No. 9 Pitt Volleyball Defeats Cincinnati in Exhibition Play

Saturday, August 21

Cincinnati, Ohio

1 PM ET

Pitt

1-0,0-0ACC

Cincinnati

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Pittsburgh

Cincinnati

No. 9 Pitt Volleyball Defeats Cincinnati in Exhibition Play

8/21/2021 4:21:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score Box Score

Panthers Win First Three Frames of Friendly Match

CINCINNATI – The No. 9 Pitt volleyball team defeated Cincinnati in scrimmage play at Fifth Third Arena Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers swept the Bearcats through the first three sets (25-16, 25-18, 25-21). The teams played a bonus fourth frame, which Cincinnati claimed, 25-19.

In total, outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez led Pitt with 12 kills. She added seven digs and a solo block. Newcomer Leketor Member-Meneh had 10 kills, six digs and two blocks. Kayla Lund contributed eight kills from the outside in addition to five digs.

Penn State transfer Serena Gray hit .625 with six kills on eight attempts and one error from the middle. Utility player Jordan Lockwood led Pitt with four blocks, including one solo.

Junior setter Lexis Akeo paced Pitt with 23 assists.

SET ONE: No. 9 Pitt 25, Cincinnati 16
Following a slow start with four ties, a 9-1 run put the Panthers up 21-13. Pitt kept its momentum, earning set point, 24-14, following a 3-0 surge. Cincinnati stayed alive with back-to-back kills, but the Panthers were able to close the door, earning the win on a free ball kill from Akeo.

Member-Meneh and Vazquez Gomez led Pitt with three kills apiece while the Panthers hit .370 as a team. Pitt held Cincinnati to .029 hitting for the set.

SET TWO: No. 19 Pitt 25, Cincinnati 18
Pitt started three All-Americans in the front row to start the second frame: Lund, Gray and Chinaza Ndee. A 6-1 run gave Pitt a 9-3 advantage. Later on, Cincinnati was able to cut the margin to four (21-17), following a 4-1 run. Pitt earned set point (24-17) after three consecutive points and took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-18 win.

The Panthers hit a cool .500 for the frame, with 17 kills on 28 attempts with three errors.

SET THREE: No. 9 Pitt 25, Cincinnati 21
Mixing up its rotations in the third, Pitt went ahead 11-9 on a 5-1 run. The frame saw seven more ties, with the latest at 19-19. A 4-1 surge put the Panthers into a 23-20 lead, and ultimately won the match on a dunk by redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anastasia Russ.

SET FOUR: Cincinnati 25, No. 9 Pitt 19
The final frame saw 11 ties and seven lead changes. Pitt led 16-14 before a 4-0 run traded the advantage to Cincinnati (18-16). The Bearcats were able to stay ahead and claim the set, 25-19. Vazquez Gomez had a team-best five kills on .400 hitting in the stanza.

UP NEXT
The ninth-ranked Panthers will open the regular season with a tournament in Greenville, S.C., against No. 23 Rice (Aug. 27), No. 18 Washington State (Aug. 28) and host South Carolina (Aug. 28).

PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Volleyball tickets are now on sale! The flex season ticket package includes a total of 15 tickets, which can be used for any match. Tickets can be used traditionally (one ticket for each match) or in any combination (two tickets for six matches, four tickets for three matches, etc.).

To purchase tickets, contact the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488 or visit PittsburghPanthers.com.

Benefits for Flex Season Ticketholders:

Saving money on every match, instead of buying all separately
Receiving up to three extra tickets beyond the "one-per-match" model
Reserved seating at center court, up until 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the match

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