No. 6 Pitt Extends Nation’s Longest Winning Streak to 19-0

Friday, October 12

Chapel Hill, N.C.

5 PM EST

Pitt

19-0, 7-0ACC

North Carolina

5-11, 1-6ACC

Pittsburgh

North Carolina

No. 6 Pitt Extends Nation’s Longest Winning Streak to 19-0

10/12/2018 7:17:00 PM | Volleyball

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Panthers Defeat Tar Heels at Dean E. Smith Center

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The No. 6 Pitt volleyball team improved to 19-0, 7-0 in the ACC, with a sweep of North Carolina (5-11, 1-6 ACC) in front of 6,043 fans at the Dean E. Smith Center Friday evening.

Sophomore middle Chinaza Ndee was nearly unstoppable at the net, notching 12 kills on 15 attempts with just one error for a blistering hitting percentage of .733 – a career best. Two more Panthers earned double figures in the kill column, with junior right side Nika Markovic and redshirt junior outside Stephanie Williams each recording 10. Sophomore outside Kayla Lund contributed five, and junior middle Layne Van Buskirk had four.

The Panthers handily out-killed the Tar Heels, 41-30, and hit .376 on the day while holding UNC to .103.

Lund led the way with a season-high 13 digs, and redshirt senior libero Angela Seman recorded 12. Pitt out-dug UNC, 46-28. Setters Kamalani Akeo and Kylee Levers posted 16 assists apiece.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 19-0.
Pitt continues to hold the nation's longest winning streak at 19-0.
Pitt's extended its longest win streak since 1987, when the team won 24 consecutive matches.
The Panthers earned a 7-0 start to ACC play for the second consecutive season.
Pitt improved its 2018 away record to 3-0.
The Panthers extended their current winning streak against the Tar Heels to three matches. Pitt's last loss against North Carolina came Nov. 13, 2015, in Chapel Hill.
Pitt earned its first win in Chapel Hill since Sept. 18, 1993, 3-0, breaking a three-match losing streak when playing at North Carolina.
Pitt improved its all-time record against North Carolina to 11-6.

Set One: No. 6 Pitt 25, North Carolina 13

Pitt cruised to a win in the first set, leading wire-to-wire. A 7-0 run helped the Panthers reach an early 9-1 lead, and they never looked back. A 5-2 run gave Pitt a 20-9 lead, and ultimately claimed the set 25-13. Four Panthers had two blocks apiece in the frame, including Levers, Ndee, Van Buskirk and Williams. Pitt hit a fiery .370, with 11 kills on 27 attempts with just one error. The Panthers held UNC to -.025 attacking for the set.

Set Two: No. 6 Pitt 25, North Carolina 17

The Tar Heels kept it close for the first half of the second set, in addition to earning its first lead of the match, 4-2. There were six ties and four lead changes in the frame. A 3-0 run ultimately swung the momentum in Pitt's favor, with the Panthers refusing to surrender the lead for the remainder of the set. Pitt ended the frame on a 6-1 run to claim a 25-17 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.

Through two sets, Williams led the way with six kills for Pitt, with Ndee and Markovic contributing five apiece.

Set Three: No. 6 Pitt 25, North Carolina 16

Despite three early ties in the third set, with the latest being 4-4, an 8-1 run propelled the Panthers to a 14-6 lead. The momentum stayed in the Panthers' favor, as a 3-0 run put Pitt into a 19-11 lead, and earned a 25-16 win to end the match. The Panthers hit a match-high .484 in the final frame, notching 18 kills.

UP NEXT

No. 6 Pitt will complete its two-match road trip in Raleigh, N.C., against NC State Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available via the WatchESPN app.

2018 PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS

Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2018 volleyball season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.

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