Pitt Volleyball’s Season Ends in Final Four

Thursday, December 15

Omaha, Neb.

9:30 p.m.

Pitt

31-4,17-1ACC

Louisville

31-2,17-1ACC

Pittsburgh

Louisville

Pitt Volleyball’s Season Ends in Final Four

12/16/2022 2:56:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Panthers end another record-setting season in a five-set thriller

OMAHA, Neb. – No. 2 seeded Pitt (31-4, 17-1 ACC) fell just short in a five-set battle against No. 1 seed Louisville on Thursday night inside the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Neb. The Panthers end the historic 2022 season with 31 victories and the program's second consecutive Final Four appearance.

"What a game," Head Coach Dan Fisher said. "What a season these young women had. We weren't quite up to our standards offensively and our passing was streaky, but so was theirs. I was so proud of our heart in the fourth set, we just hung in there and found a way to win. It didn't go our way today but I'm incredibly proud of this group, especially the seniors."

TEAM QUICK HITS

Pitt is now 11-3 in its last three NCAA Tournament appearances, the third most wins in Division I over that span (Texas and Wisconsin with 12).
The Panthers finish the season with three wins over Top 5 ranked opponents, five vs. Top 10, seven vs. Top 15 and eight vs. Top 20, all program records.
The Panthers 31 victories this season is the most in a single season since 1990.
Pitt ends the season with 1,764 kills, the third most in the modern scoring era.

INDIVIDUAL QUICK HITS

Courtney Buzzerio made 13 kills tonight. She now owns the Pitt program record for the most kills in an NCAA Tournament, with 82.
She has now made 461 kills this year, a new career best.
Her 461 kills is the second most by any Panther in the modern scoring era, behind only Stephanie Williams (467 in 2016).
Buzzerio and Williams are the only two Panthers in program history to achieve 450+ kills in the modern scoring era.
Her 3.66 kills/set ranks 7^th all-time for a single season since 2008.
She was named 1^st Team All-American, her first career AVCA All-America recognition.
Serena Gray ends her season with a .396 hitting percentage, the 7^th highest in the modern scoring era.
She ends her Pitt career with 515 kills on .407 hitting in two seasons as a Panther.
Gray set career-bests for digs (79) and solo blocks (20) this season.
She was named 1^st Team All-American for the first time in her career after earning Honorable Mention status in three of her previous four seasons.
Rachel Fairbanks is the first Panther in program history to make over 100 kills, 850 assists, 275 digs and 50 total blocks in the same season.
She became the first underclassmen to earn a spot on an AVCA All-America team in program history, earning third-team status as a sophomore.
Cat Flood ends her junior season with 16 service aces after making just four her previous two years.
Chiamaka Nwokolo finishes her final year at Pitt with career highs in kills (166) and blocks (118) averaging more than one block per set (1.04) for the first time in her illustrious career.
Valeria Vazquez Gomez set career-bests in kills (359), hitting percentage (.241), service aces (24), digs (291) and total blocks (40) on her way to a 2^nd team All-American selection.

SET 1: PITT 18 – LOUISVILLE 25
The Panthers struggled out of the gates, falling behind 5-0. Pitt battled back, going on a 8-3 run to tie the score at 8-8, but couldn't keep the Cardinals close, struggling to find a consistent passing game. Louisville led by seven, 19-12, and would hold that lead to the end of the set. Nwokolo was the offensive spark in the set, making three kills on three swings, but sided out at just 44 percent, leading to the defeat.

SET 1: PITT 25 – LOUISVILLE 23
Pitt bounced back offensively thanks to a resurgent passing game and strong team defense. With more and more attacks coming in system, the Panthers thrived, making only two errors for the entirety of the set. After Louisville jumped in front, 4-1, the Panthers responded with a 6-1 run to take the lead, 7-5. The Cardinals managed to tie the score a couple of different times but Pitt held the lead, eventually winning the set with a kill from Gray. Fairbanks led the offense with five kills followed by four each from Vazquez Gomez and Buzzerio. Emmy Klika played a major role in sustaining long rallies, finishing with five digs in the set.

SET 3: PITT 22 – LOUISVILLE 25
The third set was a slugfest with both offenses performing at a high level and both sides serving very tough. Louisville, again, got out to a fast start, 6-2, only for the Panthers to punch back, tying the score at 7-7, and even taking the lead, 10-9. Pitt held onto the lead all the way to 22-20, when a 5-0 Louisville run would bring the hopes of a 2-1 match lead to a screeching halt.

SET 4: PITT 25 – LOUISVILLE 22
For the fourth set in a row, Louisville started off with the lead, going in front 7-3 and eventually, 16-10. With their backs against the wall, the Panthers held firm, taking advantage of Louisville errors and utilizing some excellent runs of serve from Gray and Buzzerio to tie the match at 17. Louisville countered with a 3-0 run to go back in front, 20-17, but Pitt had the last laugh this time around, winning eight of the next 10 points to steal a set of their own and force a deciding set.

SET 5: PITT 2 – LOUISVILLE 15
The Panthers got on the wrong end of momentum early in the fifth set and couldn't muster another rally as the season ended with an effort unfitting for the remarkable year that they had.

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