MATCH STATS
- Pittsburgh (RV) def. Florida State 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18)
- Pittsburgh moves to 18-6, 11-2 ACC; Florida State falls to 12-10, 6-8 ACC
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Attendance: 531
- Box Score
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Florida State outblocked Pittsburgh 15-9, but couldn’t get its offense going, hitting .010 for the match, falling to the Panthers via sweep on Sunday.
The Panthers hit just .170 in the match, but outdid the Seminoles 47-23 in kills and 5-1 in aces to make up for 28 hitting errors.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Williams (14), sophomore middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk (11) and sophomore right side Nika Markovic (11) turned in double-digit kill efforts to direct the Pitt offense. Freshman right side Chinaza Ndee was right behind with nine putaways. Williams served up three aces, while Ndee notched a team-leading six blocks. Junior setter Kamalani Akeo was tops in backcourt defense with 13 digs to go with her 35 assists.
Senior outside Natasha Calkins mustered seven kills to pace Florida State, but had little help. Freshman middle Taryn Knuth was next on the team with four putaways, while also turning in a team-high nine blocks. Sophomore outside Bozena Culo pulled up seven digs.
The teams tied eight times in the early phases of Set 1, with the last coming at 12-all, before Pitt pulled away with a 3-0 run, including an ace by Williams. The Seminoles stayed close, cutting the margin to one five times, last at 20-19, but couldn’t stop the Panthers down the stretch. Pittsburgh scored five of the final eight points, with a Markovic kill setting up a final putaway by Ndee at 25-22.
A 5-0 midset run gave Pitt cushion in Set 2, snapping an 11-all tie. Ndee, Markovic and Williams provided offense while Williams capped the rally with an ace. FSU chipped away, eventually tying the score at 20. Four Panther miscues and two stuffs by Natasha Calkins helped erase the five-point deficit. Pitt came through in the end, wrapping up the win with five straight points, three on Williams kills.
Three Markovic kills and two by Van Buskirk put Pittsburgh up 10-5 in Set 3. The Seminoles were within three at 11-8 and 12-9, but could not break through. The Panthers pulled away with nine of the next 13 as Williams, Markovic and VanBuskirk turned in two kills apiece to make it 21-13. Florida State fought back with a 5-2 run of its own, as Kubura notched two blocks and a kill to bring the Seminoles within five at 23-18. A Markovic kill and FSU hitting error ended the match.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Florida State Athletics
The Florida State volleyball team lost in straight sets to conference-leader Pitt on Sunday (Nov. 5) afternoon.
While the Seminoles (12-10, 6-8 ACC) were outhit by the Panthers (18-6, 11-2 ACC), FSU was able to stay tough on defense to keep each set tight.
Senior outside hitter Natasha Calkins led the offense with seven kills on 29 total attacks, while freshman middle blocker Taryn Knuth’s nine blocks helped to slow down the Panthers’ tough offensive effort.
Seven different players combined for 15 total blocks, which is the second most the team has seen this season, and eight different players combined for 31 total digs. While the defense was able to stay consistent and keep rallies going, it wasn’t enough to hold off the conference-leading Pitt offense.
The Seminoles return to Tully next weekend to close out its home slate, hosting Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 10 and Boston College for Senior Day on Sunday, Nov. 12. Sunday’s match against the Eagles will stream live on ACC Network Extra.
Set 1 – Pitt 25, Florida State 22
Florida State stayed close with the Panthers throughout the opening set,
While the Seminoles were able to go on a run to get within a point of the Panthers at 19-20, errors on the Florida State side helped the Panthers gain the lead, and tough offense from Pitt helped it close out the set.
Set 2 – Pitt 25, Florida State 20
The Panthers began swinging harder in the second set, but the Seminoles were able to stay consistent and let Pitt make the errors to keep the set tight. While Pitt stayed ahead throughout the set, Florida State was able to tie it up four times, with the last tie score coming at 20-20.
From there Pitt was able to control the score, finishing out the set with four kills and a block to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set 3 – Pitt 25, Florida State 18
The Seminoles stayed consistent on both offense and defense in the beginning of the third set, but Pitt was still able to gain the lead early on. The Seminoles fired off 33 total attacks once again in the set, but struggled to put the ball down as many times as the Panthers.
FSU was unable to catch up, and consistent offense from the Panthers helped it close out the set to take the match.
Notes
Florida State’s season record moves to 12-10, 6-8 ACC
Florida State’s record against Pitt moves to 5-6
Logan Holanchock’s ace against Pitt gives her 70 career aces, which ranks 11th in Florida State’s rally scoring history.
Milica Kubura’s six total blocks against Pitt gives her 305 career total blocks, which ranks 9th in Florida State’s rally scoring history.
This is the first time in the series the Panthers have picked up consecutive wins over the Seminoles.
Up Next for the Seminoles
Florida State returns home for its final weekend in Tully for the 2017 regular season. The Seminoles will host Syracuse on Friday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 pm and Boston College for Senior Day on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1:00 pm. Sunday’s match against Boston College will stream live on ACC Network Extra.
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