No. 10 Panthers Remain Atop ACC with 3-1 Win at Clemson

Sunday, November 4

Clemson, S.C.

1 PM EST

Pitt

25-1, 13-1ACC

Clemson

14-13,5-9ACC

Pitt

Clemson

No. 10 Panthers Remain Atop ACC with 3-1 Win at Clemson

11/4/2018 4:27:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Pitt Completes Road Trip with Victory over Tigers

CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 10 Pitt volleyball team (25-1, 13-1 ACC) completed a four-match road swing with a 3-1 victory at Clemson (14-13, 5-9 ACC) Sunday at Jervey Gym.

"It's nice to get a win on the road against a really good team in a tough environment," head coach Dan Fisher said. "I thought, for a lot of the game, that we were pretty average defensively. We struggled to figure out how to block balls. We were getting good production offensively in the middle, from both our middles, but our defense wasn't always there at the net. It was nice to see us adjust in the fourth set and start blocking some balls."

With the win (26-24, 25-22, 19-25, 25-16), the Panthers remain atop the ACC standings with just one loss.

Junior right side Nika Markovic led the way for the Pitt offense with 16 kills, followed by junior middle Layne Van Buskirk with 13 kills. Van Buskirk made just one error on 23 attempts for a .522 attack percentage. Markovic added nine digs and six blocks for the Panthers.

Sophomore middle Chinaza Ndee had seven kills with just one error on 11 attempts to hit .545, and classmate Kayla Lund had a near double-double with nine kills and eight digs.

Senior setter Kamalani Akeo had a team-high 27 assists and contributed eight digs.

As a team, the Panthers had a slight edge in hitting percentage (.258-.256), kills (55-53), assists (51-49), and digs (48-37). The Tigers had the advantage in blocking (13.0-10.0).

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers extended their best start to a season in school history, improving to 25-1.
Pitt extended its best start to ACC play in program history, improving to 13-1.
The Panthers improved their 2018 away record to 7-1, and 6-1 against ACC opponents.
Pitt improved its all-time record against the Tigers to 7-1 overall and 4-0 when playing at Clemson.
The Panthers extended their win streak against the Tigers to seven matches. Pitt's only loss to Clemson came Aug. 30, 1997, at a neutral site (3-1).

Set One: No. 10 Pitt 26, Clemson 24

An early 3-0 run gave Pitt a 4-2 advantage. The Panthers kept pace until Clemson used a 3-0 run to gain a 10-9 lead and did not surrender it until a 3-0 run put Pitt ahead, 19-18. Six ties later, the set tied at 24-24, Pitt claimed the final two points on a kill from Lund and a Clemson attack error, 26-24.

The set saw 18 total ties as the Tigers out-hit Pitt, .333 to .225. Van Buskirk and Markovic paced the Panthers with four kills apiece.

Set Two: No. 10 Pitt 25, Clemson 22

Just like the first set, Pitt used a 3-0 run to go ahead, 4-2, capped by a solo block from Markovic. The Panthers gained a 10-7 lead, but Clemson answered with a 3-0 run of its own to tie the set at 10. Following three more ties, the latest being 14-14, a 7-2 run gave the Tigers a 20-16 lead. Pitt clawed back with a 9-2 run to end the frame with a 25-22 win, going up 2-0 for the match.

The Panthers hit .480 for the set, with 15 kills on 25 attempts with just three errors.

Set Three: Clemson 25, No. 10 Pitt 19

After Pitt led 2-1, the Tigers used a 16-6 run to gain a nine-point lead, 17-8. Pitt cut its deficit to 17-11 following a 3-0 run, but Clemson immediately responded with a 4-0 run to make it a double-figure hole for Pitt, down 21-11. The Panthers fought through five set points with a 5-0 run but ultimately fell, 25-19.

Pitt hit just .129 for the frame, compared to Clemson's .357 output.

Set Four: No. 10 Pitt 25, Clemson 16

The Panthers opened the fourth set with a 3-0 run, capped by a Markovic and Ndee block. Pitt never looked back, leading 17-8 following another 3-0 run. Clemson came as close as 19-15, after a 4-0 run, but Pitt closed the match outscoring the Tigers 6-1, winning the fourth set, 25-16.

Pitt hit .250 in the fourth set and limited the Tigers to a .052 attack percentage.

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt will host Senior Day against Duke, Sunday, Nov. 11, at 1 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. 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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