No. 12 Pitt Wins Panther Challenge with Another Sweep

Saturday, August 31

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM ET

Pitt

3-0

South Carolina

1-2

South Carolina

Pitt

No. 12 Pitt Wins Panther Challenge with Another Sweep

8/31/2019 9:38:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Dominate Season-Opening Tournament

PITTSBURGH – For the first time since 2014, the No. 12 Pitt volleyball team (3-0) swept its first three opponents of the season, closing the Panther Challenge with another straight-set win, this time over South Carolina (1-2) Saturday night at Fitzgerald Field House.

Pitt won its season-opening tournament for the second consecutive year, landing three Panthers on the All-Tournament Team. Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund was named Most Valuable Player with averages of 3.22 kills and 2.33 digs per set. Senior right side Nika Markovic posted 2.75 kills per set on .528 hitting to go along with 3.12 digs per set. Redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams rounded out the trio, with 3.11 kills per set and 0.67 service aces per set.

The Panthers held the Gamecocks to .165 success from the field, while hitting at a .318 clip. Junior utility player Chinaza Ndee hit a scorching .615 on the day with nine kills on 13 attempts with just one error. Markovic also had nine kills on .533 to go along with eight digs.

Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas had a match-high 10 digs, and freshman setter Lexis Akeo contributed 31 assists.

PANTHER CHALLENGE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Kayla Lund, Pitt (MVP)
Nika Markovic, Pitt
Stephanie Williams, Pitt
Mikayla Shields, South Carolina
Mikayla Robinson, South Carolina
Jordan Thompson, Cincinnati
Maria Mallon, Cincinnati
Trinniti Hall, Cleveland State

Set One: No. 12 Pitt 25, South Carolina 21

Following two early ties, a 6-0 run gave Pitt an 8-3 lead. Later, the Panthers extended their advantage to 18-12 with a 4-1 run capped by a Williams ace. The Gamecocks cut into Pitt's lead with a 5-0 run, but Pitt responded with a 3-0 spurt to make it 21-17. The Panthers held on to win the first frame, 25-21.

Lund led all scorers with four kills, while Pitt hit .400 in the set. Akeo had 12 assists on 16 kills.

Set Two: No. 12 Pitt 25, South Carolina 16

Pitt surrendered the first point but quickly used an 8-1 run to pull ahead. A 4-1 run helped the Panthers reach a 12-4 lead, and another identical run gave Pitt a double-figure advantage at 17-7. The Panthers pushed it to 20-8 following a block and kill by freshman Chiamaka Nwokolo, making her first collegiate appearance. Pitt went up 2-0 in the match with a 25-16 win.

The Panthers hit .444 for the frame while limiting South Carolina to just .065 success. Pitt had just two attacking errors in the set.

Set Three: No. 12 Pitt 25, South Carolina 20

A 4-1 run gave Pitt an early 9-6 lead. Later a 5-1 run capped by a Williams ace made it 16-11 for the Panthers. The Gamecocks caught up with a 5-1 run to cut into Pitt's lead (17-16), but the Panthers sped away on a 5-1 run to gain back some ground. Pitt closed the door with a 25-20 win.

UP NEXT
No. 12 Pitt will co-host the ChampYinz Invitational with Duquesne Sept. 6-7. The Panthers will take on Ohio State Friday, Sept. 6, at PPG Paints Arena before hosting Green Bay and Duquesne at Fitzgerald Field House Sept. 7.

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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