No. 9 Pitt Downs No. 10 Georgia Tech

Sunday, October 9

Atlanta, GA

2 PM

Pitt

16-2,6-0ACC

Georgia Tech

11-4,4-2ACC

Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech

No. 9 Pitt Downs No. 10 Georgia Tech

10/9/2022 6:40:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Serena Gray records her 1,000th career-kill as Pitt wins third-straight Top 10 match

ATLANTA – No. 9 Pitt (16-2, 6-0) asserted themselves in the ACC with a 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 25-16) victory over No. 10 Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon inside McCamish Pavilion. Valeria Vazquez Gomez recorded a double-double and Serena Gray delivered her 1,000^th career kill as Pitt stays undefeated (6-0) playing at Georgia Tech.

"I thought Michelle and her staff did a great job of getting the match played in McCamish and creating such an excellent environment for college volleyball," head coach Dan Fisher said. "It was a great day for the ACC and volleyball as a whole. I thought we were very good defensively and from the service line. I think we won the serve and pass game and just showed a lot of poise. We made a few too many uncharacteristic attack errors, but overall, I really liked our grit. We stayed in it, even when we were down. We know they'll be ready to bring it in a couple of weeks when they come to our place."

QUICK HITS

This is the third straight victory over a Top 10-ranked opponent – the longest streak in program history.
Gray became the 20^th Panther in program history to reach 1,000 career kills, making eight today for a career-total of 1,007.
She also posted eight blocks for her second highest total of the year (nine blocks vs. Hawai'i).
Vazquez Gomez made 15 kills on .444 hitting while also adding 10 digs, earning her second double-double of the season.
She has made 10 or more digs in three straight matches.
This was the best hitting percentage of her career when making more than 10 kills.
Courtney Buzzerio led Pitt in kills for the 10th match in a row, finishing with 18 on .300 hitting.
She has made 10+ kill in 10 straight matches while hitting at least .300 in her last five.
Ashley Browske had another strong performance in the back row, making 17 digs.
It is her fourth straight 10+ dig match and 11^th of the year.
Rachel Fairbanks made 38 assists as well as three kills, two aces and four digs.
Julianna Dalton made 10 digs for her second-career double-digit dig match.
Pitt is now 6-0 at Georgia Tech and 12-2 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.
The Panthers have won their first seven road matches of the season, extending their road winning streak to 11 matches, the second longest active streak in the nation.
Pitt is now 24-1 in its last 25 road matches.
Pitt improves to 4-2 in road matches against Top 10 opponents over the last four seasons.
Pitt has started ACC play 6-0 for the fourth time in the last six years and first since the undefeated 2019 season.

SET 1: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 21
Buzzerio helped the Panthers establish their offense, making the first three kills of the day before Chiamaka Nwokolo made two blocks over the next three points and the match was tied, 5-5. That would be one of 15 ties in the set as both teams played strong defense throughout the set. A 4-0 scoring run late in the set proved to be the difference with Vazquez Gomez and Gray making kills on top of an ace from Fairbanks. That run put Pitt in front, 20-17, Georgia Tech never got closer than two points for the rest of the set as Dalton ended things with a pair of kills. Buzzerio and Vazquez Gomez combined for 11 kills in the set while Browske was all over the court, making eight digs.

SET 2: PITT 27 – GEORGIA TECH 25
The tight play continued as both teams continued to play hard. Georgia Tech held the largest lead of the set, up 12-9, but three straight blocks, first from Fairbanks and Gray, then two solo blocks from Gray and Buzzerio, tied up the set and kept momentum from swinging too far in either direction. Both teams continued to trade points until Buzzerio and Vazquez Gomez made back-to-back kills to put Pitt in front, 2-0 in extra points. The middles were a focal point of the offense in the second as Nwokolo (four) and Gray (three) combined for seven kills on .545 hitting.

SET 3: PITT 22 – GEORGIA TECH 25
Georgia Tech pushed back in the third, going up 18-11. Pitt fought back, cutting the lead to just one point, 22-23, but the Yellow Jackets won the next two points, forcing a fourth set. Vazquez Gomez led the team with five kills on six swings in a very strong set.

SET 4: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 16
Pitt started the fourth on a 10-0 run off the serve of Vazquez Gomez to take a 10-1 lead. Georgia Tech tried to get back into the set, cutting the lead to three points, 18-15, but three kills from Vazquez Gomez and three blocks from Gray and Buzzerio ended all hope for a comeback and Pitt stayed undefeated against Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return home for a four-match ACC homestand. Pitt will host Miami (Oct. 14) and Florida State (Oct. 16) next weekend inside Fitzgerald Field House. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com and both matches will be streamed on ACCN Extra.

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