No. 7 Pitt Volleyball Downs No. 9 Baylor in Five Sets

Saturday, September 4

Knoxville, Tenn.

4 PM ET

Pitt

4-0,0-0ACC

Baylor

1-3,0-0Big 12

Pittsburgh

Baylor

No. 7 Pitt Volleyball Downs No. 9 Baylor in Five Sets

9/4/2021 7:46:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Panthers Top Third Ranked Opponent of Season

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 7 Pitt volleyball team (4-0, 0-0 ACC) took down its third Top 25 opponent of the season by defeating No. 9 Baylor (1-3, 0-0 Big 12) in five sets at Thompson-Boling Arena Saturday night.

The Panthers claimed the first set, 25-17, but dropped the next two by scores of 25-17 and 25-23. Pitt responded with a 25-19 win in the fourth. Despite a 9-5 deficit in the fifth set, the Panthers used a 10-2 run to end the match with a 15-11 win.

Outside hitter Kayla Lund hit .444 for the day with a season-high and match-high 21 kills, including the match winner. She added nine digs and two blocks for Pitt. Right side Chinaza Ndee produced a season bests 15 kills and six blocks.

From the middle, Sabrina Starks hit .636 for the night with seven kills and zero errors. She added six blocks for Pitt. Leketor Member-Meneh and Jordan Lockwood contributed nine kills apiece.

Libero Ashley Browske picked up a match-high 14 digs, while both of Pitt's setters – Kylee Levers and Lexis Akeo – produced double-doubles. Levers had 33 assists and 10 digs, and Akeo contributed 24 assists and 10 digs.

PITT VS. THE AVCA TOP 10

Pitt holds a 7-4 (.636) record in their last 11 meetings against AVCA Top 10 opponents.
The Panthers are 9-52 (.148) all-time when facing the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top 10. Seven of the Panthers' nine all-time wins against the AVCA Top 10 have all come after the start of the 2019 season.

SET ONE: No. 7 Pitt 25, No. 9 Baylor 17

A 6-0 run swung the momentum in Pitt's direction, giving the Panthers a 14-9 lead that they would not surrender. Pitt used a 3-0 run to secure set point (24-16), and back-to-back service errors ended the frame with the Panthers on top, 25-17. Pitt's offense was firing on all cylinders with a scorching .444 hitting percentage. Lund led the Panthers with six kills in the set.

SET TWO: No. 9 Baylor 25, No. 7 Pitt 17

A dominant 11-2 Baylor run thanks to some hot serving and blocking put the Panthers into a 20-13 deficit, one which they could not recover from. The Bears held Pitt to a negative hitting percentage (-.065), while Baylor produced a .280 clip.

SET THREE: No. 9 Baylor 25, No. 7 Pitt 23

The third set was played much more closely than the preceding two, with 15 ties and seven lead changes. The final tie came at 22 and was followed by back-to-back Bear kills to bring up set point. A kill by Lockwood kept Pitt alive (24-23), but Baylor was able to put the set away and go up, 2-1, in the match. The Panthers hit .375 for the frame, but the Bears were hotter at .405

SET FOUR: No. 7 Pitt 25, No. 9 Baylor 19

Some early runs gave Pitt a 15-9 advantage, and later extended their lead to 18-11. The Panthers pushed the margin to 22-13, however, the Bears responded with a 4-0 run to decrease the margin. Pitt stayed strong and forced a fifth set for the second time in the young season. The Panthers defeated then-No. 23 Rice in the season opener, 3-2.

SET FIVE: No. 7 Pitt 15, No. 9 Baylor 11

For the second time this season, Pitt found itself in a 9-5 deficit in the fifth set, and for the second time, the Panthers used a huge run to dig themselves out of it. Pitt ended the match outscoring Baylor 10-2 for the thrilling come-from-behind win, 15-11. The Panthers hit .227 in the set while holding Baylor to .045 success offensively.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will face host Tennessee (4-0, 0-0 SEC) Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Thompson-Boling Arena. The match will be streamed live on SEC Network +.

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