University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Friday, September 2
Provo, UT
Noon
Pitt
vs
Cincinnati
No. 10 Pitt Travels to BYU Nike Invitational
9/1/2022 12:49:00 PM | Volleyball
The Panthers face their first Top 10 test of 2022
PITTSBURGH – No. 10 Pitt (2-1, 0-0 ACC) continues its non-conference schedule with three matches in two days at the BYU Nike Invitational inside George Albert Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah.
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers won two out of three matches at the Texas A&M Invitational, sweeping Hawai'i and Texas A&M after dropping a five-set match to No. 25 San Diego. Rachel Fairbanks recorded the first triple-double by a Panther in the 25-point rally scoring era in the win against Texas A&M, making 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs.
Fairbanks and Cam Ennis did a very good job of spreading out the offense with three Panthers ending the weekend with at least 2.5 kills/set. Valeria Vazquez Gomez lead the team with 34 kills, followed by Julianna Dalton (33) and Courtney Buzzerio (28).
Ashley Browske led the defensive effort, making a team-high 48 digs (4.36/set) throughout the weekend. As a team, Pitt out-dug its opponents 162-139, a difference of just over two digs/set, thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Browske.
RA¢HEL FAIRBANK$
Sophomore Rachel Fairbanks become the first Panther to record a triple-double in the 25-point rally scoring era and the first since 2006, when she delivered 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Texas A&M. She is one of eight players in the nation to record a triple-double in the opening week and one of just two to do so in a three-set sweep (also Noelani Helm of Portland).
Fairbanks is the only player in the country from a Power 5 conference to record a triple-double against a Power 5 opponent this year and is one of just four players to do so over the last three seasons – one of those other players is current Pitt RS Courtney Buzzerio, who did so at Iowa in the spring of 2021. The last player to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season, as a member of a team in one of the Power 5 conferences, was Buzzerio, back in her sophomore season (2019).
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
One of Coach Fisher's bright spots from the past weekend was the defensive effort. Pitt out-dug its opponents in all three matches, with senior libero Ashley Browske leading the way. She delivered 48 digs (4.36/set) over the weekend, her highest average over a three-match span in her career.
Serena Gray matched her career-high with nine blocks in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of Hawai'i. Those nine blocks were the most by any player in the ACC through the opening week. She leads the team with 15 blocks thus far (1.36/set).
Sabrina Starks has been very impressive for her defense at the net. She made back-to-back blocks in the fourth set against USD to help Pitt force a fifth and made yet another block to close out the third set against Texas A&M.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Cincinnati started the season 1-2 at its home tournament, Tribute to #10. The Bearcats dropped the first two matches to Illinois State and Dayton before taking down Florida State in four sets. This will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two schools. Cincinnati leads the series,10-9. The last meeting came in 2019, when Cincinnati upset Pitt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Four Panthers: Lexis Akeo, Ashley Browske, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Sabrina Starks are the only players remaining from the 2019 season.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State moved up in the AVCA Coaches' poll, receiving 20 votes after posting a 2-0 record in the opening weekend, including a four-set win over No. 12 UCLA in Logan, Utah. The Aggies boast a balanced attack with a menacing block they displayed against UCLA. This is the second meeting between USU and Pitt, with the Aggies taking the opening match back in 2000.
SCOUTING No. 7 BYU
BYU went 3-0 at its first home tournament, the doTERRA Classic. The Cougars won nine of 10 sets over the weekend, taking down Rider, Duke and Washington State, only dropping a set to Duke. The Cougars are holding their opponents to .118 hitting so far, whole posting a .314 average themselves. Erin Livingston leads the team with 37 kills. She is the undisputed No. 1 option on offense, taking 105 swings with no other Cougar taking more than 50 swings thus far. This will be the third match in the all-time series, with BYU taking the first match back in 1988 and Pitt winning the most recent match, last season.
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BYU NIKE INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
| No. 10 Pitt vs Cincinnati | Friday, Sept. 2 | 12 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch |
| No. 10 Pitt vs. Utah State | Friday, Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch |
| No. 10 Pitt at No. 7 BYU | Saturday, Sept. 3 | 9 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch |
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers won two out of three matches at the Texas A&M Invitational, sweeping Hawai'i and Texas A&M after dropping a five-set match to No. 25 San Diego. Rachel Fairbanks recorded the first triple-double by a Panther in the 25-point rally scoring era in the win against Texas A&M, making 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs.
Fairbanks and Cam Ennis did a very good job of spreading out the offense with three Panthers ending the weekend with at least 2.5 kills/set. Valeria Vazquez Gomez lead the team with 34 kills, followed by Julianna Dalton (33) and Courtney Buzzerio (28).
Ashley Browske led the defensive effort, making a team-high 48 digs (4.36/set) throughout the weekend. As a team, Pitt out-dug its opponents 162-139, a difference of just over two digs/set, thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Browske.
RA¢HEL FAIRBANK$
Sophomore Rachel Fairbanks become the first Panther to record a triple-double in the 25-point rally scoring era and the first since 2006, when she delivered 13 kills, 15 assists and 12 digs in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Texas A&M. She is one of eight players in the nation to record a triple-double in the opening week and one of just two to do so in a three-set sweep (also Noelani Helm of Portland).
Fairbanks is the only player in the country from a Power 5 conference to record a triple-double against a Power 5 opponent this year and is one of just four players to do so over the last three seasons – one of those other players is current Pitt RS Courtney Buzzerio, who did so at Iowa in the spring of 2021. The last player to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season, as a member of a team in one of the Power 5 conferences, was Buzzerio, back in her sophomore season (2019).
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
One of Coach Fisher's bright spots from the past weekend was the defensive effort. Pitt out-dug its opponents in all three matches, with senior libero Ashley Browske leading the way. She delivered 48 digs (4.36/set) over the weekend, her highest average over a three-match span in her career.
Serena Gray matched her career-high with nine blocks in Pitt's 3-0 sweep of Hawai'i. Those nine blocks were the most by any player in the ACC through the opening week. She leads the team with 15 blocks thus far (1.36/set).
Sabrina Starks has been very impressive for her defense at the net. She made back-to-back blocks in the fourth set against USD to help Pitt force a fifth and made yet another block to close out the third set against Texas A&M.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Cincinnati started the season 1-2 at its home tournament, Tribute to #10. The Bearcats dropped the first two matches to Illinois State and Dayton before taking down Florida State in four sets. This will be the 20th all-time meeting between the two schools. Cincinnati leads the series,10-9. The last meeting came in 2019, when Cincinnati upset Pitt in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Four Panthers: Lexis Akeo, Ashley Browske, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Sabrina Starks are the only players remaining from the 2019 season.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State moved up in the AVCA Coaches' poll, receiving 20 votes after posting a 2-0 record in the opening weekend, including a four-set win over No. 12 UCLA in Logan, Utah. The Aggies boast a balanced attack with a menacing block they displayed against UCLA. This is the second meeting between USU and Pitt, with the Aggies taking the opening match back in 2000.
SCOUTING No. 7 BYU
BYU went 3-0 at its first home tournament, the doTERRA Classic. The Cougars won nine of 10 sets over the weekend, taking down Rider, Duke and Washington State, only dropping a set to Duke. The Cougars are holding their opponents to .118 hitting so far, whole posting a .314 average themselves. Erin Livingston leads the team with 37 kills. She is the undisputed No. 1 option on offense, taking 105 swings with no other Cougar taking more than 50 swings thus far. This will be the third match in the all-time series, with BYU taking the first match back in 1988 and Pitt winning the most recent match, last season.
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Players Mentioned
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