Pitt
(22-6, 10-5ACC)
NC State
(14-13, 3-12ACC)
Pitt Volleyball Sweeps NC State on Senior Night
11/21/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Season Stats | Conference Stats
PITTSBURGH - In front of a crowd filled with family and friends for senior night, the University of Pittsburgh volleyball team won its final home match of the season in a sweep over NC State, Friday evening at the Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers beat the Wolfpack 25-22, 25-13 and 25-17.
Pitt showed up offensively, recording 43 kills and 11 service aces. Six Panthers recorded kills, including nine by freshman Mariah Bell and eight by senior Mechael Guess. Amanda Orchard added seven for Pitt, hitting .636 on the night, while Jenna Potts hit a perfect six-for-six. Maria Genitsaridi led the team in aces with four while Jenna Jacobson and Lindsey Zitzke combined for 35 assists. Defensively, Delaney Clesen had 15 digs.
To begin the match, Pitt got off to a tough start, trailing 9-4 early on, but back-to-back kills by Guess, a solo block by Potts and a block assist by Orchard and Bell brought the Panthers back to tie the game at 10. Four consecutive points for a total of six in a row by Pitt gave the Panthers a 14-10 lead over NC State and brought on a Wolfpack timeout. The two teams continued to battle as they moved into the later stages of the match, even to the point of where NC State only trailed 20-19, calling for a Pitt timeout. Out of the timeout, the Panthers outscored the Wolfpack five to three to pick up a first set 25-22 victory.
The second set began with a 5-5 tie game, but it wasn't long before until the Panthers gained a substantial lead over NC State. The Wolfpack called their first timeout with Pitt leading 9-5, after the Panthers scored four straight points on a Guess kill and three straight service aces by Genitsaridi. Pitt continued to pull away, outscoring NC State 9-4 to lead by double the points. This led to a second Wolfpack timeout. With the Panthers leading 18-9 at the timeout, Pitt recorde four final kills and a service ace to finish off NC State and win 25-13.
After picking up two straight sets the Panthers continued their torrid play by taking the third set 25-17. Two errors by the Wolfpack, an ace and kill from Bell, and a kill by Yeazel began the third set, giving the Panthers a 5-0, third set lead. This forced NC State to take its first of two timeouts early in the game. The second timeout by the Wolfpack came after Pitt extended its lead to 11-3, which included five kills by the Panthers. Out of the timeout NC State went on a 7-2 run to bring the score to 13-10 but Pitt didn't fret, as the Panthers continued to attack and led by six heading into the final points of the match. Pitt notched its final set win on a four point streak which included two final kills from Orchard and Yeazel.
The Panthers return to action on Sunday, Nov. 23 when they head south to Virginia to take on the Cavaliers in a 1 p.m. match-up.
Live stats will be available for the match through PittsburghPanthers.com or fans can follow the in-game updates on Pitt's twitter account, @PittVolleyball .
