Friday, September 16
Pittsburgh, PA
7 PM
Pitt
vs
Tennessee
No. 12 Pitt Volleyball Prepares for Pittsburgh Invitational
9/15/2022 8:39:00 AM | Volleyball
Panthers host Tennessee and No. 5 Ohio State this weekend
PITTSBURGH – No. 12 Pitt (7-2, 0-0 ACC) continues its early-season homestand with a pair of matches against Power 5 opponents this weekend in the Pittsburgh Invitational. Pitt will take on Tennessee on Friday night before a Sunday afternoon battle against No 5 Ohio State inside Fitzgerald Field House.
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers posted a 2-1 record in the Panther Invitational last weekend, collecting 3-0 sweeps over American and Bowling Green before suffering a 3-1 loss to Towson. Courtney Buzzerio led the offense with 31 kills (3.1/set) on .455 hitting throughout the weekend. She made her 1,000th career kill against American, finishing with 12 kills in that match on a career-best .588 hitting. She finished the weekend making at least 2.00 kills/set in all three matches without ever hitting below .375.
The match against American produced several records on the service line. The Panthers made 14 aces (4.67/set) in the sweep, the most aces/set in the Dan Fisher era and the most in a single match since Oct. 26, 2014, when Pitt made 15 aces in four sets against Louisville. Rachel Fairbanks made six aces against AU, tying the record for the most aces in the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008) while becoming the 17th Panther in program history to record 6+ aces in a match and just the sixth to do so in three sets.
PERFECTLY BALANCED AS ALL THINGS SHOULD BE
Pitt owns one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation with Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Julianna Dalton and Buzzerio each averaging over 2.50 kills/set. Those three hitters account for 61.4 percent of Pitt's terminations with Buzzerio's 94 currently pacing the group. Buzzerio is second on the team, hitting .355. It is the highest hitting percentage of any non-middle blocker in the ACC. She is one of just three players in the Power 5 to be hitting over .350 with at least 90 kills (94 kills, .355 hitting).
27% of Pitt's offense comes from the middle with Serena Gray (59), Chiamaka Nwokolo (28), Sabrina Starks (25) and Rachel Jepsen (7) contributing to that total. The middles have made those 119 combined kills on .332 hitting.
That balance has led to a .279 team hitting percentage, good enough for 24th in the nation. Only four teams have more kills and a higher hitting percentage than the Panthers: Oklahoma (445 k, .281%), Boston College (486 k, .289%) Texas Tech (447 k, .294%) and Towson (476 k , .302%).
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
The Volunteers enter the weekend with a 6-4 record after a tumultuous opening three weekends. Tennessee went 1-2 in the first weekend with four-set losses to Bowling Green and No. 13 Purdue. They defeated NC State in the second weekend, 3-0, just hours after dropping a four-set match to Colgate. UT then won four matches in a row before ending the winning streak with a 3-0 loss at home to No. 21 Western Kentucky on Tuesday. This is the 19th all-time meeting between the two schools, the all-time series is knotted, 9-9, with Pitt scoring the most recent victory, a five-setter in Knoxville, last season. Serena Gray made a career-best nine blocks in that match.
SCOUTING No. 5 OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes moved up their highest ranking of the season after sweeping No. 10 BYU and taking down then-No. 5 Georgia Tech in Atlanta last weekend. Despite the 3-3 record, Oho State is ranked No. 5 in the country thanks to one of the toughest schedules in the country. OSU opened the year with a pair of home losses to Texas (currently No. 1) before losing at a neutral site to No. 15 San Diego. After an 0-3 start, the Buckeyes have responded, defeating No. 3 Louisville at Louisville before taking down No. 10 BYU and No. 5 Georgia Tech. Their match against Tennessee will be their first against a team not ranked in the Top 15. This will be the 23rd all-time match between OSU and Pitt. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 12-10 despite Pitt taking the most recent match, 3-0, back in 2019. Lexis Akeo made 31 assists and 8 digs in the sweep.
