No. 10 Pitt Trounces Georgia Tech, Records 14th Sweep

Friday, November 2

Atlanta, Ga.

7 PM EST

Pitt

24-1, 12-1ACC

Georgia Tech

15-11, 4-9ACC

Pitt

Georgia Tech

Photo by: Jeffrey Gamza/Pitt Athletics

No. 10 Pitt Trounces Georgia Tech, Records 14th Sweep

11/2/2018 10:24:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Pitt Bounces Back with 3-0 Road Win

ATLANTA – Junior middle hitter Layne Van Buskirk posted a blistering attack percentage of .824 with a match-high 14 kills as the No. 10 Pitt volleyball team (24-1, 12-1 ACC) bounced back with a sweep of Georgia Tech (15-11, 4-9 ACC) Friday at O'Keefe Gymnasium.

"It was a super-efficient night for us offensively," head coach Dan Fisher said. "All our starters played well offensively and it was probably our lowest error performance that I can remember. Clearly, Georgia Tech had no answer for Layne [Van Buskirk] so it was just a question of whether we could pass well enough to get her the ball. I thought we also did a good job as a team serving tough, keeping them off the net a lot. When one of their passers got in trouble we did a good job keeping the pressure on them. I'm pleased with not just the win but the way we did. We know we'll be in another tough environment in two days so we'll get ready for that."

The Panthers hit a season-best .429 against the Yellow Jackets, with 46 kills on 91 attempts and just seven errors. Pitt remains atop the ACC standings with the win.

Van Buskirk's attack percentage is a season best. Her 14 kills came on 17 attempts with zero errors, and she led the Panthers with six blocks.

Junior right side Nika Markovic was the only other Panther with double figures in the kill column (12), hitting .385. Sophomore outside Kayla Lund was close to a double-double with nine digs and eight kills and contributed a career-high five service aces.

Senior setter Kamalani Akeo paced Pitt with 22 assists and nine digs.

The Panthers handily out-killed Georgia Tech (46-33) and had the upper hand in assists (44-31), digs (39-33) and blocks (8.0-4.0). Pitt held the Yellow Jackets to .198 attacking success.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 24-1.
Pitt extended its best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 12-1.
Pitt improved its 2018 away record to 6-1, and 5-1 against ACC opponents.
The Panthers improved their all-time record against Georgia Tech to 7-1 overall and 4-0 when playing in Atlanta.
The Panthers extended their win streak against the Yellow Jackets to seven matches. Pitt's only loss to Georgia Tech came Aug. 24, 2007, at a neutral site (3-1).
Pitt improved its record at the O'Keefe Gymnasium to 4-0. Pitt's last win in Atlanta was on Nov. 19, 2017, (3-0).

Set One: No. 10 Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 12

Despite falling into an early two-point deficit, the latest being 6-4, the Panthers found their first lead (8-7) following a 4-1 run capped by a Lund ace. Pitt found its momentum and ended the frame outscoring the Yellow Jackets 17-5 to win handily, 25-12.

Van Buskirk and Williams led the way for Pitt with four kills apiece in the set as the Panthers out-hit Georgia Tech .560 to .200.

Set Two: No. 10 Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 19

An early 3-0 run put the Panthers into a 4-1 lead, and Pitt extended its lead further (7-3) following another 3-0 surge. The Panthers earned a 13-6 lead with a 5-1 run, but the Yellow Jackets later cut their deficit to 16-11 following a 3-0 run of their own. Pitt reached the 20-point mark following a block by Lund and Van Buskirk (20-12). Georgia Tech didn't fold, outscoring the Panthers 7-3 to make it 23-19 before a Williams kill and a block from Williams and Van Buskirk ended the set with Pitt on top, 25-19.

The Panthers held Georgia Tech to .026 hitting for the frame while posting a .293 percentage of their own. Van Buskirk had a team-high seven kills in the set.

Set Three: No. 10 Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 19

It was a close set for the first 13 points, with Georgia Tech earning a 7-6 lead following a 3-1 run. Pitt stormed back to take a 15-7 lead on an 8-0 run, which included three consecutive Lund aces. The Yellow Jackets used a 6-2 run to cut Pitt's lead to five (19-14), but the Panthers held steady with a 3-0 run to make it 22-14. Pitt ultimately claimed the match with a 25-19 win in the third set.

The Panthers hit .520 in the third frame, with 14 kills and just one error on 25 attempts. Lund posted a team-high four kills on six attempts with no errors.

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt will wrap up its four-match road trip at Clemson Sunday, Nov. 4, 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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