Nationally Ranked Panthers Sweep VCU to Win Seton Hall Challenge

Saturday, September 1

South Orange, N.J.

4 PM EST

Pitt

VCU

Photo by: Alex Mowrey/Pitt Athletics

Nationally Ranked Panthers Sweep VCU to Win Seton Hall Challenge

9/1/2018 7:17:00 PM | Volleyball

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Pitt Completes Weekend Sweep to Remain Undefeated

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The No. 14 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team was crowned tournament champions of the Seton Hall Classic after the Panthers completed a weekend sweep with a final straight sets win against VCU Saturday afternoon in Walsh Gymnasium.

The victory marks Pitt's sixth win of the season, continuing the nationally Panthers undefeated reign. Pitt entered the final match 2-0 after previously defeating Oklahoma (3-1) and Seton Hall (3-0) earlier in the tournament.

The Panthers dominated VCU (1-5), who the squad last played in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, sweeping the Rams 25-16, 25-20, 25-11. Pitt's defense played a huge role in the victory, holding VCU to a .036 clip, and out-dug the Rams 40-21.

"The biggest story of the match was that we won the digs battle," said head coach Dan Fisher. "I don't remember a time we doubled another team's digs. It was good to see us playing so hard in the back row. We also had our best serving game of the weekend, which I challenged the team to do prior to the match."

Leading the defensive charge was redshirt senior Angela Seman, who tallied 13 digs, while sophomore Kayla Lund added 10. At the net, juniors Layne Van Buskirk and Nika Markovic each finished with three blocks apiece.

Offensively, Lund paced the Panthers once again, completing her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills. She now has hit for double-digits in every contest of the season. Markovic also posted 10 kills to aid in the attack, while middle hitters Chinaza Ndee and Van Buskirk both hit tallied percentages of .500 or better. Ndee completed five kills on six attempts with no errors to hit .833, while Van Buskirk finished even at .500 and seven kills.

Setting up the attack were setters Kamalani Akeo and Kylee Levers, who recorded 18 and 17 assists respectively.

"It was great to have a really balanced offensive attack, said Fisher. "I thought both of our setters got many people involved and kept a good blocking team guessing."

On the weekend, Lund finished with 40 kills and 4.00 per set, while Van Buskirk hit .400 with 28 kills and had nine blocks.

Set One: No. 14 Pitt 25, VCU 16

What began as a tight race between Pitt and VCU turned into a dominating performance by the Panthers as the squad hit .265 with 16 kills in the opening set to defeat the Rams 25-16.

Trailing 7-6 in the early points, Pitt's offense came alive putting together an 8-0 run to get out to a 14-7 lead. Lund led the spark with four consecutive kills, eventually ending the set with a team-leading seven. VCU called a timeout to slow the Panthers, but Pitt continued its wrath extending its lead to its largest of 10 points. The Panthers stayed in control the remainder of the set en route to the victory.

Set Two: No. 14 Pitt 25, VCU 20

In a close second set, it took Pitt the entirety of the frame to find a substantial lead over the Rams as the two battled closely. The Panthers pulled out the win in the final points, after taking a late timeout as VCU worked its way back within one, 19-18.

Pitt returned to the court to score four straight points, which featured a clutch block by redshirt junior Stephanie Williams and Van Buskirk, an ace by Seman and a kill by Van Buskirk. Markovic gave the Panthers set point, while Van Buskirk closed out the set with a kill for the victory.

Set Three: No. 14 Pitt 25, VCU 11

Pitt didn't miss a step entering the third set, recording the first five points of the frame to force a quick timeout by VCU. Errors plagued the Rams as they accounted for three of the Panthers' points, with the other two coming on an ace by Akeo and a kill by Markovic.

The squad continued to dominate giving up just a single point to VCU through the first 10 of the set. Three kills by Williams extended Pitt's lead to 15-3. The Rams opted not to call a timeout throughout the remainder of the frame as the Panthers went on to steamroll their opponents 25-11 to end the match.

UP NEXT
Pitt returns home Sept. 7-8 for the Panther Invitational, which will feature tough opponents in nationally ranked Washington, Dayton and Kennesaw State.

The Panthers will also host Championship Weekend, an event that will welcome back all alumni as we honor the 2017 ACC Championship Team. Alumni looking for more information can contact Assistant Athletic Director of the Varsity Letter Club John Pelusi at 412-383-0556 or jpelusi@athletics.pitt.edu.

All fans are welcome to join as we reveal the 2017 ACC Championship ring prior to the start of the Pitt-Washington match Saturday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.

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