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PITTSBURGH INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
| No. 12 Pitt vs Tennessee | Friday, Sept. 16 | 7 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets |
| Tennessee vs. No. 5 Ohio State | Saturday, Sept. 17 | 5 p.m. | Live Stats | Tickets | |
| No. 12 Pitt vs. No. 5 Ohio State | Sunday, Sept. 18 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets |
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers posted a 2-1 record in the Panther Invitational last weekend, collecting 3-0 sweeps over American and Bowling Green before suffering a 3-1 loss to Towson. Courtney Buzzerio led the offense with 31 kills (3.1/set) on .455 hitting throughout the weekend. She made her 1,000th career kill against American, finishing with 12 kills in that match on a career-best .588 hitting. She finished the weekend making at least 2.00 kills/set in all three matches without ever hitting below .375.
The match against American produced several records on the service line. The Panthers made 14 aces (4.67/set) in the sweep, the most aces/set in the Dan Fisher era and the most in a single match since Oct. 26, 2014, when Pitt made 15 aces in four sets against Louisville. Rachel Fairbanks made six aces against AU, tying the record for the most aces in the 25-point rally scoring era (since 2008) while becoming the 17th Panther in program history to record 6+ aces in a match and just the sixth to do so in three sets.
PERFECTLY BALANCED AS ALL THINGS SHOULD BE
Pitt owns one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation with Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Julianna Dalton and Buzzerio each averaging over 2.50 kills/set. Those three hitters account for 61.4 percent of Pitt's terminations with Buzzerio's 94 currently pacing the group. Buzzerio is second on the team, hitting .355. It is the highest hitting percentage of any non-middle blocker in the ACC. She is one of just three players in the Power 5 to be hitting over .350 with at least 90 kills (94 kills, .355 hitting).
27% of Pitt's offense comes from the middle with Serena Gray (59), Chiamaka Nwokolo (28), Sabrina Starks (25) and Rachel Jepsen (7) contributing to that total. The middles have made those 119 combined kills on .332 hitting.
That balance has led to a .279 team hitting percentage, good enough for 24th in the nation. Only four teams have more kills and a higher hitting percentage than the Panthers: Oklahoma (445 k, .281%), Boston College (486 k, .289%) Texas Tech (447 k, .294%) and Towson (476 k , .302%).
SCOUTING TENNESSEE
The Volunteers enter the weekend with a 6-4 record after a tumultuous opening three weekends. Tennessee went 1-2 in the first weekend with four-set losses to Bowling Green and No. 13 Purdue. They defeated NC State in the second weekend, 3-0, just hours after dropping a four-set match to Colgate. UT then won four matches in a row before ending the winning streak with a 3-0 loss at home to No. 21 Western Kentucky on Tuesday. This is the 19th all-time meeting between the two schools, the all-time series is knotted, 9-9, with Pitt scoring the most recent victory, a five-setter in Knoxville, last season. Serena Gray made a career-best nine blocks in that match.
SCOUTING No. 5 OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes moved up their highest ranking of the season after sweeping No. 10 BYU and taking down then-No. 5 Georgia Tech in Atlanta last weekend. Despite the 3-3 record, Oho State is ranked No. 5 in the country thanks to one of the toughest schedules in the country. OSU opened the year with a pair of home losses to Texas (currently No. 1) before losing at a neutral site to No. 15 San Diego. After an 0-3 start, the Buckeyes have responded, defeating No. 3 Louisville at Louisville before taking down No. 10 BYU and No. 5 Georgia Tech. Their match against Tennessee will be their first against a team not ranked in the Top 15. This will be the 23rd all-time match between OSU and Pitt. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 12-10 despite Pitt taking the most recent match, 3-0, back in 2019. Lexis Akeo made 31 assists and 8 digs in the sweep.
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