Sunday, March 21
Durham, N.C.
1 PM ET
Pitt
11-4,10-4ACC
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at
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Duke
8-9,6-6ACC
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F
Pittsburgh
20
25
25
19
22
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Duke
25
15
11
25
20
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No. 19 Pitt Earns Thrilling Five-Set Win at Duke
3/21/2021 5:02:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers Win Seventh In A Row
DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 19 Pitt volleyball team (11-4, 10-4 ACC) embodied the term "five-set thriller" with a 3-2 win over Duke (8-9, 6-6 ACC) that included a 22-20 final set victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers have won seven matches in a row, marking their longest streak since winning 19 between Sept. 25 and Dec. 6, 2019. Pitt handed Duke its seventh consecutive loss by scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-11, 19-25, 22-20.
Junior middle blocker Sabrina Starks capped the match with back-to-back service aces in the fifth set. She totaled three on the day for a career high.
Pitt's win snapped a slump of three consecutive losses when playing five sets, with its last win coming Nov. 8, 2019 against Georgia Tech. The Panthers' last five-set win on the road came Sept. 14, 2019, at Pepperdine.
Three Panthers recorded double-doubles for Pitt, including senior outside hitter Kayla Lund, who produced 21 kills and 20 digs for her sixth double-double this season. It was her third match of 20 or more kills this season, and she was just one shy of her career high for digs.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez earned her second double-double of the weekend – and the second of her career – with 11 kills and 15 digs.
It was the fourth double-double of the year for sophomore setter Lexis Akeo, with 19 assists and 12 digs.
Redshirt senior setter Kylee Levers produced 30 assists to lead Pitt. Senior right side Chinaza Ndee had a match-high six blocks to go along with 11 kills.
Pitt had the upper hand in kills (61-59) and hitting percentage (.215-.179) but was surpassed by the Blue Devils in assists (56-57), service aces (4-5) and digs (76-79). Each team posted 10.0 blocks.
Set One: Duke 25, No. 19 Pitt 20
Duke gained a head start with a 4-1 run to open the first set and retained its lead for the entire frame. Pitt trailed by as many as seven (22-15), following a 6-1 run by the Blue Devils. The Panthers were able to cut their deficit to three (23-20), but it wasn't enough as a Duke kill and ace ended the frame. Lund led Pitt with five kills in the set.
Set Two: No. 19 Pitt 25, Duke 15
Another slow start plagued Pitt, but after a 4-0 stretch, the Panthers took their first lead of the match at 12-11. Pitt put an exclamation mark on the frame with a 12-1 run to finish the set, including eight unanswered points at the end. Lund contributed five more kills in the stanza to total 10 through two.
Set Three: No. 19 Pitt 25, Duke 11
Pitt finally got the start it wanted, going ahead 6-0 to begin the third frame. The Panthers extended their lead to 13-5 following a 4-0 stretch and finished the stanza by outscoring Duke 11-4. Pitt's defense held the Blue Devils to a negative hitting percentage for the set at -.079.
Set Four: Duke 25, No. 19 Pitt 19
The Panthers found themselves behind again, after a 5-1 run brought up an early 12-6 lead for Duke. Pitt was able to cut is deficit to two (16-14), following back-to-back Ndee kills. The Blue Devils forced the fifth set with a 6-1 run to end the set and tie the match at two sets apiece.
Set Five: No. 19 Pitt 22, Duke 20
It was a thrilling fifth set, with Pitt starting out at a 4-1 margin, but Duke kept fighting and eventually earned its first lead of the set on its first match point, 14-13. Between the two teams, there were a total of eight match points: four for Duke and four for Pitt. Starks capped the match in exhilarating fashion with back-to-back aces to win it for Pitt, 22-20.
UP NEXT
Pitt will complete its spring 2021 home schedule at Fitzgerald Field House with a three-match homestand against West Virginia (March 24), No. 25 Florida State (March 26) and North Carolina (March 28). Each match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers have won seven matches in a row, marking their longest streak since winning 19 between Sept. 25 and Dec. 6, 2019. Pitt handed Duke its seventh consecutive loss by scores of 20-25, 25-15, 25-11, 19-25, 22-20.
Junior middle blocker Sabrina Starks capped the match with back-to-back service aces in the fifth set. She totaled three on the day for a career high.
Pitt's win snapped a slump of three consecutive losses when playing five sets, with its last win coming Nov. 8, 2019 against Georgia Tech. The Panthers' last five-set win on the road came Sept. 14, 2019, at Pepperdine.
Three Panthers recorded double-doubles for Pitt, including senior outside hitter Kayla Lund, who produced 21 kills and 20 digs for her sixth double-double this season. It was her third match of 20 or more kills this season, and she was just one shy of her career high for digs.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez earned her second double-double of the weekend – and the second of her career – with 11 kills and 15 digs.
It was the fourth double-double of the year for sophomore setter Lexis Akeo, with 19 assists and 12 digs.
Redshirt senior setter Kylee Levers produced 30 assists to lead Pitt. Senior right side Chinaza Ndee had a match-high six blocks to go along with 11 kills.
Pitt had the upper hand in kills (61-59) and hitting percentage (.215-.179) but was surpassed by the Blue Devils in assists (56-57), service aces (4-5) and digs (76-79). Each team posted 10.0 blocks.
Set One: Duke 25, No. 19 Pitt 20
Duke gained a head start with a 4-1 run to open the first set and retained its lead for the entire frame. Pitt trailed by as many as seven (22-15), following a 6-1 run by the Blue Devils. The Panthers were able to cut their deficit to three (23-20), but it wasn't enough as a Duke kill and ace ended the frame. Lund led Pitt with five kills in the set.
Set Two: No. 19 Pitt 25, Duke 15
Another slow start plagued Pitt, but after a 4-0 stretch, the Panthers took their first lead of the match at 12-11. Pitt put an exclamation mark on the frame with a 12-1 run to finish the set, including eight unanswered points at the end. Lund contributed five more kills in the stanza to total 10 through two.
Set Three: No. 19 Pitt 25, Duke 11
Pitt finally got the start it wanted, going ahead 6-0 to begin the third frame. The Panthers extended their lead to 13-5 following a 4-0 stretch and finished the stanza by outscoring Duke 11-4. Pitt's defense held the Blue Devils to a negative hitting percentage for the set at -.079.
Set Four: Duke 25, No. 19 Pitt 19
The Panthers found themselves behind again, after a 5-1 run brought up an early 12-6 lead for Duke. Pitt was able to cut is deficit to two (16-14), following back-to-back Ndee kills. The Blue Devils forced the fifth set with a 6-1 run to end the set and tie the match at two sets apiece.
Set Five: No. 19 Pitt 22, Duke 20
It was a thrilling fifth set, with Pitt starting out at a 4-1 margin, but Duke kept fighting and eventually earned its first lead of the set on its first match point, 14-13. Between the two teams, there were a total of eight match points: four for Duke and four for Pitt. Starks capped the match in exhilarating fashion with back-to-back aces to win it for Pitt, 22-20.
UP NEXT
Pitt will complete its spring 2021 home schedule at Fitzgerald Field House with a three-match homestand against West Virginia (March 24), No. 25 Florida State (March 26) and North Carolina (March 28). Each match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
Pitt
Duke
Kills
61
59
Errors
22
28
Attempts
181
173
Hitting %
.215
.179
Points
75
74
Assists
56
57
Aces
4
5
Blocks
10
10
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ VolleyballOH
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