No. 10 Pitt Claims Outright ACC Volleyball Title

Sunday, November 18

Coral Gables, Fla.

1 PM EST

Pitt

28-1, 16-1

Miami

13-11, 9-8

Pitt

Miami

No. 10 Pitt Claims Outright ACC Volleyball Title

11/18/2018 5:23:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Defeat Canes in Five Sets

MIAMI – The No. 10 Pitt volleyball team (28-1, 16-1 ACC) claimed the outright 2018 ACC title with a five-set win at Miami (13-11, 9-8 ACC) Sunday at Knight Sports Complex.

The Hurricanes pushed Pitt to its second five-set match of the season (22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13). The Panthers last played five sets in a 3-2 win over Kennesaw State Sept. 7 at Fitzgerald Field House.

For the second consecutive match, junior right side Nika Markovic led Pitt in kills, posting a season-high 19. She added five digs, five blocks and three service aces. Junior outside hitter Stephanie Williams followed with 16 kills, eight digs and three service aces. Sophomore outside Kayla Lund and junior middle Layne Van Buskirk each posted 11 kills. Lund rounded out her 13th double-double of the year with 12 digs, and Van Buskirk contributed a match-high nine blocks.

Senior setter Kamalani Akeo led the Panthers with 34 assists and added eight digs. Redshirt senior libero Angela Seman also had eight digs.

The Panthers out-hit the Canes, .277 to .257. The teams each posted 66 kills and 64 assists. Pitt had the upper hand in blocks (15.0-11.0), while the Canes had more digs (45-43).

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers secured the outright 2018 ACC Volleyball Championship. Pitt earned at least a share of the title with a 3-1 win at Florida State Friday in Tallahassee, Fla.
Pitt earned its most wins in a season (28) since the Panthers went 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 (28).
The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 28-1.
Pitt extended its best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 16-1.
The Panthers improved their 2018 away record to 9-1, and 8-1 against ACC opponents.
Pitt extended its win streak against the Hurricanes to six matches. The Panthers won the team's previous meeting this season, 3-0, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh (Sept. 28).
The Panthers improved their all-time record against the Hurricanes to 9-4 overall and 4-2 when playing in Miami.
Pitt earned its third consecutive win at Knight Complex. The Panthers' last loss in Miami came Oct. 11, 2013 (3-0).

Set One: Miami 25, No. 10 Pitt 22

The Hurricanes won the first three points, and the Panthers could not recover. A 5-1 run gave Miami an 18-11 lead, and ultimately brought the margin to eight points (21-13). Pitt outscored the Canes 9-3 to cut its deficit to 24-22, but fell on set point (25-22).

Miami out-hit the Panthers, .314 to .267, and had the upper hand in kills (17-12). Pitt had zero blocks in the first frame.

Set Two: No. 10 Pitt 25, Miami 17

Pitt led wire-to-wire in the second set, fueled by a 5-0 run that gave the Panthers a 10-5 lead. An 8-2 surge pushed the margin to double-figures (21-11) and a 3-0 run brought up set point for Pitt (24-14). The Canes didn't go quietly, using a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 24-17, but a Van Buskirk kill ended the frame in Pitt's favor (25-17).

The Panthers hit .385 in the set compared to Miami's .222 output.

Set Three: No. 10 Pitt 25, Miami 22

It was another wire-to-wire win for Pitt in the third, sparked by a 3-0 run which put the Panthers ahead, 8-4. A 4-1 run, capped by a Williams ace, pushed the margin to 16-10, but the Canes answered with a 3-0 run of their own. Later, Miami put together a 6-1 run to tie the set, 20-20. Pitt finished the set outscoring the Canes, 5-2, to win 25-22 and go up 2-1 in the match.

The Panthers posted a .333 hitting percentage while the Canes hit .407.

Set Four: Miami 26, No. 10 Pitt 24

Miami opened up the set with a 5-1 lead, but the Panthers answered with a 4-0 run to tie it up at 6-6. The Panthers found their first lead, 12-11, following a 3-0 run. After five ties, a 3-0 run gave the advantage back to Miami (19-17). Pitt took it back 20-19, following a 3-0 run of its own, and then the set tied for the 10th time, 21-21. The teams battled it out into extra points, with Miami ultimately claiming the frame, 26-24.

The Panthers hit .200 for the frame, while Miami registered .235.

Set Five: No. 10 Pit 15, Miami 13

Pitt found a good margin with a 5-0 run to go ahead, 7-3, but Miami later used a 5-0 run to claim the lead, 10-9. After two ties, the last at 11-11, the Panthers outscored the Hurricanes, 4-2, and ended the match on a Van Buskirk block to win, 15-13.

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt volleyball's regular season finale, dubbed "Party at The Pete," will be held 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.
The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available via the WatchESPN app.

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