Pitt Fights Past Cincinnati

Friday, September 2

Provo, UT

Noon

Pitt

3-1,0-0ACC

Cincinnati

1-3,0-0AAC

Cincinnati

Pittsburgh

9/2/2022 4:04:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Panthers dominate the fifth set to collect third win of the year

PROVO, Utah – No. 10 Pitt (3-1) battled past a pesky Cincinnati team (20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 15-5) on Friday afternoon inside Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. The Panthers ended the match on a 21-5 run to come back and take their opening match of the BYU Nike Invitational.

QUICK HITS

Julianna Dalton recorded a career-best 17 kills on .368 hitting.
She becomes the first Panther to record 50 kills this season.
She also tied a career-high with nine digs, her third nine dig performance in four matches this season.
Chiamaka Nwokolo matched her career high with eight blocks, despite only playing in four of the five sets.
Rachel Fairbanks delivered her third double-double of the season, leading the team in assists (33) and digs (11).
Courtney Buzzerio delivered 13 kills, including three in the fifth set, on .333 hitting. It is her first 10+ kill, .300+ hitting match as a Panther.
Serena Gray had her best offensive performance of the young season, making 11 kills on .474 hitting.
Cam Ennis made the first two aces of her Pitt career in timely moments, giving Pitt set-point in the second set (24-20) and a 22-19 lead in the fourth.
Pitt out-dug Cincinnati, 54-45. Extending its streak to four straight matches to start the season.
Pitt has now won 39 consecutive matches against unranked opponents, dating back to the start of the 2020 season.
The all-time series with Cincinnati is now tied, 10-10. Pitt has won all four neutral site matches in the series history.

SET 1: PITT 20 – CINCINNATI 25
The Panthers came out flat, hitting uncharacteristic errors and not passing up to par. Pitt made six unforced hitting errors and two service errors while also getting blocked twice. As a result, Cincinnati received eight free points and won the set by five.

SET 2: PITT 25 – CINCINNATI 20
The second set was a back-and-forth battle as both Pitt and Cincinnati adjusted on offense and began hitting very efficiently. For a majority of the set, Pitt was hitting above .400 while Cincinnati was close behind, hitting .300+. Dalton was the offensive catalyst for the Panthers, terminating six balls on eight swings without committing an error. The momentum changer on defense was Nwokolo who delivered four blocks throughout the set, including the clinching play at set point. The Panthers ended the set on a 6-1 run, tying the match at one set apiece.

SET 3: PITT 23 – CINCINNATI 25
Pitt took its foot off the gas in the third and a late 7-2 Bearcat run put Pitt in a hole, 21-16. The Panthers fought back, even tying the score, 22-22, but Cincinnati emerged with the win by two points. Errors returned to the match in this set as Pitt gave the Bearcats six points on unforced or serving errors. Dalton was the least effected Panther, finishing with five kills. Pitt stepped on defense this set, led by four digs from Ashley Browske.

SET 4: PITT 25 – CINCINNATI 19
The Panthers started the fourth set on a mission, collecting 13 of the first 18 points (13-5). The Bearcats refused to quit, going on a 13-5 run of their own to tie the set, 18-18. Just as it looked like momentum and the match had fallen out of Pitt's grasp, the Panthers went on a 6-0 run, taking the set by six points thanks to a great stretch of serving from Ennis, a pair of kills by Dalton and two more kills from Fairbanks and Buzzerio. Dalton, Buzzerio and Fairbanks each ended the set with four kills while Dalton and Buzzerio also led the team in digs, four each.

SET 5: PITT 15 – CINCINNATI 5
The fifth set was riddled with stoppages, from challenges to timeouts. Regardless of the choppy nature, Pitt proved their mettle, holding momentum throughout the set, making diving plays and sending balls to the ground with clinical precision. Valeria Vazquez Gomez responded after a challenging first four sets, making three kills on four swings and serving out the last five points of the match. Pitt ended the fifth on a 6-0 run and ended the match on a 21-5 run dating back to the fourth set. Fairbanks was a digging machine in the final set, finishing with five digs, a kill and three assists.

UP NEXT
The Panthers get right back to work later today for the second match of a double-header against Utah State (RV). The Aggies (2-1) dropped their opening match of the weekend to the hosts, No. 7 BYU, 3-0 yesterday evening. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on BYU TV.

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