No. 6 Pitt Survives Five-Set Battle at Pepperdine

Saturday, September 14

Malibu, Calif.

10 PM ET

Pitt

10-0

Pepperdine

3-6

Pittsburgh

Pepperdine

No. 6 Pitt Survives Five-Set Battle at Pepperdine

9/15/2019 2:59:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Box Score Season Stats

Panthers Improve to 10-0

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 6 Pitt volleyball team improved to 10-0 following a five-set thriller (25-17, 21-25, 23-25, 25-18, 16-14) at Pepperdine (3-6) Saturday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

Junior Chinaza Ndee was the go-to player for the Panthers with a career-high 22 kills on the night, hitting .541.

Ndee's classmate Kayla Lund had a double-double with 16 kills to go along with a career-high 21 digs. Redshirt senior Stephanie Williams joined Lund with a double-double of 16 kills and 14 digs. Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had another double-double performance, posting 45 assists and 14 digs. She added four service aces for the Panthers.

Pitt hit .320 for the match while holding the Waves to .256. The Panthers had more kills (72-63), assists (69-62) and digs (84-75).

Set One: No. 6 Pitt 25, Pepperdine 17

Pitt jumped out to a 5-1 start on a run that included three Ndee kills. The Panthers kept their momentum, using a 5-0 run to extend the lead to 14-6. Pitt ended the set on a 3-0 run to secure a sizeable victory, 25-17. Lund, Ndee and Williams had four kills apiece in the frame as the Panthers hit .500 (19k-2e-34a).

Set Two: Pepperdine 25, No. 6 Pitt 21

The Panthers trailed 11-6 following a 3-0 Waves run, but were able to even it up, 12-12 after a 6-1 surge. Pitt wasn't able to find its footing in the frame, trailing for the remainder of the period. Pepperdine out-hit the Panthers, .357 to .312, and had more kills (18-12).

Set Three: Pepperdine 25, No. 6 Pitt 23

Pepperdine earned a 7-1 start, keeping momentum. After trailing, 21-16, Pitt used a 7-1 run to tie up the set, 22-22, but the Waves were able to hang on and go up 2-1 in the match.

Set Four: No. 6 Pitt 25, Pepperdine 18

Strong serving gave Pitt a 15-10 advantage, and the Panthers found a 20-12 lead after a 5-1 run. Pitt was able to hold off the Waves and force a fifth set.

Set Five: No. 6 Pitt 16, Pepperdine 14

There were nine ties and three lead changes in the thrilling fifth set. After the Panthers earned match point, up 14-12, the Waves pushed the frame into extras with a 14-14 tie. Pitt picked up the final two points on Pepperdine errors.

UP NEXT
No. 6 Pitt will kick off a home-and-home weekend with rival No. 4 Penn State Sept. 20 and 22. The Panthers will travel to University Park, Pa., Friday, Sept. 20, for an 8 p.m. meeting with the Nittany Lions before returning to Pittsburgh Sunday, Sept. 22, for a 1 p.m. Blueout at Petersen Events Center.

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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