Friday, October 22
Notre Dame, Ind.
7 PM ET
Pitt
18-1,8-1ACC
3
at
2
Notre Dame
8-11,5-4ACC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Pittsburgh
25
20
25
19
15
3
Notre Dame
18
25
21
25
10
2
No. 4 Pitt Volleyball Wins Five-Set Battle at Notre Dame
10/22/2021 10:20:00 PM | Volleyball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (18-1, 8-1 ACC) earned a gritty five-set victory at Notre Dame (8-11, 5-4 ACC) Friday night at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.
The Panthers won the battle by scores of 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10. Pitt had the advantage in kills (64-52), assists (61-49), digs (76-64) and hitting percentage (.193-.174). Notre Dame handily out-blocked the Panthers (21.0-14.0). Each team had four service aces.
Senior middle blocker Serena Gray had a career performance with 19 kills. She hit a blistering .607 with just two errors on 28 swings and added five blocks.
Junior libero Ashley Browske picked up a career-high 23 digs for Pitt. Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh posted a season-high and match-high 19 kills on .231 hitting. Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks posted a team-best eight blocks.
Two Panthers posted double-double performances: setter Lexis Akeo with 22 assists and 18 digs and outside hitter Kayla Lund with 12 kills and 15 digs.
SET ONE: No. 4 Pitt 25, Notre Dame 18
The Panthers had a strong start to the match, hitting .333 in the first frame while holding Notre Dame to a .108 clip. Member-Meneh led Pitt with five kills in the set. There were three ties but no lead changes as the Panthers stayed in front.
SET TWO: Notre Dame 25, No. 4 Pitt 20
Pitt's only lead of the second frame was 1-0. Despite being plagued by errors throughout the set, the Panthers were able to close the gap to just two points, down 22-20. However, three attack errors ended the frame in the Irish's favor. The Irish hit a hot .342 for the stanza while Pitt hit .216.
SET THREE: No. 4 Pitt 25, Notre Dame 21
A 5-1 run put the Irish ahead, 19-18, but Pitt responded with a 4-0 run to take back the lead (22-19). Two Notre Dame points closed the margin to one (22-21), but the Panthers claimed the final three points to go up, 2-1, in the match. It was a defensive set, with neither team hitting above .100.
SET FOUR: Notre Dame 25, No. 4 Pitt 19
The Panthers struggled mightily in the fourth set, hitting just .093 in the set while Notre Dame posted a .258 clip. The Irish forced a fifth set by outscoring Pitt 13-5 to finish the fourth.
SET FIVE: No. 4 Pitt 15, Notre Dame 10
A hot 6-1 start gave the Panthers momentum to begin the fifth set. A 3-0 run pushed Pitt's lead to 12-5. The Irish responded but ultimately could not overcome Pitt's lead as the Panthers completed the match with a 15-10 win in the fifth.
UP NEXT
The Panthers' first ever match between two Top 5 teams is set for Sunday at noon ET when No. 4 Pitt travels to Louisville, Ky., to take on the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals. The match will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers won the battle by scores of 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10. Pitt had the advantage in kills (64-52), assists (61-49), digs (76-64) and hitting percentage (.193-.174). Notre Dame handily out-blocked the Panthers (21.0-14.0). Each team had four service aces.
Senior middle blocker Serena Gray had a career performance with 19 kills. She hit a blistering .607 with just two errors on 28 swings and added five blocks.
Junior libero Ashley Browske picked up a career-high 23 digs for Pitt. Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh posted a season-high and match-high 19 kills on .231 hitting. Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks posted a team-best eight blocks.
Two Panthers posted double-double performances: setter Lexis Akeo with 22 assists and 18 digs and outside hitter Kayla Lund with 12 kills and 15 digs.
SET ONE: No. 4 Pitt 25, Notre Dame 18
The Panthers had a strong start to the match, hitting .333 in the first frame while holding Notre Dame to a .108 clip. Member-Meneh led Pitt with five kills in the set. There were three ties but no lead changes as the Panthers stayed in front.
SET TWO: Notre Dame 25, No. 4 Pitt 20
Pitt's only lead of the second frame was 1-0. Despite being plagued by errors throughout the set, the Panthers were able to close the gap to just two points, down 22-20. However, three attack errors ended the frame in the Irish's favor. The Irish hit a hot .342 for the stanza while Pitt hit .216.
SET THREE: No. 4 Pitt 25, Notre Dame 21
A 5-1 run put the Irish ahead, 19-18, but Pitt responded with a 4-0 run to take back the lead (22-19). Two Notre Dame points closed the margin to one (22-21), but the Panthers claimed the final three points to go up, 2-1, in the match. It was a defensive set, with neither team hitting above .100.
SET FOUR: Notre Dame 25, No. 4 Pitt 19
The Panthers struggled mightily in the fourth set, hitting just .093 in the set while Notre Dame posted a .258 clip. The Irish forced a fifth set by outscoring Pitt 13-5 to finish the fourth.
SET FIVE: No. 4 Pitt 15, Notre Dame 10
A hot 6-1 start gave the Panthers momentum to begin the fifth set. A 3-0 run pushed Pitt's lead to 12-5. The Irish responded but ultimately could not overcome Pitt's lead as the Panthers completed the match with a 15-10 win in the fifth.
UP NEXT
The Panthers' first ever match between two Top 5 teams is set for Sunday at noon ET when No. 4 Pitt travels to Louisville, Ky., to take on the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals. The match will be broadcast nationally on ACC Network.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitt
ND
Kills
64
52
Errors
30
23
Attempts
176
167
Hitting %
.193
.174
Points
82
77
Assists
61
49
Aces
4
4
Blocks
14
21
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballPitt Volleyball | Pitt 3, Pepperdine 0 | Highlights
Saturday, September 06
Pitt Volleyball | Postgame vs Pepperdine | Dan Fisher, Olivia Babcock & Ryla Jones
Saturday, September 06
Pitt Volleyball | Postgame vs Pepperdine | Dan Fisher, Olivia Babcock and Ryla Jones
Friday, September 05
Highlights | Pitt vs. Pepperdine
Friday, September 05