No. 19 Panthers to Finish Home Play with Backyard Brawl, ACC Matches

Wednesday, March 24

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 PM ET

Pitt

West Virginia

No. 19 Panthers to Finish Home Play with Backyard Brawl, ACC Matches

3/23/2021 1:59:00 PM | Volleyball

Match Notes Watch - Wednesday Watch - Friday Watch - Sunday Live Stats

Pitt Volleyball to Host Three Matches at Fitzgerald Field House

PITTSBURGH – The No. 19 Pitt volleyball team (11-4, 10-4 ACC) will conclude 2020-21 home competition at Fitzgerald Field House with three matches over five days, including the 42nd edition of the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia (9-9, 8-8 Big 12) Wednesday, in addition to an AVCA Top 25 matchup with No. 25 Florida State (11-4, 7-4 ACC) Friday and a Sunday matinee against North Carolina (10-4, 9-3 ACC).

HOW TO FOLLOW

Match 1 – West Virginia at No. 19 Pitt (Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET): Watch | Live Stats
Match 2 – No. 25 Florida State at No. 19 Pitt (Friday, 5 p.m. ET): Watch | Live Stats
Match 3 – North Carolina at No. 19 Pitt (Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET): Watch | Live Stats
Fans can follow @Pitt_VB on Twitter and Instagram for live updates during both matches.

LAST TIME OUT

MATCH 1 (vs. Miami): Redshirt freshman outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez earned the first double-double of her career in a 3-1 victory for No. 19 Pitt over Miami Saturday afternoon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Pitt's victory halted a three-match win streak for Miami, winning by scores of 25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20. Vazquez Gomez's double-double consisted of a career high-tying 11 kills and 10 digs.
MATCH 2 (at Duke): No. 19 Pitt) embodied the term "five-set thriller" with a 3-2 win over Duke 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 at Duke 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 in the win at Duke, 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.

PITT IN THE POLL

For the second consecutive week, Pitt remained at No. 19 in the most recent national poll by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).
The Panthers have been ranked in 51 consecutive AVCA polls, dating back to the 2018 Preseason Poll.

RANKING THE PANTHERS

Through matches played on March 21, Pitt leads the ACC assists per set (13.02). The Panthers are second in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.154), and third in kills per set (14.00).
Junior middle blocker Sabrina Starks leads the ACC with 72 total blocks in 2020-21 and is ranked third with 1.29 blocks per set.
Senior outside hitter Kayla Lund is third in the league total kills (222) and total points (256.0).

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA (42ND BACKYARD BRAWL)

West Virginia has won two of its last three contests, winning its most recent outing at Delaware March 19 (3-1).
Kristin Lux is the team leader in kills per set with 2.81, followed by Natali Petrova with 2.71.
Pitt holds a dominant 39-2 lead in the volleyball Backyard Brawl all-time series. The Panthers won first 39 meetings, marking the program's longest win streak against one opponent in school history. Pitt's 39 all-time wins against the Mountaineers are tied for the third most against one opponent in the program's history, behind Duquesne (43) and Syracuse (40).
The Mountaineers have won the last two meetings in the series, in 2010 (3-2) and 2011 (3-2), with both contests in Morgantown. Pitt's last win against West Virginia was Oct. 23, 2009: a 3-0 sweep at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers are 20-0 all-time against the Mountaineers when playing in Pittsburgh.

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE

Florida State is ranked 25th in the AVCA poll for the second consecutive week. The Seminoles had won 10 consecutive matches prior to a 3-1 loss against No. 13 Louisville Saturday.
Middle blocker Taryn Knuth leads the ACC with a hitting percentage of .540.
Pitt has won the last six meetings with Florida State and holds a 10-5 lead in the all-time series. The Panthers are 5-1 all-time against the Seminoles when playing in Pittsburgh. Pitt's last loss to Florida State was Oct. 16, 2016, in Tallahassee (3-1). The Panthers' lone home loss to Florida State was Oct. 24, 2014 (3-2) – winning the last four meetings in Pittsburgh.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

The Tar Heels picked up two home wins Friday and Sunday against Wake Forest (3-1) and No. 18 Notre Dame (3-2), respectively.
Sophomore outside hitter Parker Austin lead North Carolina with 2.97 kills per set.
The Panthers are 12-6 all-time against North Carolina, winning the last four meetings with the Tar Heels. Pitt's last loss to UNC was Nov. 13, 2015, in Chapel Hill. The Panthers are 5-2 all-time against North Carolina when competing in Pittsburgh. Pitt has won the last four home meetings with UNC, with its last loss coming Oct. 3, 2014 (3-2).

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