No. 7 Pitt Volleyball Earns Gritty Five-Set Win at Tennessee

Sunday, September 5

Knoxville, Tenn.

1 PM ET

Pitt

5-0,0-0ACC

Tennessee

4-1,0-0SEC

Pittsburgh

Tennessee

No. 7 Pitt Volleyball Earns Gritty Five-Set Win at Tennessee

9/5/2021 5:09:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Panthers Remain Unbeaten at 5-0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive match, No. 7 Pitt (5-0, 0-0 ACC) emerged victorious from a five-set thriller, this time defeating previously unbeaten Tennessee (4-1, 0-0 SEC) on the road at Thompson-Boling Arena Sunday afternoon.

Pitt earned the gritty win by scores of 25-23, 16-25, 28-26, 20-25, 15-10.

Outside hitter Kayla Lund led the Panthers with 19 kills in a double-double effort that included 11 digs. It was her third double-double of Pitt's five matches so far this season.

Two more Panthers notched double-doubles: setter Kylee Levers (34 assists, 14 digs) and outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh (11 kills, 13 digs). Right side Chinaza Ndee posted 14 kills on .250 hitting for the Panthers and added five blocks.

Senior middle blocker Serena Gray pitched in a career-best nine blocks, including eight block assists. Libero Ashley Browske picked up a match-high 14 digs.

The Lady Vols had the advantage in nearly every statistic category, but the Panthers had more digs (62-56).

SET ONE: No. 7 Pitt 25, Tennessee 23

It was a tightly contested first set, with seven ties and five lead changes. A 5-2 run put Pitt ahead, 13-9, but later, a 3-0 UT run gave the Lady Vols their first lead since 5-4 at 20-19. The Panthers responded with a 5-2 run to gain match point (24-21). A UT kill and block made it 24-23, and then the frame ended on a Lady Vol attack error for Pitt to gain the first set win, 25-23. Pitt held Tennessee to a .085 hitting percentage for the frame.

SET TWO: Tennessee 25, No. 7 Pitt 16

It was an error-filled set for the Panthers that led to multiple long runs for the Lady Vols, including a 10-3 surge that put Tennessee ahead, 20-12. Pitt cut the margin to 22-16, but could not keep momentum and dropped the frame, 25-16. The Lady Vols hit a hot .565 for the set while Pitt hit .133.

SET THREE: No. 7 Pitt 28, Tennessee 26

Pitt overcame a 12-9 UT lead in addition to two Lady Vols set points to win the third frame in extras. The set saw 17 ties (including 26-26) and four lead changes). The Panthers persevered with a kills by Lund and a block by Gray and Vazquez Gomez to secure the lead in the match. Pitt finished the frame on a 4-1 run.

SET FOUR: Tennessee 25, No. 7 Pitt 20

Pitt fell prey to more long runs by Tennessee, including a 7-1 surge that put the Lady Vols ahead by a score of 21-15. The Panthers clawed their way back to a two-point deficit (22-20), but it was too little, too late as Tennessee claimed the final three points to force a fifth set.

SET FIVE: No. 7 Pitt 15, Tennessee 10

A 6-2 Pitt run gave the Panthers a big momentum swing, one that they would not surrender. The Panthers ended the match on a 3-0 run to secure the gritty victory.

UP NEXT
Pitt's home schedule kicks off with the annual Panther Classic at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers will host High Point, No. 13 BYU and Bowling Green, respectively, Sept. 10-11. Each match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and tickets are available through PittsburghPanthers.com.

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