Friday, October 20
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7:00 PM EST
Pitt
16-4, 9-0ACC
3
vs
0
North Carolina
10-8, 7-3ACC
1
2
3
F
North Carolina
18
10
21
0
Pitt
25
25
25
3
Panthers Sweep Tar Heels, Remain Undefeated in ACC Play
10/20/2017 10:50:00 PM | Volleyball
Pitt Keeps Winning Streak Alive with 13th Consecutive Victory
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team won its 13th-consecutive match and remains undefeated in ACC play with a sweep of North Carolina Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House.
Pitt extends the team's best start since joining the ACC, improving to 9-0 within the conference. The Panthers are now 16-4 on the season.
Pitt downed the reigning ACC Champion Tar Heels (10-8, 7-3 ACC) in straight sets 25-18, 25-10 and 25-21, behind a powerful offense that saw the Panthers finish with 44 kills, compared to UNC's 27. As a team, Pitt attacked at a .341 clip and also notched seven aces on the night.
Sophomore Nika Markovic lead the Panthers with 16 kills and a .500 attacking percentage, while freshman Kayla Lund contributed nine kills, hitting at a .333 clip. Freshman Chinaza Ndee added eight.
Junior Kamalani Akeo lead the team with 33 assists and added nine digs, while redshirt junior Angela Seman led the Panthers in digs with 10.
Three of Pitt's seven aces came from Markovic, while two came from Akeo.
Set One: Pitt 25, North Carolina 18
Pitt opened the first set with a 25-18 victory over North Carolina, behind a 16-kill performance while holding the Tar Heels to just nine.
The Panthers got out to a 9-3 lead early in the frame to force a UNC timeout. Out of the break, Pitt maintained its advantage, but the Tar Heels worked their way back within four points, 16-12. This caused the Panthers to take a break and regroup.
North Carolina would pull within three marking the closest gap of the set, 20-17, before Pitt would end the set on a 5-1 run. The final three points came from two Lund kills and a Markovic kill to close out the set.
Set Two: Pitt 25, North Carolina 10
Impressive defense by the Panthers in the second set gave Pitt a win in the frame and a 2-0 lead in the match. Pitt held the Tar Heels to just 10 points, en route to a 25-10 victory. The Panthers held North Carolina to a .038 hitting percentage and just six kills.
The Panthers offense was once again impressive, hitting for a .464 clip, tallying 16 kills.
Pitt didn't waste time jumping out front as the Panthers took the first five points of the set and worked their way out to a 14-5 lead. 10 of Pitt's 14 points came by way of kill.
Following a UNC timeout, the Tar Heels notched a single point but gave up seven straight, putting the Panthers ahead 21-6.
Pitt would allow just three more points from North Carolina before a solo block by Van Buskirk would end the frame.
Set Three: Pitt 25, North Carolina 21
The Panthers capped off the match with a 25-21 victory in the third set, despite UNC finding some momentum.
Both teams hit .269 in the frame, but Pitt's service efforts and back row defense gave the Panthers an edge. Pitt tallied three aces and nine digs, compared to the Tar Heels, who failed to record an ace in the final set and dug up just five balls.
North Carolina found its only lead of the match in the final set, 3-2, but it was short-lived as the Panthers used a four-point run to get back out in front 12-7.
Pitt remained on top as the team worked its way out to a five-point lead, but the Tar Heels remained within striking distance as they pulled within two, 21-19.
However, the Panthers didn't look back as they put up their final four points, setting up Markovic for the final kill of the match.
Up Next
Pitt will continue conference play Sunday, Oct 24 at 1 p.m. when NC State comes to Pittsburgh.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Pitt extends the team's best start since joining the ACC, improving to 9-0 within the conference. The Panthers are now 16-4 on the season.
Pitt downed the reigning ACC Champion Tar Heels (10-8, 7-3 ACC) in straight sets 25-18, 25-10 and 25-21, behind a powerful offense that saw the Panthers finish with 44 kills, compared to UNC's 27. As a team, Pitt attacked at a .341 clip and also notched seven aces on the night.
Sophomore Nika Markovic lead the Panthers with 16 kills and a .500 attacking percentage, while freshman Kayla Lund contributed nine kills, hitting at a .333 clip. Freshman Chinaza Ndee added eight.
Junior Kamalani Akeo lead the team with 33 assists and added nine digs, while redshirt junior Angela Seman led the Panthers in digs with 10.
Three of Pitt's seven aces came from Markovic, while two came from Akeo.
Set One: Pitt 25, North Carolina 18
Pitt opened the first set with a 25-18 victory over North Carolina, behind a 16-kill performance while holding the Tar Heels to just nine.
The Panthers got out to a 9-3 lead early in the frame to force a UNC timeout. Out of the break, Pitt maintained its advantage, but the Tar Heels worked their way back within four points, 16-12. This caused the Panthers to take a break and regroup.
North Carolina would pull within three marking the closest gap of the set, 20-17, before Pitt would end the set on a 5-1 run. The final three points came from two Lund kills and a Markovic kill to close out the set.
Set Two: Pitt 25, North Carolina 10
Impressive defense by the Panthers in the second set gave Pitt a win in the frame and a 2-0 lead in the match. Pitt held the Tar Heels to just 10 points, en route to a 25-10 victory. The Panthers held North Carolina to a .038 hitting percentage and just six kills.
The Panthers offense was once again impressive, hitting for a .464 clip, tallying 16 kills.
Pitt didn't waste time jumping out front as the Panthers took the first five points of the set and worked their way out to a 14-5 lead. 10 of Pitt's 14 points came by way of kill.
Following a UNC timeout, the Tar Heels notched a single point but gave up seven straight, putting the Panthers ahead 21-6.
Pitt would allow just three more points from North Carolina before a solo block by Van Buskirk would end the frame.
Set Three: Pitt 25, North Carolina 21
The Panthers capped off the match with a 25-21 victory in the third set, despite UNC finding some momentum.
Both teams hit .269 in the frame, but Pitt's service efforts and back row defense gave the Panthers an edge. Pitt tallied three aces and nine digs, compared to the Tar Heels, who failed to record an ace in the final set and dug up just five balls.
North Carolina found its only lead of the match in the final set, 3-2, but it was short-lived as the Panthers used a four-point run to get back out in front 12-7.
Pitt remained on top as the team worked its way out to a five-point lead, but the Tar Heels remained within striking distance as they pulled within two, 21-19.
However, the Panthers didn't look back as they put up their final four points, setting up Markovic for the final kill of the match.
Up Next
Pitt will continue conference play Sunday, Oct 24 at 1 p.m. when NC State comes to Pittsburgh.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
NC
UP
Kills
27
45
Errors
13
15
Attempts
81
88
Hitting %
.173
.341
Points
36.0
57.0
Assists
25
41
Aces
1
7
Blocks
8.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballRS/MH
/ Volleyball
L
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