No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Season Ends in First Final Four

Thursday, December 16

Columbus, Ohio

9:30 PM ET

Pitt

30-4,15-3ACC

Nebraska

26-7,15-4Big Ten

Nebraska

Pittsburgh

No. 3 Pitt Volleyball Season Ends in First Final Four

12/17/2021 2:45:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Press Conferences

Panthers Fall to Nebraska, 3-1

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Making its first appearance in the National Semifinal of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship, the No. 3 Pitt volleyball team (30-4, 15-3 ACC) fell to No. 10 Nebraska (26-7, 15-4 Big Ten) early Friday morning at Nationwide Arena.

Pitt won the first set, 25-16, but dropped the final sets three by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 25-22.

Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh led the Panthers with 13 kills and picked up seven digs. Middle blocker Serena Gray had 11 kills on .474 hitting.

Columbus native Chiamaka Nwokolo had seven kills on eight swings with one error for a .750 hitting percentage and a team-best six blocks.

Co-captains Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee had nine and eight kills, respectively. Lund had a match-high 14 digs.

Setter Lexis Akeo produced a double-double of 18 assists and 10 digs. Rachel Fairbanks had a team-best 27 assists with six digs and three kills. Libero Ashley Browske picked up 13 digs.

SET ONE: No. 3 Pitt 25, No. 10 Nebraska 16

Some potent offense and scrappy defense led Pitt to a decisive first-set win. A 9-2 run swung momentum in the Panther's favor, going up 16-9. Nebraska cut the margin to three after a 4-0 run, but Pitt ended the frame outscoring the Huskers 9-3 to claim a 1-0 lead. The Panthers hit .483 in the first set while holding Nebraska to .167.

SET TWO: No. 10 Nebraska 25, No. 3 Pitt 17

It was a sloppy second set for the Panthers and the Huskers took advantage to tie the match at 1-1. A 10-4 Nebraska run made it 18-11 in the Huskers' favor. Pitt cut the margin to 19-14 after a 3-1 run but wasn't able to sustain its swing. Nebraska hit .440 to the Panthers' .161 in a near mirror-image of the first set.

SET THREE: No. 10 Nebraska 25, No. 3 Pitt 20

The third set was much closer than the previous two, with 14 ties and nine lead changes. The Huskers turned up the heat with an 8-2 run to end the frame and take a 2-1 lead in the match. The Panthers were limited to .081 hitting in the frame.

SET FOUR: No. 10 Nebraska 25, No. 3 Pitt 22

A 3-0 start by Nebraska turned out to be costly for the Panthers. The set tied at 20, but the Huskers pulled away to a 22-20 lead and finished the match with a 25-22 win.

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