Friday, October 18
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7 PM ET
Pitt
18-1, 7-0
3
vs
0
North Carolina
7-10, 4-3
1
2
3
F
North Carolina
22
15
23
0
Pitt
25
25
25
3
No. 3 Panthers Sweep UNC as Van Buskirk Joins 1,000-Kill Club
10/18/2019 9:28:00 PM | Volleyball
Pitt Earns Sweep No. 13 of the Season
PITTSBURGH – Senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk crossed the 1,000-kill threshold for her career in a sweep for No. 3 Pitt volleyball (18-1, 7-0) over North Carolina (7-10, 4-3) at Fitzgerald Field House.
The 3-0 decision (25-22, 25-25, 25-23) halted a four-match win streak for the Tar Heels. The sweep was No. 13 of the season for the Panthers and No. 6 of ACC play. Pitt has dropped just one set out of 22 against 2019 ACC competition.
Van Buskirk led Pitt with nine kills (.533) on the night, and now totals 1,006 over her four-year career. She is one of three active Panthers with 1,000 or more kills each, joining redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams and senior right side Nika Markovic.
Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund had a near double-double with nine kills (.533) and 10 digs for the match. Classmate Chinaza Ndee had eight kills on the right side, and redshirt junior outside Zoi Faki contributed five kills off the bench. Ndee and sophomore middle blocker Sabrina Starks paced the Panthers with four blocks apiece.
Four-time ACC Freshman of the Week Lexis Akeo had 34 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas anchored the back row with 11 digs in the sweep.
Pitt hit .286 for the evening while holding the Tar Heels to .125. The Panthers had more kills (40-31), assists (39-30), digs (37-30) and blocks (9.0-7.0).
WITH THE WIN…
Set One: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 22
It was an error-ridden start for the Panthers, with the Panthers surrendering the lead, 11-10, after a 4-0 UNC run. Van Buskirk recorded the 1,000th kill of her career on her third of the match, tying the set at 15. Her milestone sparked a 6-1 run for the Panthers, who reached a 20-16 lead. However, the Tar Heels then outscored Pitt 6-3 to cut the lead to just one (23-22). Pitt was able to finish off the frame after a UNC error and a Williams kill. Lund led the Panthers with six kills on seven attempts for a .857 hitting percentage.
Set Two: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 15
Another slow start put the Panthers behind 4-0 to start the set, but a 7-1 surge put Pitt back on top, 11-7. A 3-0 run extended the margin to 15-9, and then the Panthers completed the frame on a 6-2 run to earn a double-figure victory, 25-15. Pitt hit .370 for the set while holding UNC to just .033 success.
Set Three: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 23
Pitt had two big leads in the frame, up 11-3 and 20-13. The Tar Heels had fight left in them, using a 9-3 run to cut their deficit to just one, 23-22. It took two more match points for the Panthers to seal the sweep, 25-23.
UP NEXT
No. 3 Pitt will host NC State at Fitzgerald Field House Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. Tickets are available by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.
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.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The 3-0 decision (25-22, 25-25, 25-23) halted a four-match win streak for the Tar Heels. The sweep was No. 13 of the season for the Panthers and No. 6 of ACC play. Pitt has dropped just one set out of 22 against 2019 ACC competition.
Van Buskirk led Pitt with nine kills (.533) on the night, and now totals 1,006 over her four-year career. She is one of three active Panthers with 1,000 or more kills each, joining redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams and senior right side Nika Markovic.
Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund had a near double-double with nine kills (.533) and 10 digs for the match. Classmate Chinaza Ndee had eight kills on the right side, and redshirt junior outside Zoi Faki contributed five kills off the bench. Ndee and sophomore middle blocker Sabrina Starks paced the Panthers with four blocks apiece.
Four-time ACC Freshman of the Week Lexis Akeo had 34 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas anchored the back row with 11 digs in the sweep.
Pitt hit .286 for the evening while holding the Tar Heels to .125. The Panthers had more kills (40-31), assists (39-30), digs (37-30) and blocks (9.0-7.0).
WITH THE WIN…
- Pitt earned its 29th consecutive victory when playing at Fitzgerald Field House, marking a school record. Pitt's last loss at the Field House came nearly two years ago, on Oct. 22, 2017.
- The Panthers earned a 7-0 record in ACC play for the third consecutive season.
- Pitt's record improved to 12-6 all-time against North Carolina and 5-1 when playing in Pittsburgh.
- The Panthers extended their winning streak against the Tar Heels to four matches. Pitt's last loss to the Tar Heels came Nov. 13, 2015, in Chapel Hill (3-0).
- Pitt extended its winning streak against North Carolina when playing at Fitzgerald Field House to four matches. The Panthers' last home loss against UNC came Oct. 3, 2014 (3-2)
- The Panthers' record improved to 35-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 8-1 when ranked inside the top five.
Set One: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 22
It was an error-ridden start for the Panthers, with the Panthers surrendering the lead, 11-10, after a 4-0 UNC run. Van Buskirk recorded the 1,000th kill of her career on her third of the match, tying the set at 15. Her milestone sparked a 6-1 run for the Panthers, who reached a 20-16 lead. However, the Tar Heels then outscored Pitt 6-3 to cut the lead to just one (23-22). Pitt was able to finish off the frame after a UNC error and a Williams kill. Lund led the Panthers with six kills on seven attempts for a .857 hitting percentage.
Set Two: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 15
Another slow start put the Panthers behind 4-0 to start the set, but a 7-1 surge put Pitt back on top, 11-7. A 3-0 run extended the margin to 15-9, and then the Panthers completed the frame on a 6-2 run to earn a double-figure victory, 25-15. Pitt hit .370 for the set while holding UNC to just .033 success.
Set Three: No. 3 Pitt 25, North Carolina 23
Pitt had two big leads in the frame, up 11-3 and 20-13. The Tar Heels had fight left in them, using a 9-3 run to cut their deficit to just one, 23-22. It took two more match points for the Panthers to seal the sweep, 25-23.
UP NEXT
No. 3 Pitt will host NC State at Fitzgerald Field House Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. Tickets are available by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.
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.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
NC
UP
Kills
31
40
Errors
19
14
Attempts
96
91
Hitting %
.125
.286
Points
44.0
54.0
Assists
30
39
Aces
6
5
Blocks
7.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
RS
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
OH
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