No. 4 Pitt Hands North Carolina First Loss to Open ACC Play

Friday, September 24

Chapel Hill, N.C.

6 PM ET

Pitt

11-0,1-0ACC

North Carolina

11-1,0-1ACC

Pittsburgh

North Carolina

No. 4 Pitt Hands North Carolina First Loss to Open ACC Play

9/24/2021 10:07:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Panthers Improve to 11-0, 1-0 in the Conference

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the eighth time out of nine seasons in the league, the No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (11-0, 1-0 ACC) earned a win to open Atlantic Coast Conference play, defeating previously unbeaten North Carolina (11-1, 0-1 ACC) Friday night at Carmichael Arena.

The Panthers earned the victory by scores of 25-17, 25-20, 9-25, 25-21. It was Pitt's fifth time taking down an unbeaten team so far this season.

Three Panthers contributed 11 kills apiece: middle blocker Serena Gray (.500 hitting), outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh (.381 hitting), and right side Chinaza Ndee (.138 hitting). Member-Meneh earned her third double-double of the season, contributing 11 digs to go along with her double-figure kill mark.

Libero Ashley Browske led Pitt with 13 digs, and setter Kylee Levers paced the Pitt offense with 24 assists. Gray had a match-high six blocks, including one solo.

WITH THE WIN…

The Panthers improved to 11-0, matching their best start to a season since going 11-0 to start 2019. In 2018, the Panthers won their first 23 matches of the year, marking the best start to a season in program history.
The Panthers earned their eighth ACC-opening win out of nine in program history. Last season was Pitt's first ACC-opening loss: a five-set heartbreaker at Syracuse on Sept. 25, 2020.
Pitt earned its fifth victory against an unbeaten team this season, dropping UNC to 11-1, 0-1 in the ACC.

SET ONE: No. 4 Pitt 25, North Carolina 17

The set saw six early ties and four lead changes, until Pitt found its footing with an 8-3 run to gain an 11-8 advantage. The Panthers pushed their lead to 17-10 following five unanswered points. Pitt closed the door on the opening set with a 4-1 run to earn a 1-0 lead in the match. Four Panthers hit over .500 for the set, led by five kills from Ndee. Pitt hit .480 as a team while holding UNC to .138 hitting.

SET TWO: No. 4 Pitt 25, North Carolina 20

Despite a 3-0 run to start the set, Pitt answered later on with a 5-0 run that ultimately swung the stanza in its favor. The Panthers earned set point (24-18), before a kill and an attack error set the score at 24-20. Kayla Lund ended the frame with a kill (25-20). Through two sets, Ndee and Member-Meneh led Pitt with eight kills apiece.

SET THREE: North Carolina 25, No. 4 Pitt 9

A disastrous set for the Panthers started with a 6-0 deficit. Things only got worse for Pitt, with UNC using an 18-4 run to bring up set point, 24-7. Pitt was able to secure just two more points before the Tar Heels took the frame and made it a 2-1 match.

SET FOUR: No. 4 Pitt 25, North Carolina 21

Pitt opened the fourth set on a stronger note, with a 3-0 run. An 8-1 run pushed the Panthers' lead to 13-6, but the Tar Heels were able to cut it to 13-9. Pitt stayed ahead, using a 3-1 run to make it 18-12, but a 6-2 run made things interesting, cutting the margin to just two points (20-18). A 4-1 Pitt run brought up match point, 24-19. A UNC kill and a Pitt attack error made it 24-21, but a Jordan Lockwood kill took the match for the Panthers.

UP NEXT
Pitt will stay on Tobacco Road to take on NC State Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, N.C.

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