Pitt
17-5, 7-3ACC
Wake Forest
10-12, 2-8ACC
Pitt Downs Wake Forest in Three Sets
10/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Box Score | Season Stats
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team picked up its 10th sweep of the season against Wake Forest on Saturday at Reynolds Gymnasium, to improve to 17-5 overall and 7-3 in ACC play.
The Panthers had a standout night on offense as the team recorded a season-high .442 hitting percentage after knocking down 54 kills on 104 attempts, while allowing just eight errors.
Individually, Pitt had four players perform well on the attack, including graduate student Kadi Kullerkan, sophomore Mariah Bell, senior Amanda Orchard and freshman Adeline Ellis. Kullerkann led the Panthers with 16 kills and posted a .536 average. Bell hit for a career-high .682 after posting 15 kills on 22 attempts with no errors. Orchard added 11 kills with a .529 average, while Ellis went 6-for-10 during her first major playing time of the season.
Senior Jenna Jacobson put up 30 assists to aid in Pitt’s attack.
Defensively, Kullerkann and redshirt junior Jenna Potts each added four block assists in the match, while Orchard had three.
It was interesting start to the first set, as a fire alarm in Reynolds Gymnasium forced an evacuation of the facility, delaying play for 20 minutes. At the time of the break, Pitt led 4-3. Following the pause in action, the Panthers returned to take a 14-11 lead midway through the set but Wake Forest worked its way back within a point to force a Pitt timeout. Out of the break Orchard put away back-to-back kills, giving the Panthers a 16-13 lead, which called for a Demon Deacons timeout. While Wake Forest scored out of the timeout, the Demon Deacons were unable to keep up with Pitt through the remainder of the set, falling 25-19.
The Panthers earned a 2-0 overall lead in the second set, following a 25-21 win. The two teams were neck-and-neck through most of the set, which consisted of 14 tie scores and just two lead changes. Pitt led 9-8 until Wake Forest posted three straight kills to earn its first lead of the game. The Demon Deacons held its lead to 13-12, before the Panthers regained a 14-13 lead with back-to-back kills by Kullerkann. Pitt and Wake Forest remained within a point of each other for a while, but the Panthers took off in the end.
Pitt earned its 10th sweep of the season after a 25-17 victory in the third set. The Panthers and Demon Deacons remained close at the beginning of the third, but Wake Forest took a 10-9 lead. However, Pitt pulled ahead 14-10 following a five-point run, thanks to three Kullerkann kills and two errors by the opponents. The Panthers extended their lead to eight when they earned match point, 24-16. While the Demon Deacons were able to fight off one match point, that would be all as Kullerkann would fire off a kill to end the match.
Up Next
Pitt will return home this weekend for two crucial ACC matchups against Florida State and Miami. The Panthers will take on the Seminoles, who currently sit at No. 17 in the AVCA top-25, on Friday Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. The squad will conclude the weekend against a top-50 RPI team in the Hurricanes on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.
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