University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Pitt
New Mexico
Women's Volleyball Rallies Back From Two Sets Down
9/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2011
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh women’s volleyball team rallies back from two sets down to earn a thrilling 3-2 (19-25, 18-25, 26-24, 26-24 and 15-13.) victory over New Mexico at Fitzgerald Field House Friday night.
Sophomore Monica Wignot tallied her second consecutive double-double with a team-best 23 kills and 12 digs for the Panthers (10-3). Freshman Mechael Guess earned her first start of the season, recording a career-high 17 kills, four digs and three blocks.
Senior Kiesha Leggs chipped in 16 kills, four digs and four blocks. The Pitt defense was impressive in the comeback as junior Margy Acton collected 27 digs and Alexa Campbell added 11.
Statistically, the squads were evenly matched. Pitt hit at .226 and New Mexico (5-3) went .224 in the contest. The Lobos out-blocked Pitt, 9-8, but the Panthers put down 72 kills to New Mexico’s 60.
After trailing 2-0 at intermission, Pitt responded in the third set with 20 kills and 20 digs. The Panthers excited the crowd when junior Jasmine Dittrich leaped up to attack a long pass from New Mexico, earning her fourth kill of the match. Next, Wignot knotted the score at 8-8 with a kill down the left line.
The Panthers kept fighting and finally took the lead, 12-10, on back-to-back kills from Leggs. Pitt’s defense kept the ball in the air as Campbell and Acton made several key passes to give the offense a chance.
Later, Pitt trailed 22-20 when it called its second timeout of the third game. The Panthers would earn a sideout on a New Mexico serving error and tied the game with a kill from Dittrich.
Pitt regained the lead, 23-22, with a block from Guess and Dittrich on the left side of the net. The Lobos decided to talk it out as a result. After the break, Guess put down her ninth kill of the match to give Pitt set point.
The Panthers committed two errors, allowing New Mexico to hang around. Leggs gave Pitt the advantage with her fifth kill of the set. On the next play, the Lobos attacked the ball wide to secure the Pitt win26-24. Wignot led all players with six kills, while Acton and Campbell chipped in six and five digs, respectively.
Guess continued to hit the ball hard in the fourth set. She gave Pitt its fifth point of the frame when she smacked the ball off one of the Lobos. On the next possession, Guess and Dittrich combined on a block to close Pitt to two (7-5) in the frame.
New Mexico held a 16-11 edge until Acton recorded a dig on a cross-court shot that led to a Guess kill. The Lobos called a timeout with the score tied at 17-all, but the Panthers rallied back-to-back points to move back ahead by two, 19-17.
With the score tied at 21, Pitt regained its lead on consecutive kills from sophomore Brenea White and Leggs. The Lobos made another push and tied the score again. However, Leggs gave Pitt set point when she pounded the ball off New Mexico’s blockers.
Pitt held set point again after freshman Lindsey Zitzke set Wignot for a kill. The Panthers evened the match at two games apiece with a kill from Leggs that put New Mexico’s defenders stretched out on the court.
Leggs scored three of the Panthers final six points in the marathon. Guess led the Panthers with six kills in the fourth game, while Zitzke assisted on all 18 of the Panthers kills.
In the decider, Pitt trailed 8-6 at the switch. A few plays later, White and Leggs anxiously followed the ball to earn a block and pull within one, 10-9. On the next serve, Guess got on top of another set from Zitzke to tie the contest. Wignot tallied Pitt’s 83rd ace of the year on the ensuing volley to push the lead back to the home team’s favor.
New Mexico took a timeout to regroup, but Leggs and White rejected another Lobo attempt to lead by two. Leggs gave the Panthers match point with two kills on the next three possessions.
Guess would then seal the victory with her second kill of the frame. Wignot added three kills and a game-high four digs in the fifth set.
Pitt also out-blocked New Mexico, 3-2, in that stanza.
Guess set the tone for her performance tonight in the first game. She scored Pitt’s 10th point of the first frame with a powerful swing on a set from Zitzke.
Despite the score, the Panthers and Lobos battled though several long volleys in the match. In one of the rallies Acton stepped into a pass on a hard-hit line from New Mexico. She kept the play alive, allowing Pitt to pull within five, 18-13. Acton served a few possessions later which resulted in a block for Leggs and White.
New Mexico would pull away with a short run, before Guess skipped the ball off the court to close the gap at 22-16. Zitzke and Guess connected on another kill a few volleys later, but the Lobos won three of the next six serves to win the first set, 25-19.
In the second set, Leggs gave the Panthers their first lead in the contest with a cross-court strike. Pitt led 4-3 at that point.
As play continued, the crowd of over 300 fans erupted when Dittrich drilled the ball into the right corner of New Mexico’s court.
Leggs made it a three-point contest with a shot that landed between two defenders lounging for the ball. On the next serve, Leggs recorded her eighth solo block of the year to pull within two, 14-12.
Later, momentum shifted as New Mexico pulled away with a few kills of its own and lead 19-13. However, Wignot capped off a 4-2 Pitt run with one of her game-high six kills in the stanza.
New Mexico finished the frame on a 4-1 rally of its own to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Fans can watch a replay of the match on Comcast Channel 188 or 210 on Sunday, Sept. 18 from 3:30-5 p.m.
The Panthers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. against Delaware. The Blue Hens earned a 3-0 victory over Kent State, earlier in the second match of the Blue and Gold Invitational.
