No. 4 Panthers Sweep Wolfpack, Improve to 12-0

Sunday, September 26

Raleigh, N.C.

1 PM ET

Pitt

12-0,2-0ACC

NC State

7-6,1-1ACC

Pittsburgh

NC State

No. 4 Panthers Sweep Wolfpack, Improve to 12-0

9/26/2021 4:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Pitt Picks Up Road Win in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 4 Pitt volleyball team (12-0, 2-0 ACC) swept NC State (7-6, 1-1 ACC) on the road Sunday afternoon at Reynolds Coliseum, achieving their best start to a season since going 23-0 in 2018.

The Panthers earned the win by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-18. Pitt had the advantage over the Wolfpack in hitting percentage (.280-.152), kills (42-33), assists (41-31), service aces (4-2), digs (48-32) and blocks (13.0-9.0).

Transfer outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh earned the 1,000th kill of her career during the match, recording nine against NC State. She spent the first four years of her career at Missouri (2017-20).

Right side hitter Chinaza Ndee led Pitt with 12 kills on .200 hitting and posted three blocks. Middle blocker Serena Gray hit .600 with seven kills on 10 attempts with just one error. She added a match-best seven blocks.

Member-Meneh had a match-high 13 digs for Pitt. Setters Kylee Levers and Lexis Akeo posted 18 and 15 assists, respectively.

RECORD WATCH

A handful of Panthers are rising in the Pitt volleyball career record rankings.
Two-time ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kayla Lund moved into the program's Top 5 for career kills during the match. Following the win, she has 1,472. Lund also ranks in the program's Top 10 for service aces (sixth, 134), attacks (seventh, 3,518) and digs (ninth, 1,137). Lund needs four service aces to take sole possession of fifth place.
All-American right side Chinaza Ndee is third in program history with 411 block assists. She needs two more to take sole possession of second place in the record book. Ndee ranks sixth all-time with 429 total blocks for her career.
Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks is eighth all-time for Pitt with 290 career block assists. She needs seven to move into sole possession of seventh place.

SET ONE: No. 4 Pitt 25, NC State 23

It was an ugly first set with nine service errors between the two teams. There were 15 ties and six lead changes. Following a 22-22 tie, a Pack service error and an ace by Lexis Akeo pulled up set point for Pitt. The Wolfpack secured another kill to make it a one-point set, but a kill by Gray gave it to Pitt. The Panthers hit .207 for the frame while holding the Wolfpack to a .185 clip.

SET TWO: No. 4 Pitt 25, NC State 20

The second set was better in terms of statistics for the Panthers, hitting .300 for the frame. NC State used a 6-2 run to gain a 14-12 lead. Later, a 4-0 run gave Pitt an 18-16 advantage. Following a 20-20 tie, the Panthers ended things with a 5-0 run to go up, 2-0, in the math. Ndee led Pitt with nine kills through two stanzas.

SET THREE: No. 4 Pitt 25, NC State 18

A 10-2 run in the third ultimately swung the match in Pitt's favor, as the Panthers gained a 24-14 advantage. The Wolfpack fought through four match points, but a kill by Ndee ended it for Pitt. The third set was Pitt's best of the day in terms of hitting percentage, recording a .323 clip.

UP NEXT
Pitt's first home ACC matches of the year will be against Virginia and Duke, Wednesday and Friday, respectively, at Fitzgerald Field House. The midweek match against the Cavaliers will be a linear broadcast on ACC Network, while the match against the Blue Devils will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Tickets for both matches are available at PittsburghPanthers.com.

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