No. 12 Panthers Record Historic Sweep of No. 5 Ohio State

Sunday, September 18

Pittsburgh, PA

1 PM

Pitt

9-2,0-0ACC

Ohio State

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Ohio St.

Pittsburgh

No. 12 Panthers Record Historic Sweep of No. 5 Ohio State

9/18/2022 5:15:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

First Time Pitt has Swept a Top-5 Opponent at Home in Program History

PITTSBURGH – No. 12 Pitt (9-2) made short work of No. 5 Ohio State, sweeping the Buckeyes (25-21, 25-15, 25-22) on Sunday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Field House. It is the 2^nd time in program history that Pitt has swept a Top 5 opponent and the first time doing so at home (at No. 4 Penn State - 9/20/19).

"It was a consistent performance for us," head coach Dan Fisher said. "We were scrappy. The girls set a goal to out-dig the other team and we did it. We got great production, again, from Courtney Buzzerio. It was just an all-around great win for our program against a very good team. Glad to get the big win early because we know that this will prepare us for ACC play. It's a great day for the Pitt Panthers."

QUICK HITS

This is the 5^th victory over a Top-5 opponent in program history and the first since taking down No. 3 Minnesota in the 2020-21 Sweet 16.
It is the first home victory over a Top-5 team since 2005 when Pitt took down No. 5 Notre Dame in five sets.
This was the eighth-largest home crowd in program history - 2,433.
Courtney Buzzerio led the team with a season-best 15 kills on .412 hitting.
She has now made at least 3.25 kills/set while hitting over .350 in three straight matches.
It is her seventh double-digit kill performance of the season and third in as many matches
This was the sixth 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 .364.
She made her last 12 kills of the match without committing an error.
Buzzerio led the team with 29 kills this weekend (4.83 kills/set) on .391 hitting.
Valeria Vazquez Gomez made 10 kills for her sixth 10+ kill effort of the year.
Ashley Browske led the team with 14 digs – it was her third 4+ dig/set effort of the season and her 14^th as a Panther.
Browske (Cleveland, Ohio) and Chiamaka Nwokolo (Columbus, Ohio) are now 2-0 in their careers against Ohio State and 7-0 in regular season matches against opponents from their home state.
Rachel Fairbanks made two aces today for her fourth multi-ace match of the season.
She delivered 12 digs as well to register her fifth double-double of the year
Nwokolo led the team with four blocks. She has made at least 1 block/set in eight of 10 matches this year. She now leads the team in blocks for the season, with 39.
Pitt improves to 11-12 all-time against Ohio State.
Pitt out-dug Ohio State 47-42. It is the 10^th time this season the Panthers have made more digs than their opponent.

SET 1: PITT 25 – OHIO STATE 21
Pitt showed off some great defense early on – out-digging OSU 5-1 in the first 14 points and leading 8-6. That defensive effort carried on throughout the rest of the set as Pitt covered well at the net and kept Ohio State from getting into a rhythm on offense, leading to frustration and eventually some ill-timed errors. Pitt managed to hold a two-point lead for a majority of the set, stretching it out to a 22-19 lead. That frustration with the Pitt defense led to three OSU errors in the final four points as Pitt claimed the set. Buzzerio staked her claim on the match right away, making six kills in the opening set. The defensive effort was led by Browske, who delivered five digs, alongside four each from Vazquez Gomez and Fairbanks.

SET 2: PITT 25 – OHIO STATE 15
The second set started off much like the first. Pitt took an early lead with a nice balanced offensive attack and strong team defense but Ohio State never let the Panthers get comfortable, even going on a 4-0 run to take their first lead of the day, 10-12. But Pitt bounced back, responding with a 4-0 run of their own to go back in front, 14-12. An Ohio State service error put Pitt in front, 17-15, and gave the ball to Fairbanks at the service line, where she would continue to serve for the remainder of play. The Panthers were unstoppable in the rotation with Fairbanks making two aces and Vazquez Gomez going off for five kills as Pitt ended the set on a 9-0 run to take the set by 10. Vazquez Gomez led the offense with six kills in the set, thanks to her dominant run at the end, while Browske and Julianna Dalton led the defense with six digs each.

SET 3: PITT 25 – OHIO STATE 22
Ohio State upped their level in the third set, but the Panthers leaned on the eighth largest home crowd in program history to go on an 8-1 run, overcoming a 7-11 deficit to go in front, 15-12. The Buckeyes punched back, going in front, 17-18, only for Pitt to respond again, reclaiming the lead, 22-20. OSU tied the set 22-22, but a pair of hitting errors and one final kill from Buzzerio ended the match with Pitt in front by three points. Buzzerio led the way with four kills alongside three each from Vazquez Gomez and Serena Gray. Browske's four digs topped the defense along with three each from Vazquez Gomez and Fairbanks.

UP NEXT
The Panthers begin ACC play this next week, closing their seven-match homestand against North Carolina (Friday at 7) and NC State (Sunday at 1) inside Fitzgerald Field House.

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