No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Crushes Orange, 3-0

Friday, October 11

Syracuse, N.Y.

7 PM ET

Pitt

16-1,5-0ACC

Syracuse

4-8,1-4ACC

Pitt

Syracuse

No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Crushes Orange, 3-0

10/11/2019 10:32:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Improve to 5-0 in ACC Play

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Five Panthers contributed five or more kills as the No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (16-1, 5-0) defeated ACC foe Syracuse (4-8, 1-4) in straight sets (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) at the Women's Building Friday night.

The Panthers have won 15 of 16 sets to begin ACC play, with the lone loss at No. 23 Florida State Sunday.

Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund had a team-high eight kills while freshman middle Chiamaka Nwokolo had a career outing with seven on nine attempts for a scorching .778 hitting percentage. The rookie also posted three blocks.

Middles Sabrina Starks and Layne Van Buskirk produced six kills apiece, and redshirt junior outside hitter Zoi Faki had five while hitting .500.

Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas had a team-best nine digs, and freshman setter Lexis Akeo led the Panthers with 36 assists. Junior right side hitter Chinaza Ndee paced Pitt with four blocks.

Pitt handily out-hit the Orange, posting a team percentage of .313 while holding Syracuse to .067. The Panthers had more kills (43-34), assists (38-33), digs (39-37) and blocks (9.0-7.0).

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers earned a 5-0 record in ACC play for the third consecutive season.
Pitt's record improved to 40-11 all-time against the Orange and 13-5 when playing in Syracuse.
The Panthers extended their winning streak against Syracuse to five matches. Pitt's last loss against the Orange Nov. 22, 2015, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh (3-1).
The Panthers extended their winning streak when playing at Syracuse to eight matches. Pitt's last loss when playing on the road against the Orange was Nov. 14, 2008 (3-1).
The Panthers' record improved to 33-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 6-1 when ranked inside the top five.

Set One: No. 3 Pitt 26, Syracuse 24

Pitt earned a 3-0 start to the frame, but the Orange kept it close, with seven ties before taking their first lead, 17-16. A 3-0 run gave Pitt its largest lead (22-19) since the start of the match (3-0), but Syracuse was able to close the gap again and tie it at 22. Syracuse eventually earned set point (24-23), but the Panthers sealed the deal with a 3-0 run to end it, capped by a Lund block (26-24). Van Buskirk led Pitt with five kills in the set, hitting .364.

Set Two: No. 3 Pitt 25, Syracuse 15

A 5-1 start helped the Panthers gain momentum, and a 3-0 run extended Pitt's lead to 16-9. Pitt earned a 22-13 lead following a Markovic dig that Syracuse misplayed. The Panthers ended with a double-figure advantage, 25-15. Nwokolo had four kills on four attempts (1.000) as Pitt hit .444 for the frame.

Set Three: No. 3 Pitt 25, Syracuse 17

Pitt earned an early advantage with a 5-0 run to reach an 11-6 lead. Faki contributed four of her five kills in the frame, with the last to give Pitt a 17-10 margin. A 3-0 run helped Pitt reach the 20-point mark, up 20-15, and then the Panthers outscored the Orange 5-2 to win the match.

UP NEXT
No. 3 Pitt will visit Boston College (13-4, 4-0 ACC) for a televised match Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on RSN in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2019 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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