Wednesday, November 23
Pittsburgh, PA
5 PM
Pitt
26-3,16-1ACC
3
vs
2
Georgia Tech
19-7,12-5ACC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Georgia Tech
21
25
25
22
17
2
Pittsburgh
25
22
23
25
19
3
No. 7 Pitt Wins Epic Match over No. 13 Georgia Tech
11/23/2022 10:33:00 PM | Volleyball
PITTSBURGH – No. 7 Pitt (26-3, 16-1 ACC) sent the crowd of 3,556 into a frenzy inside the Petersen Events Center, coming back to defeat No. 13 Georgia Tech (19-7, 12-5 ACC) in five sets: 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 19-17. The Panthers erased a 10-5 deficit in the fifth set to give Head coach Dan Fisher his 150th career ACC victory.
"The biggest crowd of the season meant a ton tonight," Fisher said. "I'm really pleased at how close this match was. I was secretly hoping that this would be a five-setter just because I know how tough the NCAA Tournament is and how big some of the environments we are going to play in are going to feel. Tonight felt like a big time match. In many ways, Georgia Tech outplayed us, we just had enough grit to pull out a win. They have had such a great season. We'll be pulling for them to make a deep run in the tournament. I'm just very proud of our team grit and finding a way to win through tough moments. But the crowd was incredible and made such an impact with our players. They definitely helped us win that fifth set with the energy they brought"
Pitt still controls its destiny in the fight for an ACC Championship. The Panthers need to defeat Boston College in their next match, on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m. inside Fitzgerald Field House, to clinch a share of the 2022 conference title.
QUICK HITS
SET 1: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 21
The Panthers uncharacteristically fell behind early in the opening set, allowing Georgia Tech to establish a 14-9 lead. But a flurry of production from Julianna Dalton, three kills and a block, propelled Pitt back into things, 16-16. Both sides would trade points to a 18-18 score, before Buzzerio took matters into her own hands, making two kills and two block as Pitt won eight of the final 11 points in the set to win by four. Buzzerio led the offense from start to finish, posting eight kills on .636 hitting in one of her best sets as a Panther. Both offenses were rolling early on, as Pitt out-hit GT .457 to .367 in the opening frame.
SET 2: PITT 22 – GEORGIA TECH 25
Pitt did well to amend their poor start to the first set, leading by two points for much of the opening points, even extending the lead to 15-12 at one point. But the Yellow Jackets fought back, taking a 20-18 lead and holding on for a three-point win. Both defenses stepped up as both sides hit just .256 in the frame. Both Buzzerio and Georgia Tech's Julia Bergmann were held below .100 hitting but three service errors from the Panthers proved to be the difference.
SET 3: PITT 23 – GEORGIA TECH 25
Pitt started off well once again, winning three of the first four points and holding that lead all the way to a 20-15 advantage. But Georgia Tech went on a run and Pitt couldn't respond in time as GT won 10 of the final 13 points to steal the third away. Vazquez Gomez started coming into her own in the third, making six kills on .385 hitting while Klika made six digs in a strong effort.
SET 4: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 22
With their backs against the wall, the Panthers showed their grit, getting out to another good start (7-3), withstanding the GT counter-offensive (19-19) and powering through to the finish, winning six of the final nine points to force a fifth set. Both defenses clamped down as neither team hit above .200 in the set for the firs time in the match. Buzzerio was excellent, making six kills on .462 hitting while Fairbanks led the back row with five digs. Klika and Vazquez Gomez were close behind with four digs each as the Panthers entered a fifth set for just the fourth time this season.
SET 5: PITT 19 – GEORGIA TECH 17
The fifth set started out looking bleak for the Panthers as Georgia Tech took a 10-5 lead. But Pitt stayed in the fight, using a kill from Dalton and three kills in a row from Vazquez Gomez to cut the lead to 10-9. Georgia Tech again hit back, going in front, 12-9, and then again, 13-10, but a kill from Vazquez Gomez, a pair of attack errors from GT and an ace from Fairbanks gave Pitt the first match point of the contest, 14-13. Georgia Tech would fight off three match points until back-to-back blocks from Fairbanks and Nwokolo sent the bench streaming onto the court to celebrate a come from behind victory in front of the second largest crowd in program history.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their quest for an ACC Championship on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Fitzgerald Field House against Boston College. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
"The biggest crowd of the season meant a ton tonight," Fisher said. "I'm really pleased at how close this match was. I was secretly hoping that this would be a five-setter just because I know how tough the NCAA Tournament is and how big some of the environments we are going to play in are going to feel. Tonight felt like a big time match. In many ways, Georgia Tech outplayed us, we just had enough grit to pull out a win. They have had such a great season. We'll be pulling for them to make a deep run in the tournament. I'm just very proud of our team grit and finding a way to win through tough moments. But the crowd was incredible and made such an impact with our players. They definitely helped us win that fifth set with the energy they brought"
Pitt still controls its destiny in the fight for an ACC Championship. The Panthers need to defeat Boston College in their next match, on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 1 p.m. inside Fitzgerald Field House, to clinch a share of the 2022 conference title.
