
Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics
Panthers Sweep Saint Louis to Open Weekend Play
9/8/2017 5:34:00 PM | Volleyball
Pitt Takes on WKU Later this Evening
Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team earned its second sweep of the season, defeating Saint Louis in its opening match of the WKU Holiday Inn – University Plaza Hotel Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky.
The Panthers (3-3) took down the Billikens (0-7) in straight sets, 25-16, 25-23 and 25-18.
Pitt dominated offensively as the squad hit .368 with 35 kills, while also tallying 8.5 blocks and five aces.
The Panthers saw success on offense from multiple players, including sophomore Nika Markovic and senior transfer Alex Rosignol. Markovic hit .429 and tallied eight kills along with three aces and five blocks. Rosignol tallied seven kills, while hitting .308.
Freshman Chinaza Ndee also played well, tallying six kills to hit .364. Junior Kamalani Akeo and redshirt sophomore Kylee Levers aided the offense, recording 16 and 12 assists respectively. Akeo also had three aces.
At the net, sophomore Layne Van Buskirk led Pitt's blocking efforts with a career-high seven blocks.
Set One: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 16
Pitt got out to a slow start in the first set, struggling to find momentum, but following a quick timeout the Panthers produced a five-put run to take a 10-6 lead.
Saint Louis called a timeout to slow Pitt and find some momentum itself. The Billikens did just that as they worked their way back to tie the score 13-13, but the Panthers never let Saint Louis take the lead.
Up by just one point, 17-16, Markovic led Pitt on an eight-point run to close out the set and win 25-16.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 23
After another slow start to open the second set, falling behind 6-1, the Panthers came back to tie the set 7-7.
The two teams exchanged back-and-forth points and saw four more tie scores before the Billikens took a 14-12 lead, calling for a timeout from Pitt.
The Panthers trailed for most of the set but fought back to take a late lead. Saint Louis was forced to take two timeouts, the first when Pitt pulled within a point, 21-20, and the second after the Panthers took a 23-22 lead.
Pitt earned set point thanks to a triple-block by Markovic, Rosignol and Bell and earned the victory on a final kill by Rosignol.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 18
In a back-and-forth affair, Pitt earned the first substantial lead late in the set, moving ahead by three, 17-14. Kills from Ndee and Markovic along with an ace from Akeo set up the Panthers and forced a Saint Louis timeout.
Out of the break, the Billikens pulled back within one, 17-16, but three straight points by Pitt, including back-to-back kills by Rosignol from Akeo, gave the Panthers a 20-16 advantage.
Pitt dominated Saint Louis in the final points of the set, going on to win 25-18.
Up Next
Pitt continues play later this evening as the Panthers face Western Kentucky at 8 p.m. EST.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team earned its second sweep of the season, defeating Saint Louis in its opening match of the WKU Holiday Inn – University Plaza Hotel Invitational in Bowling Green, Ky.
The Panthers (3-3) took down the Billikens (0-7) in straight sets, 25-16, 25-23 and 25-18.
Pitt dominated offensively as the squad hit .368 with 35 kills, while also tallying 8.5 blocks and five aces.
The Panthers saw success on offense from multiple players, including sophomore Nika Markovic and senior transfer Alex Rosignol. Markovic hit .429 and tallied eight kills along with three aces and five blocks. Rosignol tallied seven kills, while hitting .308.
Freshman Chinaza Ndee also played well, tallying six kills to hit .364. Junior Kamalani Akeo and redshirt sophomore Kylee Levers aided the offense, recording 16 and 12 assists respectively. Akeo also had three aces.
At the net, sophomore Layne Van Buskirk led Pitt's blocking efforts with a career-high seven blocks.
Set One: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 16
Pitt got out to a slow start in the first set, struggling to find momentum, but following a quick timeout the Panthers produced a five-put run to take a 10-6 lead.
Saint Louis called a timeout to slow Pitt and find some momentum itself. The Billikens did just that as they worked their way back to tie the score 13-13, but the Panthers never let Saint Louis take the lead.
Up by just one point, 17-16, Markovic led Pitt on an eight-point run to close out the set and win 25-16.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 23
After another slow start to open the second set, falling behind 6-1, the Panthers came back to tie the set 7-7.
The two teams exchanged back-and-forth points and saw four more tie scores before the Billikens took a 14-12 lead, calling for a timeout from Pitt.
The Panthers trailed for most of the set but fought back to take a late lead. Saint Louis was forced to take two timeouts, the first when Pitt pulled within a point, 21-20, and the second after the Panthers took a 23-22 lead.
Pitt earned set point thanks to a triple-block by Markovic, Rosignol and Bell and earned the victory on a final kill by Rosignol.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Saint Louis 18
In a back-and-forth affair, Pitt earned the first substantial lead late in the set, moving ahead by three, 17-14. Kills from Ndee and Markovic along with an ace from Akeo set up the Panthers and forced a Saint Louis timeout.
Out of the break, the Billikens pulled back within one, 17-16, but three straight points by Pitt, including back-to-back kills by Rosignol from Akeo, gave the Panthers a 20-16 advantage.
Pitt dominated Saint Louis in the final points of the set, going on to win 25-18.
Up Next
Pitt continues play later this evening as the Panthers face Western Kentucky at 8 p.m. EST.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
SLU
UP
Kills
27
35
Errors
19
10
Attempts
72
68
Hitting %
.111
.368
Points
37.0
48.5
Assists
26
34
Aces
6
5
Blocks
4.0
8.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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