No. 12 Pitt Sweeps Tennessee

Friday, September 16

Pittsburgh, PA

7 PM

Pitt

8-2,0-0ACC

Tennessee

6-5,0-0SEC

Tennessee

Pittsburgh

9/16/2022 10:36:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

Panthers collect second Power 5 victory of the season

PITTSBURGH – No. 12 Pitt (8-2) got back into the win column with a convincing, 3-0, victory over Tennessee on Friday night inside Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers hit .302 as a team to collect their second sweep over an SEC opponent this year.

QUICK HITS

Courtney Buzzerio led the team with 14 kills.
It is her sixth double-digit kill performance of the season.
She made her 14 kills on .367 hitting, marking the fifth time this year she has made 10+ kills on .300+ hitting.
She leads the ACC in hitting percentage by a non-middle blocker this season – hitting .357.
Valeria Vazquez Gomez made 11 kills on a team-best .429 hitting.
It was her fifth 10+ kill effort of the year and her third time doing so on .400+ hitting.
Ashley Browske recorded her 100^th dig of the season tonight. She finished with nine digs, tied for the most on the team with Vazquez Gomez.
Julianna Dalton hit two aces today, marking her second-career multi-ace performance and second in as many matches.
She has seven aces this season, after tallying just one in her freshman year at Washington State.
Rachel Fairbanks and Lexis Akeo split the setting duties finishing with 21 and 20 assists respectively.
Fairbanks is up to 220 assists this season, a new career high.
She also made three blocks tonight for a new career high.
Fairbanks has surpassed her freshman year totals in kills (48), assists (220), digs (88) and blocks (9) over the course of 36 sets this season despite playing in 91 sets back in 2021.
Chiamaka Nwokolo led the team with four blocks. She has made at least 1 block/set in seven of nine matches this year.
Pitt now leads the all-time series with Tennessee, 10-9, and boasts a 37-26 all-time record against current SEC members.

SET 1: PITT 25 – TENNESSEE 20
The Pitt block came to play early as Nwokolo, Fairbanks and Gray delivered three blocks in the first 17 points to put the Panthers ahead, 10-7. Tennessee would tie the score, 13-13, before Pitt embarked on a 7-1 scoring run thanks to the great serving of Dalton and three kills from Vazquez Gomez. With a 20-14 lead in hand, the Panthers traded points for the rest of the set, winning by five points. It was a remarkably clean set for Pitt, hitting .385 as a team and making three aces without any service errors. Buzzerio led the offense with four kills on six swings. Serena Gray delivered a perfect three kills on 1.000 hitting set on top of her two blocks. Browske spearheaded the back row with three digs as Dalton, Buzzerio and Vazquez Gomez each recorded aces.

SET 2: PITT 25 – TENNESSEE 21
The Panthers jumped all over Tennessee at the start of the second. Nwokolo was the star, making three blocks and a kill as Pitt took a commanding 9-1 lead. The Volunteers stayed in the fight, cutting the lead to as few as two points late, 21-19, but a couple more Buzzerio kills brought the Panthers over the line with four points to spare. Six different Panthers contributed multiple kills for another balanced effort, led by five from Buzzerio. Fairbanks and Vazquez Gomez led the defense with three digs each while Nwokolo's three early blocks led the team at the net.

SET 3: PITT 25 – TENNESSEE 23
Two kills and a great run of serve from Vazquez Gomez helped Pitt get out to another early lead, 5-1. Tennessee would work to close the gap, only for Pitt to continuously fire back, keeping the lead at around five points for most of the set. Buzzerio's 14^th kill of the day gave Pitt match point, 24-18, only for Tennessee to win two separate challenges, slowly accumulating five-straight points. With the set in jeopardy of going to extra points, Dalton and Nwokolo put up a block that Tennessee couldn't hit around, resulting in an error and ending the match. Vazquez Gomez was lights out in the third, leading the team with five kills on .714 hitting. Browske was phenomenal this set, making four digs, passing well and covering the block with great consistency.

UP NEXT
The Panthers welcome No. 5 Ohio State on Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com and both matches will be streamed on ACCN Extra.

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