No. 5 Pitt Volleyball Sets Sights on Duke

PITTSBURGH – A win at Duke (12-8, 6-5 ACC) Sunday afternoon would tie the longest win streak in Pitt volleyball history as the No. 5 Panthers (23-0, 11-0 ACC) take on the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 1 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Pitt's match can be seen live on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN.
Live stats will be available via Statbroadcast.com.
Fans can follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_VB.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 5 Pitt cruised past Wake Forest 25-13, 25-22, 25-17, at Reynolds Gymnasium to begin a four-match road trip Friday night.
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.

A WIN WOULD…

Extend the Panthers' best start to a season in school history, improving to 24-0.
Tie the longest win streak in Pitt volleyball history, matching a record 24 consecutive victories in 1987.
Extend the Panthers' best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 12-0.
Improve Pitt's 2018 away record to 6-0, and 5-0 against ACC opponents.
Extend the Panthers' win streak against the Blue Devils to two matches. Pitt's last loss to Duke came Nov. 13, 2016, at Fitzgerald Field House (3-0).
Snap a two-match losing streak for the Panthers when playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Pitt's last win in Durham came Nov. 7, 2014 (3-2).
Improve the Panthers' all-time record against Duke to 9-7 overall and 3-2 when playing in Durham.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

Pitt moved up one spot to No. 5 in this week's edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Poll. This marks the Panthers' highest national ranking in program history.
Pitt's top ranking prior to the 2018 season came in 1990 when the squad was No. 17.
The Panthers are No. 5 in the fourth release of the NCAA Volleyball Rating Percentage Index (RPI), Monday, Oct 22.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

No. 5 Pitt is one of two unbeaten teams in the country (23-0, 11-0 ACC), along with No. 1 BYU (21-0, 11-0 WCC). The Panthers own the longest active win streak in the nation at 22 matches.
Pitt and BYU have the most wins without a loss against teams currently ranked in the AVCA Top 25 (3-0).

AND THEN THERE WAS…ONE

By defeating No. 21 Louisville (Oct. 21), Pitt claimed the outright lead in the ACC volleyball standings. The victory over the Cards marked the Panthers' third win against a ranked opponent this season.

WILLIAMS EARNS FIRST ACC WEEKLY HONOR

Pitt redshirt junior outside hitter Stephanie Williams was named the ACC Co-Player of the Week as announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
"This is a well-deserved honor for Stephanie," Panthers head coach Dan Fisher said. "She had a very complete weekend, excelling in all areas of the game against tough competition. I'm happy for her."
The honor is the first of her career. She is the third Panther to earn an ACC weekly award this season, joining Kayla Lund (Aug. 27, Sept. 10) and Nika Markovic (Oct. 8). The Panthers have earned the most ACC weekly honors (four) this season of any team in the league.
The Eastlake, Ohio, native helped Pitt reach a program-best No. 5 ranking as the Panthers defeated Notre Dame (Oct. 19), 3-0, and No. 21 Louisville (Oct. 21), 3-1, in front of a combined 4,163 fans at Fitzgerald Field House over the weekend. Pitt set a program record with 2,152 fans in attendance to watch the Panthers and Cardinals Sunday.
Williams led Pitt with 3.57 kills per set on a team-best .317 percentage while moving into the program's top 10 for career kills with her eighth against Notre Dame (Oct. 19). She now sits at No. 10 all-time at Pitt with 1,089 kills. She followed that performance with a season-high 17 kills in a 3-1 win against No. 21 Louisville (Oct. 21). She contributed 3.00 digs per set over the two matches, while notching her second double-double of the season against the Cardinals (17 kills, 10 digs).

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS

Duke (12-8, 6-5 ACC) is riding a three-match winning streak, most recently sweeping Virginia (3-0) Friday night at home.
Outside hitter Payton Schwantz was efficient against the Hoos with her 21 attack attempts, dropping a match-high 12 kills while committing just three errors. Her .429 hitting percentage also led all players on the night.
Middle blocker Lily Cooper and rightside hitter Samantha Amos both totaled five blocks to aid the Duke defense against Virginia, while freshman libero Mackenzie Cole anchored the backline with a match-high 17 digs.
The Blue Devils are 6-5 when playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season, dropping home ACC contests to Syracuse (Sept. 30), Louisville (Oct. 5) and Georgia Tech (Oct. 14).
Duke is 0-2 against opponents ranked in the AVCA poll, falling twice to then eighth-ranked BYU to open the 2018 season (Aug. 22, 3-0, and Aug. 25, 3-1).

THE SERIES – DUKE

Sunday will be the 16th meeting between No. 5 Pitt and Duke, with the Panthers leading the all-time series, 8-7. Pitt claimed the last meetings between the programs – Nov. 12, 2017, at Fitzgerald Field House (3-1).
Pitt owns more wins against Duke when playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium (two) than it does when playing at Fitzgerald Field House (one).

UP NEXT

No. 5 Pitt continue its ACC road swing with matches at Georgia Tech (Friday, Nov. 2) and at Clemson (Sunday, Nov. 4). Each 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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