Panthers Drop Five-Set Exhibition Thriller at Dayton

Saturday, August 24

Dayton, Ohio

1 PM ET

Pitt

Dayton

Panthers Drop Five-Set Exhibition Thriller at Dayton

8/24/2019 4:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Pitt to Begin Regular Season Aug. 30 at Home

DAYTON, Ohio – The No. 12 Pitt volleyball team forced Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Dayton to extra points in the fifth set, but ultimately dropped the exhibition match to the Flyers, 3-2, at Frericks Center Saturday afternoon.

After dropping the first two frames, 25-21, 25-21, Pitt responded by winning the next two, 25-22 and 25-23. The Flyers pushed the fifth set to extra points, after eight ties and two lead changes, before winning 19-17.

Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams led the Panthers with 21 kills on the day while hitting at a .409 clip (21-3-44). She added nine digs. Junior outside Kayla Lund added 10 kills and six digs, while senior right side Nika Markovic tallied 10 kills, six digs and five blocks.

Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas produced a team-high 10 digs, while freshman setter Lexis Akeo added 42 assists and six digs. Senior middle Layne Van Buskirk led the Panthers with six blocks to go along with eight kills.

The Flyers had a higher hitting percentage at .291 compared to Pitt's .273, with more kills (70-65) and digs (58-53). Pitt had more blocks (9.0-7.0).

Set One: Dayton 25, No. 12 Pitt 21

The Flyers earned the first point of the match before Pitt used a 3-0 run to pull ahead. Dayton responded with a 6-2 run to go up, 7-5. Later on, the Panthers earned their first lead since 5-4 after a 5-1 run put them up, 14-13. The score tied up five more times with the latest at 18-18, before the Flyers closed the set on a 7-3 run to win, 25-21.

Williams led Pitt with six kills in the first, followed by Lund with four and Markovic with two. The Flyers out-hit the Panthers (.312-.225).

Set Two: Dayton 25, No. 12 Pitt 21

Dayton started the second set on a 3-0 run and never looked back, winning the frame wire-to-wire. Pitt cut its deficit to as few as two, down 20-18, following a 5-2 run, but the Flyers closed the set with a 5-3 run for a 25-21 victory.

Lund had three kills in the second frame to lead Pitt. The Panthers hit .130 in comparison to Dayton's .320 mark.

Set Three: No. 12 Pitt 25, Dayton 22

Pitt jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but Dayton surged ahead with a 6-1 run to make it 7-6 in its favor. The Flyers led by as many as four, 12-18, but Pitt tied it up 14-14 after a 6-2 run. A 5-1 run gave the Panthers a 20-18 lead, and then they capped the frame outscoring the Flyers 5-4 for the 25-22 win.

Williams had six kills to lead Pitt in the third, and Markovic added four. Pitt out-hit Dayton with a .333 percentage.

Set Four: No. 12 Pitt 25, Dayton 23

Pitt turned an early 3-1 lead into an 8-5 advantage, but Dayton was able to tie it up, 10-10, after a 5-2 run. The Panthers found their stride with a 9-4 run to earn a 19-14 margin, but the Flyers kept it close. Pitt finished it off with a 25-23 win to force a fifth set.

The Panthers had their best frame of hitting yet with a .344 percentage, while holding Dayton to .303. Williams continued to lead Pitt with another five kills.

Set Five: Dayton 19, No. 12 Pitt 17

Eight ties and two lead changes marked the thrilling fifth set. Pitt earned its first lead of the frame, 10-9, following back-to-back points by sophomore middle Sabrina Starks. The teams went point-for-point until Dayton secured the final two extra points for a 19-17 win.

UP NEXT
No. 12 Pitt will open the 2019 regular season with the Panther Challenge, hosting Cleveland State, Cincinnati and South Carolina at Fitzgerald Field House Aug. 30-31.

PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2018 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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