No. 10 Pitt Overcomes North Carolina

Friday, September 23

Pittsburgh, PA

7 PM

Pitt

10-2,1-0ACC

North Carolina

8-4,0-1ACC

North Carolina

Pittsburgh

No. 10 Pitt Overcomes North Carolina

9/23/2022 10:34:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

PITTSBURGH – No. 10 Pitt (10-2) won its 2022 ACC Season opener over North Carolina on Friday night inside Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers won the match in four sets (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16) thanks to a dazzling offensive display from the middle blockers. Serena Gray and Chiamaka Nwokolo combined for 19 kills on .640 hitting as the Panthers battled past a strong North Carolina team.

"I thought it was a monster night for our middle blockers, who both hit for a really high percentage," Head Coach Dan Fisher said. "We've been working a lot on our quick attack this week in practice and I thought it showed tonight. Other than that, there were a lot of players that stayed tough. Maybe they didn't start off playing their best volleyball but they really ended up playing well by the end. It was a good effort and I'm excited to get back to work against another tough ACC opponent on Sunday."

QUICK HITS

Courtney Buzzerio led the Panthers in kills for the fifth time this season, finishing with 14.
She has now made 10+ kills in four straight matches and eight overall this season.
Serena Gray delivered her best offensive performance of the season, making 10 kills on .750 hitting. It is the highest hitting percentage of any Panther this season with at least 10 attempts.
Chiamaka Nwokolo set a season-best with nine kills on .538 hitting. It is the most kills she has had since making 13 in Pitt's five-set victory over No. 3 Minnesota in the Sweet 16.
Her .538 is also a season-best and the highest percentage she has hit since 10/15/21 against Miami (.545).
Julianna Dalton set her career high on the defensive side, finishing with 11 digs.
Those 11 digs were tied for the team lead with Ashley Browske and Rachel Fairbanks.
Fairbanks recorded her sixth double-double of the season tonight and second in as many matches, posting a team-best 31 assists and 11 digs.
Fairbanks added a pair of aces, marking her fifth multi-ace match of the season and second in as many matches.
Browske has now made 10+ digs in six matches this season and each of the last two.
The Panthers recorded 55 kills tonight – the most against UNC in a four-set match since joining the ACC.
Pitt out-dug UNC, 55-47. The Panther have now out-dug their opponents in 11 of 12 matches this season.
Pitt has now won seven consecutive matches against North Carolina, dating back to the start of the 2015 season.

SET 1: PITT 25 – UNC 23
Pitt got off to a sluggish start with UNC showing off their defensive abilities and holding the Panthers to just two kills in the first 24 points and jumping out to a 14-10 lead. The Panthers slowly clawed their way back, cleaning up their offense and leaning on a smart blocking scheme to tie things up, 16-16. The Panthers kept momentum in their favor, going in front, 23-21, and closed out the set with a pair of kills from Nwokolo and Dalton to escape with the smallest margin of victory allowed. Buzzerio led the attack with four kills alongside five combined from Gray, Nwokolo and Sabrina Starks. Valeria Vazquez Gomez led the way on defense, making great passes and finishing with five digs. Gray and Buzzerio led the blocking effort, teaming up for a pair of blocks.

SET 2: PITT 25 – UNC 17
The Panthers got off to a great start, utilizing a quick offensive system to jump in front, 11-4, forcing UNC to use both of its timeouts. The Tar Heels never got within five points from that point on as UNC attack errors allowed Pitt to cruise to a statement set. Nwokolo led the way with four kills. Gray added two of her own to bring the middle total to six of Pitt's 10 kills in the set. Seven hitting and five service errors from the Tar Heels was the story as Pitt only needed 10 kills, one block, four digs and an ace to take the set.

SET 3: PITT 20 – UNC 25
UNC cleaned up their act in the third set, serving the whole set without committing an error while hitting at a significantly higher clip. Pitt had its chances, down just 18-20 with one of its best servers, Cam Ennis, at the line. But the bounces didn't go Pitt's way and UNC claimed its only set of the night. Gray led the offense with five kills on five swings to go along with two kills on three swings from Nwokolo. Dalton was outstanding on the receiving game, successfully passing all 20 serves sent her way throughout the set. She backed that up with great defense, making five digs alongside three kills.

SET 4: PITT 25 – UNC 16
Pitt left little room for hope in the fourth, jumping in front in the early stages and never allowing UNC to tie the score again beyond 2-2. The damage was done in the form of a 6-0 Panther run spearheaded by the offense of Vazquez Gomez. After providing most of her damage in the defense and passing game for the first two sets, Vazquez Gomez came alive on offense in the fourth, making five kills over the course of 11 points and four in the 6-0 run, putting Pitt ahead, 20-11. Both teams traded points to the end after that and Pitt won the set by nine. Vazquez Gomez and Buzzerio led the team with five kills each while Browske and Dalton added four digs. Pitt's service game improved dramatically, making four aces in the final set, one apiece from Vazquez Gomez, Fairbanks, Nwokolo and Gray.

UP NEXT
The Panthers close out their seven-match homestand on Sunday at 1 p.m. against NC State inside Fitzgerald Field House. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com and the match will be streamed on ACCN Extra.

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