No. 6 Pitt Defeats Cal Poly, 3-1, to Begin Malibu Trip

Friday, September 13

Malibu, Calif.

1 PM ET

Pitt

8-0

Cal Poly

3-4

Pittsburgh

Cal Poly

No. 6 Pitt Defeats Cal Poly, 3-1, to Begin Malibu Trip

9/13/2019 4:08:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Three Panthers Record Double-Doubles

MALIBU, Calif. – Three Panthers recorded double-doubles as the No. 6 Pitt volleyball team (8-0) kicked off the Pepperdine ASICS Classic with a 3-1 win (25-17, 30-32, 27-25, 25-17) over Cal Poly (3-4) Friday at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Junior outside hitter Kayla Lund produced season highs of 20 kills and 14 digs for her first double-double outing of the year. The Pasadena, Calif., native's 20 kills are the most for the Panthers in a single match so far this season.

Redshirt senior outside hitter Stephanie Williams joined Lund with her first double-double of 2019, posting season-best marks of 14 kills and 13 digs. Freshman setter Lexis Akeo rounded out the trio with career highs of 58 assists and 11 digs.

Senior middle Layne Van Buskirk had a career day with 18 kills, tying her best mark set at Duke last season. She hit .419 on the day and added a team-high six blocks. Senior right side Nika Markovic was one kill off from a double-double, with nine kills in addition to a season-best 13 digs.

Collectively, Pitt out-hit the Mustangs (.297-.158), with more kills (74-45), assists (68-41), digs (72-55) and blocks (11.0-9.0).

Set One: No. 6 Pitt 25, Cal Poly 17

After an early 3-3 tie, a 9-2 run gave the Panthers a 12-5 lead, highlighted by back-to-back Van Buskirk kills. A 5-1 run cut Pitt's lead to three, 13-10, but the Panthers answered with a 10-3 run to secure momentum of the set. The Mustangs held on through four set points, but Pitt ended the frame with a 25-17 victory. Van Buskirk led Pitt with five kills in the set.

Set Two: Cal Poly 32, No. 6 Pitt 30

Pitt used a 3-0 run to tie the set 4-4 before Cal Poly found its stride on a 5-2 stretch to take a 9-6 lead. The Panthers slowly climbed back into the set and took back the lead, 13-11, after a 7-2 run. The teams traded leads again following a 7-2 surge by the Mustangs. The score remained close, as the frame saw eight set points between the teams and moved into extras before Cal Poly earned the 32-30 win to even the match, 1-1.

Set Three: No. 6 Pitt 27, Cal Poly 25

After eight ties and four lead changes to begin the set, an 11-3 run put the Panthers ahead, 22-16. Cal Poly battled back to earn set point (25-24), after a 9-2 run, but Pitt silenced the Mustangs with three consecutive Williams kills to go ahead, 2-1 in the match.

Set Four: No. 6 Pitt 25, Cal Poly 17

A 4-0 run gave the Panthers an 8-6 early lead, and extended the advantage with another 4-0 run to make it 14-9. Pitt kept its distance, earning a 21-12 lead, but the Mustangs were able to shave off a bit of the deficit, ending the match outscoring the Panthers 5-4.

UP NEXT
No. 6 Pitt will complete the tournament at Firestone Fieldhouse Saturday with matches against No. 16 Utah and Pepperdine at 1p.m. and 10 p.m. ET, respectively.

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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