No. 20 Pitt Sweeps Ohio in Final Tune-Up

Saturday, August 18

Athens, Ohio

1 PM EST

Pitt

Ohio

No. 20 Pitt Sweeps Ohio in Final Tune-Up

8/18/2018 3:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Panthers Officially Open 2018 Season Next Week

ATHENS, Ohio – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team, ranked No. 20 in the country, swept Ohio in its final tune-up of the season Saturday, August 18 at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.

Pitt opened the match with a come-from-behind win, taking the first set 25-22. The Panthers dominated the Bobcats 25-14 in the second set, before earning the sweep with a 25-23 victory in the final set.

"I'm really pleased with the team's performance," said head coach Dan Fisher. "We were able to throw a totally different lineup out during each set and came away with wins in all three against a team that I think is going to be very good this year. You always see things a little differently when its game time and we saw some areas we need to work on, but overall very positive.

Pitt hit .321 on offense with 35 kills, while posting 30 digs and 16 block assists on defense.

"We took advantage of this exhibition game," said Fisher. "It helped prepare us for next week and it made it feel like we already played a match before our home opener."

Junior Layne Van Buskirk led the Panthers' attack with nine kills and a .667 attack percentage, while redshirt junior Stephanie Williams, junior Nika Markovic and sophomore Kayla Lund each tallied seven.

Aiding the offense was senior Kamalani Akeo, who recorded 19 assists. Akeo also led the defense with 11 digs, while sophomore Chinaza Ndee posted six block assists. Van Buskirk and Markovic each finished with six.

UP NEXT
Pitt opens the 2018 season Friday, Aug. 24 as they welcome Butler, No. 24 Cal Poly and Pepperdine to the Fitzgerald Field House for the Panther Challenge, the first of two home tournaments.

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