Saturday, November 16
Durham, N.C.
1 PM ET
Pitt
26-1,15-0ACC
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at
0
Duke
11-16,5-10ACC
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Pitt
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Duke
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No. 2 Pitt Claims Outright 2019 ACC Volleyball Title
11/16/2019 3:55:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers Earn Automatic Qualifier Bid to NCAA Tournament
DURHAM, N.C. – No. 2 Pitt volleyball (26-1, 15-0) became the nation's first program to secure an Automatic Qualifier bid to the 2019 Division I NCAA Tournament by winning the outright ACC Championship with a sweep at Duke (12-16, 5-10) Saturday afternoon.
Pitt downed the Blue Devils 25-16, 25-14, 25-17. The win marks Pitt's third consecutive championship and second consecutive outright title. Following the regular season, the Panthers will learn their seed during the NCAA Selection Show, set for Sunday, Dec. 1.
Junior right side hitter Chinaza Ndee had a match-high 12 kills on .526 hitting. She was one of two Panthers to record double figures in the scoring column, followed by classmate Kayla Lund with 11. Lund added seven digs for the Panthers.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams had a well-rounded stat line of eight kills and eight digs, and senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk had a near-perfect day with seven kills on .700 hitting.
Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 32 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas picked up 15 digs.
The Panthers dominated nearly every major stat, producing more kills (44-33), assists (43-30), service aces (2-1) and digs (45-32) while out-hitting Duke (.364-.163). Blocks were tied at 5.0 apiece.
WITH THE WIN…
Set One: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 16
Following three early ties, Duke took a 5-3 lead on a 3-0 run. Pitt responded with a 10-1 run to go ahead, 14-7, and did not look back. The Panthers pushed the lead to 21-12 following a 4-0 run, and finished off the frame to go ahead, 1-0. Pitt hit a solid .500 for the set, led by five kills from Ndee.
Set Two: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 14
After a 2-2 tie, Pitt surged with a 9-0 run to earn an 11-2 margin. The Panthers kept Duke at bay with a 6-3 run to gain a 17-5 lead, and kept its double-figure advantage for the remainder of the stanza. Pitt hit .231 while holding the Blue Devils to .033.
Set Three: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 17
The Panthers dominated the final set, using an early 10-1 run to gain a double-figure margin (16-6). Pitt made it 21-9 after a 3-0 run. Duke fought to stay alive, coming within seven (24-17, but the Panthers shut the door on the sweep.
UP NEXT
The first of the Panthers' final two regular season home matches at Petersen Events Center will be Friday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m. ET against Florida State. Tickets are available online at PittsburghPanthers.com or by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488).
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
Pitt downed the Blue Devils 25-16, 25-14, 25-17. The win marks Pitt's third consecutive championship and second consecutive outright title. Following the regular season, the Panthers will learn their seed during the NCAA Selection Show, set for Sunday, Dec. 1.
Junior right side hitter Chinaza Ndee had a match-high 12 kills on .526 hitting. She was one of two Panthers to record double figures in the scoring column, followed by classmate Kayla Lund with 11. Lund added seven digs for the Panthers.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams had a well-rounded stat line of eight kills and eight digs, and senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk had a near-perfect day with seven kills on .700 hitting.
Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 32 assists, and redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas picked up 15 digs.
The Panthers dominated nearly every major stat, producing more kills (44-33), assists (43-30), service aces (2-1) and digs (45-32) while out-hitting Duke (.364-.163). Blocks were tied at 5.0 apiece.
WITH THE WIN…
- Pitt secured the outright 2019 ACC Championship for Pitt, marking the Panthers' second consecutive outright title and third consecutive ACC Championship.
- The Panthers extended their best start to an ACC season in program history, improving to 15-0.
- Pitt extended its road winning streak to 14 matches. The Panthers' last road loss came Oct. 28, 2018, at Duke (3-1).
- The Panthers swept the season series against Duke. Pitt hosted the Blue Devils thirteen days prior at Fitzgerald Field House, winning 3-0 (Sunday, Nov. 3).
- Pitt's record improved to 11-8 all-time against Duke and 3-3 when playing in Durham.
- The Panthers' win streak against the Blue Devils extended to three matches, with Pitt's last loss against Duke coming Oct. 28, 2018, at Cameron Indoor Stadium (3-1).
- Pitt snapped a three-match losing streak when playing in Durham. The Panthers' last win at Cameron Indoor Stadium came Nov. 7, 2014 (3-2).
- The Panthers' record improved to 43-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 16-1 when ranked inside the top five.
Set One: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 16
Following three early ties, Duke took a 5-3 lead on a 3-0 run. Pitt responded with a 10-1 run to go ahead, 14-7, and did not look back. The Panthers pushed the lead to 21-12 following a 4-0 run, and finished off the frame to go ahead, 1-0. Pitt hit a solid .500 for the set, led by five kills from Ndee.
Set Two: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 14
After a 2-2 tie, Pitt surged with a 9-0 run to earn an 11-2 margin. The Panthers kept Duke at bay with a 6-3 run to gain a 17-5 lead, and kept its double-figure advantage for the remainder of the stanza. Pitt hit .231 while holding the Blue Devils to .033.
Set Three: No. 2 Pitt 25, Duke 17
The Panthers dominated the final set, using an early 10-1 run to gain a double-figure margin (16-6). Pitt made it 21-9 after a 3-0 run. Duke fought to stay alive, coming within seven (24-17, but the Panthers shut the door on the sweep.
UP NEXT
The first of the Panthers' final two regular season home matches at Petersen Events Center will be Friday, Nov. 22, at 6 p.m. ET against Florida State. Tickets are available online at PittsburghPanthers.com or by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488).
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
UP
Duke
Kills
44
33
Errors
8
17
Attempts
99
98
Hitting %
.364
.163
Points
51.0
39.0
Assists
43
30
Aces
2
1
Blocks
5.0
5.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
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