Friday, August 24
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7 PM EST
Pitt
2-0
3
vs
1
Cal Poly
1-1
1
2
3
4
F
Cal Poly
25
15
17
19
1
Pitt
22
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics
No. 20 Pitt Downs No. 24 Cal Poly, 3-1
8/24/2018 9:37:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers Defeat First Ranked Opponent Since 2016
PITTSBURGH – Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Lund produced a career-high 20 kills in a 3-1 win for the 20th-ranked Pitt volleyball team over No. 24 Cal Poly Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House.
The Panthers (2-0) earned their second win of the day, having defeated Butler (0-1) earlier in the afternoon, 3-0, at the Panther Challenge. After dropping the first set, 25-22, Pitt came back to win the final three: 25-15, 25-17, 25-19. The Mustangs dropped to 1-1 on the season.
By defeating the 24th-ranked Mustangs, Pitt recorded its first win against a ranked opponent since it topped No. 23 Dayton in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament (Dec. 2, 2016).
In addition to Lund, redshirt sophomore setter Kylee Levers had a career day, tallying 21 assists. Right side hitter Nika Markovic hit .419 for the match, with 16 kills on 31 attempts with three errors. Junior middle Layne Van Buskirk was the third Panther to reach double figures in the kill column with 10.
As a team, Pitt out-blocked the Mustangs, 19-14, as Van Buskirk led the statistic with six. The Panthers also had the advantage on the attack at .387, with Cal Poly posting .151.
Set One: No. 24 Cal Poly 25, No. 20 Pitt 22
The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-1 lead, forcing an early Panthers timeout. Another 4-0 run by Cal Poly gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the set, 10-2. They tied that lead three times further into the set, until Pitt used a 9-2 run to make it a one-point frame, 15-14. Pitt continued to close in on Cal Poly, earning the first tie of the match, 20-20, however, the Mustangs surged with a 4-0 run to create set point, 24-20. Pitt claimed two more points before Cal Poly ended the set, 25-22.
Set Two: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 15
Pitt found its answer in the second set. Following a 2-2 tie, the Panthers outscored the Mustangs 10-3 to reach an early 12-4 lead. Cal Poly came as close as within five points, down 15-9, but the Panthers were resilient and outscored the Mustangs 10-6 to end the set, 25-15.
The Panthers held Cal Poly to .000 success in the attacking column. Lund paced Pitt with five kills on nine attempts with one error, and Markovic followed with four kills on six attempts with one error.
Set Three: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 17
The third set featured six ties and four lead changes, all before either team reached double figures in the points column. Pitt earned a 12-9 advantage following a 3-0 run, and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the set. The Panthers kept rolling, finding their footing and ending the frame on a 4-0 run to win, 25-17, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Lund produced a set-high six kills on nine attempts with one error (.556), and Markovic posted four kills and two digs. Pitt limited the Mustangs to .111 attacking, while hitting .440 from its own side.
Set Four: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 19
Pitt led wire-to-wire in the fourth set, holding off three ties, including one as late as 16-16. The Panthers stayed strong and ended the match by outscoring Cal Poly, 9-3, including a 3-0 final surge to win, 25-19.
UP NEXT
No. 20 Pitt will host Pepperdine to close out the Panther Challenge Saturday at 7 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available via the WatchESPN app.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers (2-0) earned their second win of the day, having defeated Butler (0-1) earlier in the afternoon, 3-0, at the Panther Challenge. After dropping the first set, 25-22, Pitt came back to win the final three: 25-15, 25-17, 25-19. The Mustangs dropped to 1-1 on the season.
By defeating the 24th-ranked Mustangs, Pitt recorded its first win against a ranked opponent since it topped No. 23 Dayton in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament (Dec. 2, 2016).
In addition to Lund, redshirt sophomore setter Kylee Levers had a career day, tallying 21 assists. Right side hitter Nika Markovic hit .419 for the match, with 16 kills on 31 attempts with three errors. Junior middle Layne Van Buskirk was the third Panther to reach double figures in the kill column with 10.
As a team, Pitt out-blocked the Mustangs, 19-14, as Van Buskirk led the statistic with six. The Panthers also had the advantage on the attack at .387, with Cal Poly posting .151.
Set One: No. 24 Cal Poly 25, No. 20 Pitt 22
The Mustangs jumped out to a 6-1 lead, forcing an early Panthers timeout. Another 4-0 run by Cal Poly gave the Mustangs their largest lead of the set, 10-2. They tied that lead three times further into the set, until Pitt used a 9-2 run to make it a one-point frame, 15-14. Pitt continued to close in on Cal Poly, earning the first tie of the match, 20-20, however, the Mustangs surged with a 4-0 run to create set point, 24-20. Pitt claimed two more points before Cal Poly ended the set, 25-22.
Set Two: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 15
Pitt found its answer in the second set. Following a 2-2 tie, the Panthers outscored the Mustangs 10-3 to reach an early 12-4 lead. Cal Poly came as close as within five points, down 15-9, but the Panthers were resilient and outscored the Mustangs 10-6 to end the set, 25-15.
The Panthers held Cal Poly to .000 success in the attacking column. Lund paced Pitt with five kills on nine attempts with one error, and Markovic followed with four kills on six attempts with one error.
Set Three: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 17
The third set featured six ties and four lead changes, all before either team reached double figures in the points column. Pitt earned a 12-9 advantage following a 3-0 run, and did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the set. The Panthers kept rolling, finding their footing and ending the frame on a 4-0 run to win, 25-17, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Lund produced a set-high six kills on nine attempts with one error (.556), and Markovic posted four kills and two digs. Pitt limited the Mustangs to .111 attacking, while hitting .440 from its own side.
Set Four: No. 20 Pitt 25, No. 24 Cal Poly 19
Pitt led wire-to-wire in the fourth set, holding off three ties, including one as late as 16-16. The Panthers stayed strong and ended the match by outscoring Cal Poly, 9-3, including a 3-0 final surge to win, 25-19.
UP NEXT
No. 20 Pitt will host Pepperdine to close out the Panther Challenge Saturday at 7 p.m. at Fitzgerald Field House. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra, available via the WatchESPN app.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
CP
UP
Kills
42
61
Errors
23
15
Attempts
126
119
Hitting %
.151
.387
Points
52.0
74.5
Assists
41
60
Aces
2
3
Blocks
8.0
10.5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS
/ VolleyballMH
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