points but Pitt stayed one step ahead to work its way out to an 11-8 lead.
Faki replaced senior Jenna Potts to serve and helped lead the Panthers to three straight points to make it 15-9, Pitt.
The Panthers continued to dominate CSU Bakersfield, pulling ahead 21-11 as they headed to the final points of the set.
The Roadrunners did not go down without a fight, scoring five consecutive points to bring about a timeout call from Pitt, though the Panthers still led by six.
The Panthers earned its first set point at 24-19, but gave up two points before a service error ended the set and gave Pitt a 25-21 win.

Set Three: Pitt 25, CSU Bakersfield 15
For the third straight set, the Panthers worked its way out to a large lead, 9-4, forcing CSU Bakersfield to take another early timeout.
Out of the timeout, Pitt worked to extend its lead to 15-9 and held a significant advantage through the midway point of the set.
The Roadrunners asked for their second timeout with the score reading 17-11 but it was unsuccessful in slowing the Panthers who put up five straight to win set three, 25-15.

Up Next
Pitt will conclude the UCSB Thunderdome Invitational Sunday, Sept. 4, with a 5 p.m. ET match against host UC Santa Barbara.

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