Pitt
23-6, 11-5ACC
Virginia
16-13, 9-7ACC
Pitt Volleyball Downs Virginia, 3-1
11/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Season Stats | Conference Stats
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (23-6, 11-5 ACC) downed Virginia (16-13, 9-7 ACC) by a score of 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium. The Panthers picked up the first and second sets 25-18 and 25-15 respectively before dropping the third set 22-25. Pitt regained its momentum in the fourth set to bring home a 25-14 final set victory.
For the second straight match, the Panthers played great offensively. This time Pitt notched 55 kills on 115 attempts to hit .348 and put up 10 service aces. Seniors Mechael Guess and Kate Yeazel both put away double-digit kills for the Panthers, with 16 and 15 respectively.
Four players also hit .400 or better including Yeazel (.500), Amanda Orchard (.500), Guess (.467) and Mariah Bell (.400). Setters Lindsey Zitzke and Jenna Jacobson combined for 54 assists. To round out the offense, Pitt racked up 10 service aces including three a piece by both Maria Genitsaridi and Zitzke.
The first set began close, as the Cavaliers trailed only by a point in the beginning of the set. With the score at 10-9, Pitt began to find its rhythm, scoring four straight points to extend its lead to five. Prior to the fourth point, Virginia called its first timeout but it didn't slow the Panthers as the Cavaliers chose to use a second timeout after Pitt tacked on four more points to make the score 18-12. The Panthers were able to hold off Virginia the rest of the set, scoring four of its 14 total first set kills to pick the first set win over Virginia.
Pitt didn't waste any time before scoring points in the second set as they picked up six right away to take a 6-1 lead over the Cavaliers. Four of those points were consecutive kills by the Panthers. This run called for a Virginia timeout. Several points later, the Cavaliers were able to come back within two but it didn't last long as three straight points by Pitt gave the Panthers a 15-10 lead. Eventually Pitt took a nine point lead over Virginia on a three point streak to make the score 22-14. Three Panther points later, Pitt took a 2-0 overall lead in Charlottesville.
Out of the break, Pitt fell behind 7-2 early in the third set. Pitt was able work its way back to only be behind by two but it didn't last long as the Cavaliers regained a five point, 14-9 lead which brought about a Pittsburgh timeout. Virginia eventually stretched its lead to nine on four consecutive points but the Panthers cut it back down to five after three errors by the Cavaliers and a Genitsaridi ace brought the score to 20-15. Pitt fought to come back as it pulled back within a point of Virginia but could not rack up enough points to overcome the deficit.
After a tough third set, Pitt rolled off the bench in the fourth ready to play. The Panthers pulled out to a 10-6 thanks to six kills and continued that type of play just two points later when they took a 15-8 after a five point run. In the fourth set, Pitt racked up 16 kills with six of them coming from Guess. Virginia was unable to match the Panthers play as Pitt went on to take down the Cavaliers by 11 points in the final set.
With the regular season winding down, the Panthers will play their final two games on the road at Louisville and Notre Dame. Pitt will first take on the Cardinals in a mid-week match-up on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and then continue on to Indiana to play the Fighting Irish on Friday, Nov. 28. Both matches are slated to begin at 4 p.m.
Keep up with everything Pitt Volleyball related by visiting PittsburghPanthers.com or by following the team on Twitter at @PittVolleyball.
