Pitt Offense Overpowers Utah State

Friday, September 2

Provo, UT

7 PM

Pitt

4-1,0-0ACC

Utah State

2-2,0-0Mountain West

Pittsburgh

Utah St.

Pitt Offense Overpowers Utah State

9/2/2022 10:31:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

The Panthers post their highest hit percentage since 2016 in sweep

PROVO, Utah – No. 10 Pitt (4-1) earned its third sweep of the season (25-21, 25-18, 25-15) on Friday evening, defeating Utah State inside Smith Fieldhouse in Provo, Utah. The Panthers hit .493 as a team, making 41 kills on 69 swings with only seven errors. It was the highest hitting percentage in a single match since 2016. All seven of the Pitt hitters that took a swing, hit .300 or better.

QUICK HITS

Pitt had five hitters collect five or more kills tonight, led by Serena Gray and Julianna Dalton, who each made eight.
Gray hit her eight kills on .667 hitting – it is her seventh .600+ hitting performance as a Panther.
Gray led the team in blocks as well, posting five.
Valeria Vazquez Gomez secured seven kills on a career-best .600 hitting.
Courtney Buzzerio made seven kills on .545 hitting, her best as a Panther and just .007 away from her career high.
Three Pitt hitters hit over .500 with 10 or more attempts – the most in a single match since the Robert Morris match in 2016.
Rachel Fairbanks led the team in digs for the third match in a row, posting seven alongside five kills, 22 assists and an ace.
Chiamaka Nwokolo delivered three blocks, bringing her total for the day to 11 (1.375/set).
Pitt out-dug Utah State, 32-18. Extending its streak to five straight matches to start the season.
Pitt has now won 40 consecutive matches against unranked opponents, dating back to the start of the 2020 season.

SET 1: PITT 25 – UTAH STATE 21
Pitt didn't have the fastest start to the match, allowing Utah State to take a 10-7 lead off three Aggie aces. The Panther's improved their passing and started converting, going on a 10-5 scoring run to take a 17-15 lead. Pitt slowly began to pull away, emphasized by the first block of the day by Gray and Vazquez Gomez that put Pitt in front, 20-16. Another Gray block, this time with Dalton, put the set firmly in Panther control and Pitt would close it out five points later. Pitt hit .562 as a team in the opening set, making 10 kills on 16 swings with just one error.

SET 2: PITT 25 – UTAH STATE 18
Pitt was once again forced to erase a small early deficit, coming back from down, 7-9, to tie the set at 10. Both sides traded points until 12-12, when Pitt broke the set open with a 9-2 run, thanks in large part to the excellent service game of Cam Ennis. The talented trio of Buzzerio, Dalton and Vazquez Gomez dominated the offense for Pitt all set, finishing with a combined 14 kills on .619 hitting. The defense stepped up in a major way after 12-12, posting a total of 16 digs to USU's eight. Browske and Fairbanks led that push, with three digs apiece.

SET 3: PITT 25 – UTAH STATE 15
Pitt took over in the third set, claiming 11 of the final 14 points and closing it out with a 7-0 run on the serve of Gray. Pitt hit .500 while holding the Aggies to just .081. Gray dominated the set from start to finish, posting five kills on six swings with no errors, two blocks, an ace and three digs. The Panthers successfully sided out on 14 of 15 attempts (93%) in one of the most complete sets of the young season.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will take on the hosts, No. 7 BYU, tomorrow evening in Provo. It is the first Top-10 battle for both teams this season. The match is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET and can be streamed live on BYU TV.

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