Coach Fisher Records 250th Win at Pitt

Friday, November 4

Syracuse, NY

7 PM

Pitt

Syracuse

Coach Fisher Records 250th Win at Pitt

11/4/2022 10:19:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Coach Dan Fisher becomes the fastest coach to 250 wins in program history

SYRACUSE, NY – Head Coach Dan Fisher earned his 250^th win at Pitt as No. 7 Pitt (23-2, 13-0) swept Syracuse (10-13, 6-7 ACC) on Friday night inside the Women's Building. Coach Fisher becomes the fastest coach in Pitt history to record 250 wins, doing so in 21 fewer matches than the all-time wins leader and 2022 AVCA Hall of Fame Inductee, Shelton Collier.

"My 250^th win at Pitt feels nice," Coach Fisher said. "It means I've been lucky to coach some really good players at a university that really appreciates and supports volleyball and that's always a great feeling."

The Panthers have now won 16 matches in a row and extend the longest active road winning streak in Division I to 14. It is the third longest winning streak in the Fisher era and the longest since the 2019 season.

"I was pleased that we hit over .300 tonight," Coach Fisher said. "We set a goal to do that coming into the match so it was good to see we accomplished that. Syracuse has some great pin hitters, so it took us a while to stop them. I was disappointed at times with our defensive intensity but our pin hitter production tonight was very good. All in all, I'm very pleased with getting a road win against a good team in a tough place to play."

QUICK HITS

This was Coach Fisher's 250^th victory at Pitt and the 325^th of his career.
He is now 250-60 at Pitt
He is the fastest coach to 250 wins in program history, doing so in 21 fewer matches than the previous record holder, 2022 AVCA Hall of Fame Inductee Shelton Collier.
This is the 16^th win in a row for Pitt, the third-longest winning streak of the Dan Fisher era and the longest since 2019.
Pitt has started ACC play 13-0, the second-best start to ACC play in program history and the best since the undefeated 2019 season (18-0).
Courtney Buzzerio turned in yet another All-American caliber performance, making a team-best 14 kills on .444 hitting.
This was her fourth match of the year with at least 4 kills/set on .400 hitting after doing so just three times in her previous four seasons at Iowa.
Buzzerio also led the team with two aces tonight, marking her third straight match with an ace, her longest streak of the season.
Rachel Fairbanks posted her 11^th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 16 assists.
It was the 13^th double-double of her career and just the second to involve kills and assists.
Valeria Vazquez Gomez contributed in every way this match, making eight kills on .333 hitting, eight digs, a block and two aces.
It was her fourth multi-ace match of the season.
She recorded her 500^th career dig in the opening set, finishing with 8 for a new career total of 507.
Julianna Dalton recorded six kills without committing an error tonight (.400 hitting) – the first error free match of her collegiate career.
Ashley Browske led the team with 10 digs. It is her 15^th 10+ dig performance of the season.
Pitt is now 43-13 all-time against Syracuse, tied with Duquesne for the most victories over an opponent in program history.
The Panthers have now won three straight in the series and eight of the last 10 matches.
Pitt's 13 consecutive ACC victories is the longest active conference winning streak by any team in the Power 5 conferences.
The Panthers are the only program in the Power 5 to still be undefeated in conference play.

SET 1: PITT 25 – SYRACUSE 23
The opening set was an interesting affair as both teams came out swinging with efficient attacks and well-organized play. The Panthers took the early advantage, 13-9, only for Syracuse to tie the score once more at 15. A couple of attack errors opened the door again for the Panthers, up 19-16, only for the Orange to tie up the score once again, 21-21. After trading points, Pitt turned to Nwokolo to get a kill on a free ball opportunity, before a SU attack error brought a well-fought opener to a close. Pitt hit .268 in the set with five hitters delivering multiple kills as Buzzerio led the group with six on .500 hitting. Browske was strong in the first, making five digs and keeping the Panthers in system.

SET 2: PITT 25 – SYRACUSE 18
Neither team led by more than two points up until the media timeout when Syracuse held a tenuous 15-14 lead. After the break, Pitt dominated play. The Panthers won 11 of the next 14 points to take the set by seven points led by an incredible display from Fairbanks. The sophomore tallied three kills, a block and an assist, contributing to five of the final eight points in the set to establish a two-set Pitt lead. She would lead the team with five kills in the second set, doing so on .500 swinging, while also contributing five assists, two digs and two blocks in one of her most physical sets as a Panther.

SET 3: PITT 25 – SYRACUSE 19
The Panthers bombarded Syracuse from the service line to start the third as back-to-back aces from Vazquez Gomez, along with an ace from Buzzerio, helped Pitt get out to a 9-3 lead. Syracuse managed to cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions, but a late 4-0 run off the serving of Serena Gray put Pitt in front, 21-15, a lead they would hold until the end of play. Fairbanks flexed her muscles on defense this set, ending with four digs and a solo block to go along with three kills and five assists. Buzzerio led the team with four kills on .500 hitting while Vazquez Gomez added three kills of her own as the Panthers closed out their 16^th win in a row.

UP NEXT
The Panthers end ACC round-robin play on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Boston College (17-10, 5-8 ACC). The Eagles have won three-straight home contests heading into the match. It can be streamed live on ACCN Extra.

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