Panthers Drop Season Opener

Friday, August 26

College Station, TX

3 PM

Pitt

0-1,0-0ACC

San Diego

1-0,0-0WCC

San Diego

Pittsburgh

8/26/2022 7:22:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Pitt falls to No. 25 San Diego at Texas A&M Invitational

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 6 Pitt (0-1) came up short to No. 25 San Diego in a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-13, 17-25, 26-24, 8-15) inside Reed Arena on Friday afternoon.

QUICK HITS

Valeria Vazquez Gomez set a new career high with a team-best 16 kills.
Julianna Dalton also set a career high with 15 kills in her Pitt debut.
Rachel Fairbanks recorded her second-career double-double, finishing with 30 assists and 12 digs, both career highs.
Ashley Browske led the Panthers in digs with 18, the ninth 15+ dig performance of her career.
Serena Gray led the team with three aces, her 13^th multi-ace performance in 35 matches at Pitt.
Chiamaka Nwokolo paced the defensive effort at the net, finishing with five blocks.
Pitt falls to 7-3 in season debuts in the Dan Fisher era. The last time Pitt lost a season opener was 2020, before going on to reach the first Elite 8 in program history.
Courtney Buzzerio finished with 12 kills, wrapping up the double-digit dig performers.

SET 1: PITT 23 – SAN DIEGO 25
The Panthers went on a 4-0 run, early, thanks to some strong serving from Dalton to take a 9-6 lead. Both sides pushed each other throughout the middle portion, with USD taking a 12-13 lead only for Pitt to take the lead right back on the service game of Gray, 17-14. Both sides traded points until Pitt led 22-19, but errors creeped into the match at the wrong time and USD finished the set on a 6-1 run to take the opener. Blocking proved to be the difference with the Toreros posting four total blocks to Pitt's zero. Vazquez Gomez led the Panthers with five kills in the set while Browske delivered six digs.

SET 2: PITT 25 – SAN DIEGO 13
Pitt bounced back in a major way in the second set. Gray was instrumental in the turnaround, sending Pitt on a 6-0 run from her serve, delivering a pair of aces and diving for digs in the back row to galvanize the bench and put the Panthers up, 9-2. USD couldn't manage to get within four points of the lead for the remainder of the set and Pitt tied up the match, 1-1. The Panthers rattled off 16 kills and just one error for a .536 hitting percentage in the set while holding USD to just .233. Dalton and Buzzerio led the attack, each registering five kills while Vazquez Gomez posted four kills, four digs and an ace in a very strong all-around performance. Nwokolo produced a pair of blocks in the set as this time it was Pitt winning the block battled, 3-0.

SET 3: PITT 17 – SAN DIEGO 25
The Panthers had a hard time converting attacks into kills in the third, as a 6-6 score snowballed into a 11-21 deficit. Pitt didn't go down without a fight, winning six of the final 10 points, but the hole was too big to climb out of.

SET 4: PITT 26 – SAN DIEGO 24
The lead changed hands seven times with 17 tie scores in a wild fourth set. Neither team led by more than two points until USD took a 19-22 lead. With their backs against the wall, Coach Fisher subbed in graduate senior Sabrina Starks, who delivered a kill followed by back-to-back blocks to tie the match at 22 and alter momentum in the building. Pitt earned the first set point, only for USD to tie it back up at 24, but back-to-back kills from Vazquez Gomez completed the comeback, giving Pitt seven of the final nine points and sending the match to a deciding fifth set.

SET 5: PITT 8 – SAN DIEGO 15
San Diego got out in front, 10-4, thanks to four Pitt errors and two service aces. The deficit was too much to overcome, and the Panthers dropped their season opener in five sets.

UP NEXT
The Panthers continue the Texas A&M Invitational tomorrow, with a neutral site match against Hawai'I (RV). The match will start at 5 p.m. ET.

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