No. 10 Pitt Wins Second Consecutive ACC Volleyball Championship

Friday, November 16

Tallahassee, Fla.

6:30 PM EST

Pitt

27-1 (15-1ACC)

Florida State

17-9 (13-3ACC)

Pitt

Florida State

No. 10 Pitt Wins Second Consecutive ACC Volleyball Championship

11/16/2018 11:02:00 PM | Volleyball

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Panthers Defeat Seminoles to Claim Automatic NCAA Tournament Bid

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the second consecutive season, the No. 10 Pitt volleyball team (27-1, 15-1 ACC) clinched at least a share of the ACC Championship with a 3-1 win at Florida State (17-9, 13-3 ACC) Friday night at Tully Gym.

The win marks the second ACC title for the program, after earning its first as co-champion with Louisville in 2017. A win for Pitt at Miami Sunday would secure the 2018 title outright for the Panthers.

The Panthers earned an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Tournament, marking its third consecutive appearance and 16th overall.

Pitt won the match by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 20-25 and 25-19.

Junior right side Nika Markovic led the Panthers with a match-high 18 kills on .256 hitting. She had a double-double with 14 digs and added five blocks and two assists.

Sophomore outside Kayla Lund recorded her team-high 12th double-double of the year with 13 kills and 13 digs. The Panthers' middles, sophomore Chinaza Ndee and junior Layne Van Buskirk, each posted 10 kills.

Senior setter Kamalani Akeo had a match-high 30 assists and redshirt senior libero Angela Seman had 18 digs.

As a team, the Panthers out-hit the Seminoles, .195 to .164, and out-blocked Florida State 15.0-14.0. Pitt had the advantage in kills (60-46), assist (58-43) and digs (69-58).

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers clinched at least a share of the ACC Volleyball Championship for the second consecutive season. Pitt was named Co-Champion with Louisville in 2017.
Pitt earned its most wins in a season (27) since going 28-9 (7-0) in 1991, winning both the Big East Regular Season and Big East Tournament Championships.
The Panthers earned their most wins in a season under sixth-year head coach Dan Fisher.
The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 27-1.
Pitt extended its best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 15-1.
The Panthers improved their 2018 away record to 8-1, and 7-1 against ACC opponents.
Pitt extended its win streak against the Seminoles to four matches. The Panthers won the team's previous meeting this season, 3-1, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh (Sept. 30).
The Panthers improved their all-time record against the Seminoles to 8-5 overall and 4-2 when playing in Tallahassee.
Pitt earned its second consecutive win at Tully Gym. The Panthers' last loss in Tallahassee came Oct. 16, 2016 (3-1).

Set One: No. 10 Pitt 25, Florida State 22

A 3-0 run gave Florida State an early 5-2 lead, but Pitt answered with a 4-0 run to re-gain the advantage, 6-5. The Panthers extended the lead with a 7-1 run to make it 14-8. Florida State used runs of 4-0 and 3-1 to make it a one-point frame, Pitt leading 19-18. The teams traded points until two consecutive scores put Pitt up, 23-20. The Noles earned the next two points to come as close as 23-22, but Pitt closed the set with the last two points, 25-22.

Pitt had six blocks in the first set and hit .317 compared to Florida State's .116. Lund led the Panthers with five kills.

Set Two: No. 10 Pitt 25, Florida State 21

It was another tight set, marked by 12 ties and four lead changes. Pitt earned a 7-3 lead with a 4-0 run, but Florida State surged on a 7-2 run to take a 10-9 advantage. The latest tie came at 18-18, following a 3-1 run by the Noles. Pitt ended the frame on a 5-2 run to win, 25-21.

The Panthers out-hit Florida State, .268 to .158.

Set Three: Florida State 25, No. 10 Pitt 20

Errors plagued Pitt in the third set, as the Panthers hit just .043 for the frame with 14 kills and 12 errors on 47 attempts. A hot start put Florida State ahead by as many as six (8-2), and later, a 6-0 run extended the lead to 14-5. The Seminoles earned a double-figure lead (19-10), following a 5-2 run. Down 24-16, the Panthers fought through four set points with a 4-0 run to make it 24-20, but Florida State shut it down to win, 25-20.

Set Four: No. 10 Pitt 25, Florida State 19

The Panthers opened the fourth set with a dominant 10-0 run, including some tough serving by Akeo. Florida State outscored the Panthers 11-5 to cut its deficit to 15-11, and then to 17-14 following a 3-0 run. Pitt pushed its lead to 21-14 after a 4-0 run, ultimately claimed the victory by six points, 25-19.

The Panthers hit .286 in the frame, its best percentage of the match.

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt will play its final regular season road match at Miami Sunday at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available via the WatchESPN app.

PARTY AT THE PETE

Tickets are available for No. 10 Pitt volleyball's regular season finale, "Party at The Pete," set for Wednesday, Nov. 21, against Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. at Petersen Events Center. Fans may purchase tickets by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or by ordering online at PittsburghPanthers.com.

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