Pitt Sweeps Hawai’i

Saturday, August 27

College Station, TX

5 PM

Pitt

1-1,0-0ACC

Hawaii

0-2,0-0Big West

Pittsburgh

Hawaii

8/27/2022 9:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Panthers collect their first win of the season

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 6 Pitt (1-1) got back on track, sweeping Hawai'i (25-17, 25-16, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon at the Reed Center. The Panthers improve to 1-1 on the young season heading into the third and final day of the Texas A&M Invitational, tomorrow.

QUICK HITS

Pitt improved its efficiency drastically from the opening match, finishing with a team hitting percentage of .330.
The Panthers had a balanced attack once again. Julianna Dalton led the team with 24 attacks with Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Courtney Buzzerio each posting 23 of their own.
Vazquez Gomez led the Panthers, for the second match in a row, with 12 kills on .348 hitting.
She has delivered back-to-back matches with 10+ kills for just the second time in her career (also in 2021).
Dalton led the team in hitting percentage (.417), delivering 11 kills on 24 swings with only one error. It is the best hitting percentage of her collegiate career.
Buzzerio led the Panthers in points, with 15.5. She made nine kills on .304 hitting, adding seven block assists and three aces. The seven blocks ties a career high, set back in 2021 with Iowa.
Serena Gray dominated the third set, making three kills and five blocks. She would finish the match with nine blocks, tying her career high set last season against Tennessee (Sept. 5).
Ashley Browske was outstanding on the back row, making 19 digs (6.33 digs/set) while also helping the offense with a career-best eight assists.
It was the 10^th 15+ dig effort of her career and the first time she has made 18 or more digs in consecutive matches as a Panther.
Cam Ennis and Rachel Fairbanks each delivered 16 assists to lead the team.
Rachel Jepsen recorded her first collegiate kill in the second set.
Pitt has now won 38 consecutive matches against unranked opponents, dating back to the start of the 2020 season.
This was the first victory over Hawai'i in program history – the two programs had not met since 1999.

SET 1: PITT 25 – HAWAI'I 17
Buzzerio was the catalyst early on, helping Pitt seize control of the match with all-around outstanding play. She made two kills, two blocks and two aces in the first ten points as Pitt took an early 7-3 lead. Hawai'i shortened the gap to 8-6, before some UH errors and a pair of aces from Fairbanks sent Pitt on a 6-1 run, resulting in a 14-7 advantage. Hawai'i couldn't get within less than five points from that point on as Vazquez Gomez delivered the final two kills for an eight-point victory. She would lead Pitt in kills by the end of the set, with six. Buzzerio finished with four kills, three aces and three blocks while Browske held down the defensive end with nine digs.

SET 2: PITT 25 – HAWAI'I 16
It was Dalton's turn to step up for Pitt in the second set as the sophomore transfer put up four kills and two blocks to vault the Panthers in front, 10-4. Hawai'i managed to cut the lead to 13-10, but a quick 3-0 run thanks to a pair of kills and a block from Gray and Buzzerio put Pitt back in control. Buzzerio delivered the final blow at the end of the set for a nine-point win. Dalton led the offense with five kills on .500 hitting. Browske was the top assist-getter, posting five to go along with her four digs. It was Fairbanks leading the defense with five digs while also contributing three assists.

SET 3: PITT 25 – HAWAI'I 21
The Panthers could do no wrong offensively in the final set, earning a .452 hitting percentage as a team thanks to timely distributions from Ennis and Fairbanks. Pitt started the set well, once again, taking a 7-3 lead thanks to two kills from Buzzerio, one from Dalton and a pair of blocks by Gray. Pitt would grow the lead to 22-16 before Hawai'i made one last push, going on a 5-0 run and cutting the lead to one, 22-21. But the Panthers kept their composure, using a UH service error, a block from Gray and one final kill by Dalton to salt away the first victory of the year. Dalton led the offense with five kills on .714 hitting while Gray added three kills and five block assists. Ennis was the top distributer, posting eight assists while Browske finished her day with six more digs.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will play their third and final match of the Texas A&M Invitational on Sunday against the hosts, Texas A&M (1-1). First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on SEC Network+.

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