No. 10 Pitt Defeats Virginia in ACC Road Opener

Wednesday, September 28

Charlottesville, VA

8 PM

Pitt

12-2,3-0ACC

Virginia

8-6,0-3ACC

Pittsburgh

Virginia

No. 10 Pitt Defeats Virginia in ACC Road Opener

9/29/2022 12:05:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 10 Pitt (12-2, 3-0 ACC) dominated the final three sets of a four-set victory over Virginia (8-6, 0-3 ACC ) inside Memorial Gym in Charlottesville, Va. The Panthers held UVA to .000 hitting or worse in the last three sets to claim their first road win of ACC play (23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 25-15).

QUICK HITS

Serena Gray made 10 kills on .600 hitting, marking her third straight match with 10+ kills and .500+ hitting – the longest such streak of her career.
Gray has hit over .300 in eight of her 13 matches this season.
Courtney Buzzerio led the team for the sixth match in a row with 15 kills – her fourth 15 kill performance of the season and 10^th double-digit kill game of the year.
Cat Flood set a career-best with three service aces tonight, including two in an 8-0 scoring run to close out the third set.
Cam Ennis secured her first double-double as a Panther and the 19^th of her career: 21 assists and 11 digs.
Gray led the defense with seven blocks with Chiamaka Nwokolo and Sabrina Starks close behind with five each.
Nwokolo became the first Panther to reach 50 blocks this season, recording her 50^th in the fourth set.
Julianna Dalton made four blocks tonight, tying her season high.
Pitt has now won 10 consecutive matches against Virginia, dating back to 2015.
The Panthers have won their first three road matches of the season, extending their road winning streak to seven matches dating back to last year. Pitt is 19-1 in its last 20 road matches.
Pitt has started ACC play 3-0 for the sixth time in the last seven years and the seventh time in 10 seasons under Dan Fisher.

SET 1: PITT 23 – UVA 25
The Panthers were sluggish at the jump, taking advantage of four UVA service errors for a 10-10 score. Gray was carrying the offense early on, contributing three kills and a block to keep the score close, but the Panthers couldn't get into a rhythm. Virginia hit .423 in a very impressive display, eventually winning the set by two.

SET 2: PITT 25 – UVA 19
A couple of kills from Vazquez Gomez got the Panthers on the right track as Pitt took an early 5-1 lead. UVA went on a run to take a 9-7 lead only for Pitt to respond with a 9-1 scoring run off some great serving from Buzzerio and Dalton, going in front, 16-10. Nwokolo was the difference maker, delivering three blocks and a kill during that run as the Pitt block started to gain traction. Pitt held that six-point lead safe for the remainder of the set with Starks putting away the final blow to tie the match up. Pitt used a balanced offense in the second with six Panthers making kills. Gray and Vazquez Gomez led with three apiece. Nwokolo made a team-high three blocks while Vazquez Gomez paced the back row with four digs.

SET 3: PITT 25 – UVA 16
Both sides traded points for most of the third until Cat Flood took to the service line with Pitt in front, 18-16. The junior hit an ace on her first serve, consistently putting the Cavaliers out of system in what would become a set-ending 8-0 scoring run for Pitt. Flood added another ace in that run along with a block from Gray and Starks. Starks made the final kill for the second straight set as Pitt took the set by nine points. Pitt out-dug UVA 19-12 this set, led by seven from Ennis.

SET 4: PITT 25 – UVA 15
The Panthers won eight of the first nine points in the fourth, for a combined 16-1 run across the sets. Five different Panthers contributed points in the run with Gray leading the way, making three kills and a block with Dalton. UVA tried to come back, cutting the lead to five (13-8) but the Pitt block was too much to overcome and most attacks that weren't block resulted in unforced errors, giving Pitt a 10-point set victory. Pitt out-hit Virginia .385 to -.125 this set, ending the match with the most dominant stretch of the day. Once again, six Panthers registered kills with Vazquez Gomez, Buzzerio and Gray leading with three each.

UP NEXT
The Panthers head south to continue the road trip at Duke (9-4, 0-2) this Friday, Sept. 30. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. from inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The match can be streamed on ACCN Extra.

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