No. 2 Pitt Prevails in Five-Set Test by Georgia Tech

Friday, November 8

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM ET

Pitt

24-1, 13-0

Georgia Tech

16-8, 9-4

Georgia Tech

Pitt

No. 2 Pitt Prevails in Five-Set Test by Georgia Tech

11/8/2019 10:49:00 PM | Volleyball

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Panthers Improve to 13-0 in ACC

PITTSBURGH – No. 2 Pitt volleyball (24-1, 13-0) survived a five-set test by Georgia Tech (16-8, 9-4) Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House.

Although Pitt's 26-set win streak and eight-match sweep streak ended at the hands of the Yellow Jackets, the Panthers remain at the top of the ACC standings with their best start ever to league play at 13-0. Pitt has won 39 out of 42 ACC sets played.

Four Panthers recorded double-figure kills, led by junior right side Chinaza Ndee with 19 on .500 hitting. Classmate Kayla Lund followed with 14, and redshirt senior Stephanie Williams had 12. Senior middle Layne Van Buskirk rounded out the quartet with 11 kills.

Williams posted her team-high fifth double-double of the season with 23 digs to go along with her 12 kills.

Sophomore middle Sabrina Starks provided a spark with a match-high six blocks. Six-time ACC Freshman of the Week Lexis Akeo posted 43 assists and seven digs.

Pitt held on for the win despite being out-killed by the Yellow Jackets (70-67). Georgia Tech also had the advantage in assists (66-62) and digs (75-66). The Panthers had more service aces (6-1) and posted a better hitting percentage (.311-.293). Blocks were tied, 9.5 apiece.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers earned their 100th ACC victory as a member of the conference. The Panthers joined the league prior to the 2013 season.
Pitt extended its best start to an ACC season in program history, improving to 13-0.
Pitt extended its longest winning streak when playing at Fitzgerald Field House to 33 consecutive matches. Pitt's last loss at the Field House came Oct. 22, 2017, against NC State (3-1).
The Panthers' record improved to 9-1 all-time against Georgia Tech and 5-0 when playing in Pittsburgh.
Pit's winning streak against the Yellow Jackets extended to nine matches. The Panthers' lone loss to Georgia Tech came in the first meeting: Aug. 24, 2007 (3-1).
The Panthers' record improved to 41-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 14-1 when ranked inside the top five.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Panthers (24-1, 13-0) are the lone Division I volleyball team to outscore each of their 2019 opponents.
Despite its lone loss to then-ranked No. 4 Penn State (Sept. 22), the Panthers outscored the Nittany Lions in five sets (26-28, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 14-16), 111-110.

Set One: No. 2 Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 17

The first set was close but Panthers used small runs to lengthen their lead. A 3-0 surge gave Pitt a 13-9 lead, and later another 3-0 run pushed the advantage to 22-16. The Panthers closed the frame on a 3-0 run to earn a 25-17 win. The Panthers hit a solid .485 in the set with a team-best four kills by Ndee.

Set Two: Georgia Tech 25, No. 2 Pitt 18

A slow start put the Panthers behind 7-2 early in the set. Pitt cut its deficit to 14-10 following a 4-1 run, but the Yellow Jackets were able to hold off the Panthers with a 3-0 run to take an 18-11 lead. Tech finished the frame on a 4-1 run to end Pitt's 26-set win streak. The Yellow Jackets hit .471 in the set while holding the Panthers to .267.

Set Three: No. 2 Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 20

An early 3-0 run put Georgia Tech in front, 7-5. Pitt trailed by as many as five, down 18-13, but ended the frame on a dominant 12-2 run to go up 2-1 in the match. The Panthers found a huge lift in Sparks, who had three timely blocks and two kills in the set.

Set Four: Georgia Tech 25, No. 2 Pitt 23

The fourth set was marked by 14 ties and four lead changes. Pitt earned a late 21-19 advantage but was unable to close the door as Georgia Tech finished the set on a 6-2 run to win, 25-23, forcing a fifth set. The Yellow Jackets out-hit the Panthers, .323 to .289.

Set Five: No. 2 Pitt 15, Georgia Tech 13

The Panthers used a 5-1 run to gain a 7-4 advantage, but Georgia Tech held on and went up 9-8 following a 5-1 run of its own. Pitt used a 4-1 run to take back momentum, earning a 12-10 lead, but GT tied it at 13 after a 3-1 surge. Williams secured the final two points for Pitt with a kill and block alongside Van Buskirk to win the thrilling fifth set, 15-13.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will play their final match at Fitzgerald Field House of the 2019 season against Clemson Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Pitt will celebrate its five seniors in a special ceremony following the match.

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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