QUICK HITS
- The 3,556 fans in attendance today is the second highest attendance in program history.
- Coach Fisher becomes the sixth coach in ACC history to achieve 150 conference victories. At 150-37, he becomes the second fastest to achieve the feat.
- Valeria Vazquez Gomez set a career high with 22 kills tonight, including five in the fifth set.
- She made those 22 kills while maintaining a stellar .347 hitting percentage.
- Vazquez Gomez also recorded three aces, tying her career-high, alongside 14 digs – her sixth-career double-double and fourth of the season.
- Rachel Fairbanks set a career high with five blocks, including the match winning block alongside Chiamaka Nwokolo.
- Fairbanks also recorded a double-double, her 13th of the season. She finished with a team-best 39 assists along with 12 digs, five kills, two aces and five blocks.
- Nwokolo led the team at the net, posting six blocks to go along with nine kills and a .389 hitting percentage.
- Emmy Klika led the back row, making a career-high 17 digs after taking over as libero to start the second set.
- Courtney Buzzerio delivered her third 20 kill match of the year. She leads Pitt with 369 kills this season.
- Buzzerio and Vazquez Gomez join Kayla Lund as the only Panthers to record 20+ kills inside the Petersen Events Center
- Pitt delivered a season-high 71 kills tonight, its first 70+ kill match since Baylor last season (9/4/21).
- The Panthers improve to 5-1 against Top 15 ranked opponents this season – the most Top 15 wins in a single season in program history.
- Pitt improves to 8-3 inside the Petersen Events Center and 4-0 in ACC matches in the venue.
- This was the program's first 5-set win inside the Petersen Events Center, after all three previous losses came in five sets.
SET 1: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 21
The Panthers uncharacteristically fell behind early in the opening set, allowing Georgia Tech to establish a 14-9 lead. But a flurry of production from Julianna Dalton, three kills and a block, propelled Pitt back into things, 16-16. Both sides would trade points to a 18-18 score, before Buzzerio took matters into her own hands, making two kills and two block as Pitt won eight of the final 11 points in the set to win by four. Buzzerio led the offense from start to finish, posting eight kills on .636 hitting in one of her best sets as a Panther. Both offenses were rolling early on, as Pitt out-hit GT .457 to .367 in the opening frame.
SET 2: PITT 22 – GEORGIA TECH 25
Pitt did well to amend their poor start to the first set, leading by two points for much of the opening points, even extending the lead to 15-12 at one point. But the Yellow Jackets fought back, taking a 20-18 lead and holding on for a three-point win. Both defenses stepped up as both sides hit just .256 in the frame. Both Buzzerio and Georgia Tech's Julia Bergmann were held below .100 hitting but three service errors from the Panthers proved to be the difference.
SET 3: PITT 23 – GEORGIA TECH 25
Pitt started off well once again, winning three of the first four points and holding that lead all the way to a 20-15 advantage. But Georgia Tech went on a run and Pitt couldn't respond in time as GT won 10 of the final 13 points to steal the third away. Vazquez Gomez started coming into her own in the third, making six kills on .385 hitting while Klika made six digs in a strong effort.
SET 4: PITT 25 – GEORGIA TECH 22
With their backs against the wall, the Panthers showed their grit, getting out to another good start (7-3), withstanding the GT counter-offensive (19-19) and powering through to the finish, winning six of the final nine points to force a fifth set. Both defenses clamped down as neither team hit above .200 in the set for the firs time in the match. Buzzerio was excellent, making six kills on .462 hitting while Fairbanks led the back row with five digs. Klika and Vazquez Gomez were close behind with four digs each as the Panthers entered a fifth set for just the fourth time this season.
SET 5: PITT 19 – GEORGIA TECH 17
The fifth set started out looking bleak for the Panthers as Georgia Tech took a 10-5 lead. But Pitt stayed in the fight, using a kill from Dalton and three kills in a row from Vazquez Gomez to cut the lead to 10-9. Georgia Tech again hit back, going in front, 12-9, and then again, 13-10, but a kill from Vazquez Gomez, a pair of attack errors from GT and an ace from Fairbanks gave Pitt the first match point of the contest, 14-13. Georgia Tech would fight off three match points until back-to-back blocks from Fairbanks and Nwokolo sent the bench streaming onto the court to celebrate a come from behind victory in front of the second largest crowd in program history.
UP NEXT
The Panthers continue their quest for an ACC Championship on Saturday, Nov. 26, at the Fitzgerald Field House against Boston College. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
GaTech
UP
Kills
78
71
Errors
27
23
Attempts
190
187
Hitting %
.268
.257
Points
100
91
Assists
71
70
Aces
6
7
Blocks
16
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
22
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
RS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S/RS
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
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