Pitt
NC State
Pitt Hands NC State First Home Loss of Season in 3-0 Fashion
10/20/2023 10:17:00 PM | Volleyball
RALEIGH, NC –The No. 7 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (18-3, 9-1 ACC) dominated NC State (15-5, 5-4 ACC) 3-0 on Friday night at Reynolds Coliseum, handing the Wolfpack their first home loss of the season. Pitt totaled 14 blocks in the match and held NC State to a -.038 hitting percentage.
Pitt and NC State battled back and forth at the beginning of set one, but it did not take the Panthers long to get in a rhythm. They went up 11-8 and caused NC State to take their first timeout. Three straight points behind the serve of Valeria Vazquez Gomez forced the Wolfpack to take their final timeout, down 9-15. Emma Monks, Olivia Babcock and Chiamaka Nwokolo led the charge for the remainder of the set, combining for six kills to help capture the first set win, 25-15.
NC State quickly turned it around at the beginning of the second set, going up 6-2. Senior Cat Flood came in to serve and brought the Panthers within one, only down 6-7. A pair of kills from Stafford and NC State errors led to a 5-2 run, and the Wolfpack quickly called a timeout, down 9-12. The Pitt block slowed down NC State, forcing them to take their final timeout with Pitt up 16-11. The Wolfpack attempted to come back, but six blocks from the Panthers put the stamp on the set, 25-16.
Pitt maintained its dominance from the first two sets, getting out to an early 7-4 lead as NC State took their first timeout. Once again, Stafford and Vazquez Gomez impressed from the service line, going on five and six-point runs, respectively. NC State took their final timeout, down 10-15, but a .375 team hitting percentage, six blocks and four Emmy Klika digs was too much for the Wolfpack to overcome. Pitt took set three 25-13 and the match, 3-0.
NOTES
- Babcock recorded a match-high 13 kills while adding five digs and five blocks
- Klika tied a match-high 14 digs and had a perfect 1.000 reception percentage
- Fairbanks had a match-high 32 assists and recorded seven digs, three blocks and a kill
- Monks had a match-high seven blocks while Nwokolo hit a match-high .583
UP NEXT
The No. 7 Panthers return to the Fitzgerald Field House on Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. to play Virginia Tech before taking on Wake Forest on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ACCNX, and Pitt volleyball seniors will be honored after the match on Sunday.
