No. 5 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Deacs on the Road

Friday, October 26

Winston-Salem, N.C.

5:30 PM EST

Pitt

23-0, 11-0ACC

Wake Forest

8-15, 3-8ACC

Pitt

Wake Forest

No. 5 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Deacs on the Road

10/26/2018 8:43:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Improve to 23-0, 11-0 in the ACC

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The No. 5 Pitt volleyball team (23-0, 11-0 ACC) cruised past Wake Forest (8-15, 3-8 ACC), 25-13, 25-22, 25-17, at Reynolds Gymnasium to begin a four-match road trip Friday night.

"We're pleased to get a 3-0 result on the road, at a tough place to play," head coach Dan Fisher said. "Wake Forest has been a really up-and-down team this year, but when they're on they're tough to play. I thought we were good offensively and pretty average, at times, defensively. I would have liked us to be a little better there. I thought Stephanie Williams, after a really complete weekend last weekend – a getting ACC Player of the Week – followed it up with a really complete performance. She led us in almost every category. She's in a good groove right now. It's always good to have all your starters over .200 and all your pin hitters over .300."

Two Panthers recorded season-best hitting percentages, with each posting a match-high 11 kills. Redshirt junior outside hitter Stephanie Williams had zero errors on 19 attempts to hit .579, and junior right side Nika Markovic had just two errors on 17 attempts for a .529 clip. Williams had a team-high 10 digs to round out her third double-double of the year.

Sophomore outside Kayla Lund hit .400 with nine kills and seven digs, to go along with three service aces. Redshirt sophomore defensive specialist Avery Perosa contributed a career-high three aces. Sophomore middle Chinaza Ndee led the blocking effort with a season-high seven for the Panthers.

Senior Kamalani Akeo and Kylee Levers split setting responsibilities, with Akeo producing 18 assists and Levers posting 17. Redshirt senior libero Angela Seman had nine digs and four assists.

As a team, the Panthers hit .390 while out-performing the Demon Deacons in every major statistic. Pitt had the advantage in kills (41-38), assists (41-33), digs (38-28) and blocks (7.0-6.0) while holding Wake Forest to a .240 clip.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 23-0.
Pitt extended its longest win streak since 1987, when the team won 24 consecutive matches.
The Panthers extended their best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 11-0.
Pitt improved its 2018 away record to 5-0, and 4-0 against ACC opponents.
The Panthers extended their win streak against the Demon Deacons to three matches. Pitt's last (and only) loss to Wake Forest came Oct. 9, 2016 (3-1), in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Panthers improved their all-time record against Wake Forest to 7-1 overall and 3-1 when playing in Winston-Salem.
Pitt earned its first win when playing in Winston-Salem since Oct. 24, 2015 (3-0).

Set One: No. 5 Pitt 25, Wake Forest 13

Following a 5-1 start for the Panthers, the Demon Deacons pushed back within two points, 8-6. However, Pitt kept its pace and used a 3-0 run, capped by a Williams kill, to earn a 13-8 lead. An 8-0 run which ended with back-to-back service aces by Perosa gave Pitt a largest lead of 22-10. The Panthers ended the set on a 3-0 run to claim the first frame, 25-13.

Led by Williams' .714 frame (five kills, zero errors, seven attempts), the Panthers hit .458 in comparison to the Deacs' .185. Pitt led wire-to-wire in the set.

Set Two: No. 5 Pitt 25, Wake Forest 22

The Panthers and Deacs went point-for-point for the first 14 serves, with seven ties, until a 3-0 run put Pitt ahead, 9-7. Wake Forest answered with a 10-3 run to gain a 17-12 lead. Later, with the Panthers trailing, 19-15, Pitt used a 10-3 run to end the frame with a 25-22 win.

There were 11 total ties and three lead changes in the frame, with the Panthers out-hitting Wake Forest, .379 to .257.

Set Three: No 5 Pitt 25, Wake Forest 17

A 6-0 run gave Pitt an early 10-3 lead. The Deacs didn't go quietly, coming back within two points after a 4-1 run, down 19-17. However, the Panthers answered deafeningly with a 6-0 run to seal the match, 25-17.

It was another wire-to-wire win for Pitt, with a .345 hitting clip while holding the Deacs to .265.

UP NEXT

No. 5 Pitt will visit Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. in Durham, N.C. 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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