No. 20 Pitt Sweeps Waves, 3-0, to Win Panther Challenge

Saturday, August 25

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM EST

Pitt

3-0

Pepperdine

1-2

Pepperdine

Pitt

No. 20 Pitt Sweeps Waves, 3-0, to Win Panther Challenge

8/25/2018 9:23:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats All-Tournament Team

The Panthers Improve to 3-0 on the Season

PITTSBURGH – The No. 20 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team improved to 3-0 with a sweep of Pepperdine (1-2) Saturday night to win the Panther Challenge at Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers dropped just one set out of 10 played over the two-day home-opening tournament, sweeping Butler, 3-0, and defeating No. 24 Cal Poly, 4-1.

Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Lund was dubbed Tournament MVP, contributing 42 kills over the three matches with 4.2 kills per set on a .468 percentage. She produced 32 digs and had three service aces. The Panthers' other two All-Tournament honorees were junior middle hitter Layne Van Buskirk and junior right side Nika Markovic.

Against Pepperdine, Lund paced the Pitt offense with 12 kills on 26 attempts for a .423 percentage, while tallying a team-high 12 digs to mark her second double-double of the weekend. Van Buskirk and Markovic each registered double figures in the kill column, posting 11 apiece. Senior setter Kamalani Akeo contributed 25 assists for the match. Freshman middle hitter Sabrina Starks joined the starting lineup for the first time and hit .500 on the day with six blocks.

The Pitt squad had the hefty advantage on offense, posting a team attack percentage of .364 compared to Pepperdine's .183. The Panthers also out-blocked the Waves, 11.0 to 4.0.

Set One: No. 20 Pitt 25, Pepperdine 23

Despite trailing by as many as three early in the first set, the Panthers battled back to tie it, 8-8. Pitt subsequently earned its first lead, 9-8, on a solo block by Starks. The Panthers did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the frame. After three more ties, a 5-1 Pitt run resulted in the Panthers' largest margin of the set, up 16-12. Later, a 6-3 run by the Waves put the set into its sixth tie, 21-21 but the Panthers held off the Pepperdine attack to win, 25-23.

Set Two: No. 20 Pitt 25, Pepperdine 20

The Panthers came out strong to start the second set, reaching an early 6-2 lead, however, Pepperdine answered with a 3-0 run to come within one point, down 6-5. Pitt blew the set open by outscoring the Waves 12-4 over the next 16 points, reaching a double-figure lead of 21-11. However, Pepperdine used a 7-1 run to cut its deficit to 22-18, but Pitt was able to secure a 25-20 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

Set Three: No. 20 Pitt 25, Pepperdine 13

Pitt continued to dominate into the third set, earning a 13-7 margin. The Waves cut their deficit to as few as three, down 14-11 following a 4-1 run, but the Panthers ended the match in dominant fashion, on an 11-2 steamroll to win, 25-13. Pitt hit an even .500 in the third set – its best percentage of the match – with a combined 16 kills and two errors. Van Buskirk had five kills in the frame, followed by Markovic with four, while Starks and Lund each with three.

UP NEXT
No. 20 Pitt will travel to South Orange, N.J., for a trio of matches at the Seton Hall Classic. The Panthers will face Oklahoma Friday, Aug. 31, at 4:30 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday, Sept. 1, against the host Pirates (10 a.m.) and VCU (4 p.m.).

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