Pitt Outlasted by Wake Forest in Four

Sunday, October 9

Winston-Salem, N.C.

1:00 PM

Pitt

13-5 (4-2)

Wake Forest

7-10 (3-3)

Pitt

Wake Forest

Pitt Outlasted by Wake Forest in Four

10/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Oct. 9, 2016

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team dropped its second ACC match of the season to Wake Forest, 3-1, Sunday afternoon at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.

"I think the only thing we did better than Wake Forest today was serving and passing, and that was by a small margin," said head coach Dan Fisher. "I was fairly pleased with that but essentially in every other category they out played us so congratulations to them. They deserved to win."

The Panthers [13-5, 4-2 ACC] fell behind early as the Demon Deacons [7-10, 3-3 ACC] won the first two sets 25-21 and 25-22, respectively. Pitt bounced back with a 25-21 victory in set three but suffered a 25-11 loss in the fourth to drop the match.

"After this road trip, we learned a lot about ourselves," said Fisher. "It's time to hit the reset button, work really hard and gain some confidence back in practice."

Offensively, the Panthers were led by junior Mariah Bell who posted 14 kills. Freshman Layne Van Buskirk and redshirt freshman Stephanie Williams each added nine apiece.

Sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo finished the match with 35 assists while, while redshirt sophomore Angela Seman dug up 12 balls and put away three aces. At the net, junior Kelsey O'Neill led Pitt in blocks with six.

Set One: Pitt 21, Wake Forest 25
Pitt struggled to gain momentum early on in the first set as Wake Forest got out to an 8-2 advantage and forced the Panthers to call two timeouts within minutes of each other.

Pitt worked its way back within two of the Demon Deacons multiple times prompting two late timeout calls by Wake Forest but the home team went on to earn set point 24-18.

The Panthers fought off three set points but Pitt's comeback attempt fell short as the Demon Deacons went on to win the first set 25-21.

Set Two: Pitt 22, Wake Forest 25
In a back-and-forth affair, the Panthers suffered a 25-22 loss in set two and fell behind 2-0 in the match.

Pitt controlled the early points in the match, only falling behind once before taking a 13-10 lead to force Wake Forest to take its first timeout. However, out of the break the Demon Deacons answered with three consecutive points to tie the score prompt a Panthers timeout.

The two teams remained close in score late in the set and continued to exchange leads until Wake Forest outscored Pitt 6-2 in the final points.

Set Three: Pitt 25, Wake Forest 2

The Panthers found its rhythm in set three as they opened with a 10-6 lead bringing on a Demon Deacons timeout.

Following the break, Pitt remained out in front but called a cautionary timeout as Wake Forest trailed by a single point, 14-13. The Panthers returned to the court on fire and scored four of the next five points to lead 18-14 and force a timeout call by the home team.

Although the Demon Deacons were able to fight off three Pitt set points, the Panthers went on to win 25-21.

Set Four: Pitt 11, Wake Forest 25
Wake Forest took off from the start of set four working its way out to an 8-1 lead. This forced Pitt to burn both of its timeouts early on.

The Panthers were unable to create any momentum as the Demon Deacons maintained its advantage and went on to defeat the Panthers 25-11.

Up Next
The Panthers will remain on the road and head further south as they take on Miami Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. and Florida State Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. Pitt will return home for four straight matches at the Fitzgerald Field House. The home stand begins with Notre Dame Oct. 21 and Louisville Oct. 23.

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