Pitt
Rutgers
Rossi Surpasses the 2,000 Career Dig Mark
11/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2009
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PITTSBURGH—Senior Michelle Rossi surpasses the 2,000 mark for career digs, as the University of Pittsburgh women’s volleyball team earned a three-set victory over Rutgers, this afternoon, at Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt won with scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-21.The Panthers improved to 20-8 overall and 12-2 in the Big East, while Rutgers slipped to 10-19 overall and 3-11 in the league.
Prior to the match, seniors Meagan Dooley, Rossi and Melissa Stadelman were honored, as they played their final home game at Fitzgerald Field House. These seniors combined to win 73 matches over the last four season and earned three berths to the Big East Championships.
As mentioned earlier, Rossi recorded 12 digs in the match and currently has a career total of 2,009 to date. Overall she is second on the all-time career list. Stadelman tallied 11 kills and a .526 hitting percentage in the contest, while Dooley chipped in seven kills and four blocks.
This afternoon’s win also set a single-season school record for Big East wins, eclipsing the 11 victories recorded in 2003. Additionally, head coach Toby Rens earned his 250th career victory.
The match began with Pitt trailing early in the opening set, but sophomore Allyson Hodnik and junior Imani Harper combined on one of Pitt’s three stuffs in the game to knot the score at 14. Later, Stadelman recorded an ace and gave the Panthers a 20-18 lead, forcing a Scarlet Knight timeout.
The Panthers collected the next three points, before dropping one to Rutgers. Rutgers would also hold Pitt on set point for two serves before junior Amy Town posted her third kill in the game and the Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the match. Town recorded a match-high 12 kills on the day.
In the second set, Pitt jumped out to a 4-0 lead, which included back-to-back aces from Town. Following two yellow cards given to Rutgers, the Panthers would hold a 14-11 lead when Rossi set sophomore Rachel Kalberer for a kill.
Later, Harper recorded a solo block and two kills during a Panther rally to give Pitt a 21-17 lead. The set would end with a 4-1 Pitt run. Hodnik collected 14 assists and spread the wealth in the second set, as Kalberer, Stadelman and Town all posted four kills, a piece.
Next, Harper gave Pitt a 10-8 lead in the final set, as she tallied her seventh kill of the match. A few plays later, another Harper kill gave the Panthers a five-point lead, 18-13. Rutgers then committed three errors and pushed Pitt ahead 21-13.
Soon after a Scarlet Knight timeout with the score at 23-18, the Panthers were held on set point through four points before Stadelman tallied the final point of the match with a kill off a back set from Hodnik.
No. 3 Pitt faces No. 6 USF on Friday, Nov. 20, at 10 a.m. in the first round of the Big East Championships, held in Louisville, Ky.
