Pitt Downs Miami, 3-1

Friday, October 14

Coral Gables, Fla.

7:00 PM

Pitt

14-5, 5-2ACC

Miami

7-12, 1-6ACC

Pitt

Miami

10/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Oct. 14, 2016

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team defeated Miami 3-1 Friday evening at the James L. Knight Sports Complex in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Panthers [14-5, 5-2] won the first set 26-24, but fell to the Hurricanes [7-12, 1-6] 25-22 in the second set. Pitt moved ahead 2-1 in the match after bouncing back to win set three 25-22. The Panthers solidified their victory with a 25-18 win in the fourth set.

"It was a good offensive performance tonight," said head coach Dan Fisher. "As a team we talked about winning the serve and pass battle and I think that we did that. I thought we did a good job defensively against their left sides as well."

Pitt saw impressive performances across the board, with junior Mariah Bell leading the way. Bell posted a career-high 21 kills and eight digs in the win.

"Mariah [Bell] was really solid all night and carried a big load," said Fisher. "Everyone else hit for a pretty high percentage. Stephanie [Williams] struggled for the first few sets and then just turned it around in set four."

Redshirt freshman Stephanie Williams followed suit with 17 kills and 12 digs, marking her ninth double-double of the season.

Along with Bell, freshman Layne Van Buskirk, junior Kelsey O'Neill and redshirt senior Jenna Potts all posted hitting percentages about .300. Potts led all Panthers with a .462 average (7-1-13), in addition to being Pitt's top blocker with eight total. O'Neill finished the match with five blocks.

Leading the Panthers' back row defense was redshirt sophomore Angela Seman who dug up 17 balls. Sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo aided Pitt's offense with 47 assists and put up two of the Panther's five aces.

As a team, Pitt posted higher numbers in almost every major statistical category including kills, digs, assists.

Set One: Pitt 26, Miami 24
After trailing by as many as five points throughout the set, the Panthers came back to defeat Miami 26-24 in set one.

Pitt and Miami came out swinging in the first set, remaining close through the opening points. However, with the scored tied 9-9, the Hurricanes outscored the Panthers 6-1 in the next seven points to lead 15-10 at the media timeout.

Pitt continued fighting for points and came back from the five point deficit to take a 21-20 lead late. The two teams put up back-and-forth points until Miami earned the first set point leading 24-23, but the Panthers concluded the frame with three straight points including a kill and ace by Williams and a final block by Potts and Akeo.

Pitt was led by Bell who posted five kills and hit .571 in the first set.

Set Two: Pitt 22, Miami 25
For the second straight set Pitt fell behind early, trailing the Canes 15-12 at the media timeout. However, the Panthers returned to the floor to outscore the Hurricanes 7-2 to move ahead 19-17.

What looked like a repeat of set one for Pitt fell short as Miami outscored the Panthers 8-3 in the final points to win set two 25-22 and tie the match at a set apiece.

Set Three: Pitt 25, Miami 22
Pitt dominated the beginning of set three, scoring seven straight points to earn a 7-1 lead with Bell at the service line to force an early Canes timeout.

Miami worked its way back into the set and forced the Panthers to take a break in action as they trailed by a single point 10-9.

Pitt and the Hurricanes remained in a tight race through the remainder of the set, but the Panthers never relinquished their lead and went on to win 25-22 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Set Four: Pitt 25, Miami 18
Pitt and Miami opened the fourth set knotted at 10 but Pitt held a 15-13 advantage at the media timeout. Out of the break, Miami put up three straight points to lead 16-15, which marked its first lead since scoring the opening point of the set.

The Canes lead lasted a short amount of time as the Panthers roped off nine straight points to earn match point 24-16. Miami fought off two straight points before O'Neill knocked down a final kill to win the set 25-18 and the match 3-1.

Up Next
The Panthers will take on No. 15 Florida State Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. in Tallahassee, Fla.

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