No. 10 Pitt Volleyball Hands No. 5 Notre Dame First Loss, 3-1

Sunday, October 18

Notre Dame, Ind.

3:30 PM ET

Pitt

Notre Dame

No. 10 Pitt Volleyball Hands No. 5 Notre Dame First Loss, 3-1

10/18/2020 6:59:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Season Stats Highlights

Panthers Pick Up Road Win In South Bend

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior captains Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee combined for nearly 50 percent of the Panthers' kill output as the 10th-ranked Pitt volleyball team (3-3, 3-3 ACC) handed No. 5 Notre Dame (4-1, 4-1 ACC) its first loss of the 2020 season, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.

After falling in five sets to the Fighting Irish Friday night, Pitt earned the rematch victory by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17. The win tied Pitt's second-highest ranked victory in program history, after defeating No. 4 Penn State in 2019.

The Panthers had a season-best 19.0 team blocks in the upset. Junior middle blocker Sabrina Starks led Pitt with a season-best nine, while sophomore middle blocker Chiamaka Nwokolo contributed a career-best eight and Ndee had a season-best seven.

Lund had a match-high 15 kills at outside in a double-double effort, to go along with 17 digs and six blocks. Ndee produced 14 kills on .303 hitting on the right side.

Sophomore setter Lexis Akeo had a double-double with 26 assists and 16 digs. Senior libero Marija Popovic recorded a season-high 21 digs for Pitt.

Redshirt freshman Valeria Vazquez Gomez had a near double-double with career-high numbers of nine kills and 21 digs.

Pitt had the advantage in kills (52-49), assists (51-46), digs (86-74), blocks (19.0-13.0) and hitting percentage (.163-.126). Notre Dame had more service aces (4-2).

Set One: No. 5 Notre Dame 25, No. 10 Pitt 23

Pitt led 1-0 but did not re-gain the lead after an early 4-0 run put the Irish ahead. The Panthers were able to tie the frame at seven and kept the set within a two-point margin for the majority of play. Pitt overcame two set points, but the Irish held on to take the opening set, 25-23. Lund had four kills in the stanza, followed by Vazquez Gomez with three. Notre Dame had the hitting percentage advantage at .333 to .209.

Set Two: No. 10 Pitt 25, No. 5 Notre Dame 19

The Panthers took control of the set with an early 5-0 run to go up, 13-7. Notre Dame cut the margin to three late in the set (21-18), but Pitt was able to hold on. The Panthers ended the frame on a 3-0 run to even the match at one set apiece, winning 25-19 in the second.

Set Three: No. 10 Pitt 25, No. 5 Notre Dame 23

Pitt took off on a 4-0 run to start the set and never surrendered the lead. Another 4-0 Panthers run put Pitt ahead, 12-7, but the Irish were able to pull within one by responding with a 4-0 run of their own. Subsequently, Pitt surged on a 7-1 run to make it 19-12, but again, Notre Dame was able to regain its ground and cut the lead to 22-20 after a 5-0 run. The Fighting Irish survived three set points but Pitt held on for the 25-23 win to go up, 2-1, in the match.

Set Four: No. 10 Pitt 25, No. 5 Notre Dame 17

The fourth frame saw five ties, with the latest at 12. At that point, a 4-0 run pushed the Panthers ahead, and kept the momentum in Pitt's favor. A 3-0 surge helped Pitt reach the 20-point mark, up 20-15, and outscored the Irish 5-2 to end the match with the victory.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will close their fall 2020 schedule with a weekend series against No. 6 Louisville Friday and Sunday, Oct. 23 and 25, at Fitzgerald Field House.

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