University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Sunday, September 4
Santa Barbara, Calif.
5:00 PM
Pitt
5-1
3
at
1
UC Santa Barbara
5-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitt | 19 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 3 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 25 | 20 | 24 | 15 | 1 |
Pitt Takes Down UCSB to Sweep Thunderdome Classic
9/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2016
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team concluded the UCSB Thunderdome Classic with a 3-0 record after defeating the host Gauchos 3-1 Sunday afternoon in Santa Barbara, Calif.
After dropping the first set to UCSB [5-2] 25-19, the Panthers [5-1] rallied back to win the next three sets 25-20, 26-24 and 25-15.
"It was a really good day and it was a total team effort," said redshirt freshman Stephanie Williams. "We struggled on serve receive so we weren't in system as much. Once Angela [Seman], Mariah [Bell] and I settled in and thought about good passes, we were able to run our offense and get a lot of good touches."
Williams had a career day, posting 20 kills on 34 attempts. The Ohio native committed just three errors to hit .500 on the match and earned her first double-double of the season as she put up 13 digs in addition to her 20 kills.
"I was in a good space mentally," Williams said. "My teammates kept me with high energy and helped me drive through the entire time. Everyone was digging the ball and Kamalani [Akeo] gave me really good sets so I felt confident going for it all of the time knowing that everyone was covering me."
Junior Mariah Bell also aided Pitt's offense with nine kills, while freshman Layne Van Buskirk put away six and hit .417.
Sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo also posted a double-double as she put up 38 assists and 12 digs.
Freshman Nika Markovic led the Panthers' back row defense with 16 digs while redshirt senior Jenna Potts led the team at the net with six blocks.
Set One: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 19
Pitt and UC Santa Barbara opened the set in a tight race, seeing no real separation in the score until the Gauchos earned a three point advantage, 10-7, which saw a Panthers timeout call.
Out of the break, the Gauchos continued to add to their total after putting up back to back aces to make it 12-7.
Pitt fought through the middle points of the set but UCSB increased its lead to 18-12, bringing about a second Panthers' timeout.
A kill by Potts and back to back block assists put the Panthers within reaching distance of the Gauchos, 22-18.
Following a UCSB timeout the Gauchos went on to put together consecutive block assists and a kill to finish off Pitt.
Set Two: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 20
The Panthers and UC Santa Barbara started out in a close second set, as Pitt led by a lone point 8-7.
UCSB struggled to get anything going, calling for a timeout after falling behind by four points.
Out of the timeout the Gauchos continued to run themselves away from scoring opportunities on error after error, extending the Panthers' lead to 18-9.
UC Santa Barbara didn't go down without a fight, outscoring Pitt 6-1 to come back within four but the Panthers remained one step ahead of the Gauchos to tie the match at one set apiece.
Set Three: Pitt 26, UC Santa Barbara 24
Following the break, Pitt came out with an offensive mindset, scoring five of its first nine points on kills to help the Panthers get out to a 9-5 lead.
A trailing USCB team fought back within one of Pitt but then called a timeout three points later as the Panthers picked up an ace and kill by Markovic and a kill from Van Buskirk. Out of the break, Pitt added on two more points to take a 19-14 lead.
The Panthers asked for a timeout of their own as the Gauchos made it 19-16, outscoring Pitt 4-1.After back and forth points, the Panthers earned set point 24-21 but called another timeout following a Faki serving error which brought the score to 24-22.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team concluded the UCSB Thunderdome Classic with a 3-0 record after defeating the host Gauchos 3-1 Sunday afternoon in Santa Barbara, Calif.
After dropping the first set to UCSB [5-2] 25-19, the Panthers [5-1] rallied back to win the next three sets 25-20, 26-24 and 25-15.
"It was a really good day and it was a total team effort," said redshirt freshman Stephanie Williams. "We struggled on serve receive so we weren't in system as much. Once Angela [Seman], Mariah [Bell] and I settled in and thought about good passes, we were able to run our offense and get a lot of good touches."
Williams had a career day, posting 20 kills on 34 attempts. The Ohio native committed just three errors to hit .500 on the match and earned her first double-double of the season as she put up 13 digs in addition to her 20 kills.
"I was in a good space mentally," Williams said. "My teammates kept me with high energy and helped me drive through the entire time. Everyone was digging the ball and Kamalani [Akeo] gave me really good sets so I felt confident going for it all of the time knowing that everyone was covering me."
Junior Mariah Bell also aided Pitt's offense with nine kills, while freshman Layne Van Buskirk put away six and hit .417.
Sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo also posted a double-double as she put up 38 assists and 12 digs.
Freshman Nika Markovic led the Panthers' back row defense with 16 digs while redshirt senior Jenna Potts led the team at the net with six blocks.
Set One: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 19
Pitt and UC Santa Barbara opened the set in a tight race, seeing no real separation in the score until the Gauchos earned a three point advantage, 10-7, which saw a Panthers timeout call.
Out of the break, the Gauchos continued to add to their total after putting up back to back aces to make it 12-7.
Pitt fought through the middle points of the set but UCSB increased its lead to 18-12, bringing about a second Panthers' timeout.
A kill by Potts and back to back block assists put the Panthers within reaching distance of the Gauchos, 22-18.
Following a UCSB timeout the Gauchos went on to put together consecutive block assists and a kill to finish off Pitt.
Set Two: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 20
The Panthers and UC Santa Barbara started out in a close second set, as Pitt led by a lone point 8-7.
UCSB struggled to get anything going, calling for a timeout after falling behind by four points.
Out of the timeout the Gauchos continued to run themselves away from scoring opportunities on error after error, extending the Panthers' lead to 18-9.
UC Santa Barbara didn't go down without a fight, outscoring Pitt 6-1 to come back within four but the Panthers remained one step ahead of the Gauchos to tie the match at one set apiece.
Set Three: Pitt 26, UC Santa Barbara 24
Following the break, Pitt came out with an offensive mindset, scoring five of its first nine points on kills to help the Panthers get out to a 9-5 lead.
A trailing USCB team fought back within one of Pitt but then called a timeout three points later as the Panthers picked up an ace and kill by Markovic and a kill from Van Buskirk. Out of the break, Pitt added on two more points to take a 19-14 lead.
The Panthers asked for a timeout of their own as the Gauchos made it 19-16, outscoring Pitt 4-1.After back and forth points, the Panthers earned set point 24-21 but called another timeout following a Faki serving error which brought the score to 24-22.
Out of the break, UCSB earned two straight to tie the score at 24 all but a kill by Williams and an
attack error by the Gauchos gave the Panthers a 26-24 win.
Set Four: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 15
UC Santa Barbara returned in set four to take an early 8-5 lead, but Pitt knotted the set at 11 and pulled ahead 12-11 on Williams' 17th kill of the match.
A nine point run by Pitt, which included four kills and two aces by Markovic, separated the two teams, giving Pitt an 18-11 advantage let in the set.
The Panthers outscored the Gauchos 15-4 in the final 19 points of the set to get the win.
All-Tournament Team
Pitt's Williams was named the MVP of the weekend while Bell was named to the All-Tournament team after having stellar showings at the UCSB Thunderdome Invitational.
Williams finished the weekend with 34 kills (3.40/set) and hit .312, while adding 22 digs. Bell led the team with 36 kills, had four service aces, 22 digs and nine blocks.
Up Next
Pitt will host the Panther Invitational Sept. 9-10, playing in the Fitzgerald Field House for the first time this season. Pitt will go head-to-head with Coastal Carolina, American and Michigan, the latter two teams being highly formidable opponents that reached
the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
attack error by the Gauchos gave the Panthers a 26-24 win.
Set Four: Pitt 25, UC Santa Barbara 15
UC Santa Barbara returned in set four to take an early 8-5 lead, but Pitt knotted the set at 11 and pulled ahead 12-11 on Williams' 17th kill of the match.
A nine point run by Pitt, which included four kills and two aces by Markovic, separated the two teams, giving Pitt an 18-11 advantage let in the set.
The Panthers outscored the Gauchos 15-4 in the final 19 points of the set to get the win.
All-Tournament Team
Pitt's Williams was named the MVP of the weekend while Bell was named to the All-Tournament team after having stellar showings at the UCSB Thunderdome Invitational.
Williams finished the weekend with 34 kills (3.40/set) and hit .312, while adding 22 digs. Bell led the team with 36 kills, had four service aces, 22 digs and nine blocks.
Up Next
Pitt will host the Panther Invitational Sept. 9-10, playing in the Fitzgerald Field House for the first time this season. Pitt will go head-to-head with Coastal Carolina, American and Michigan, the latter two teams being highly formidable opponents that reached
the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament.
Players Mentioned
S/L
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballTeam Stats
UP
UCSB
Kills
51
47
Errors
14
26
Attempts
120
146
Hitting %
.308
.144
Points
69.0
64.0
Assists
48
40
Aces
7
8
Blocks
11.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Sunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30
Sunday, August 30