The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team swept the Virginia Cavaliers in three sets Sunday afternoon at the Fitzgerald Field House to hold its undefeated mark in the ACC.
The Panthers [13-3, 4-0 ACC] defeated the Cavaliers [3-13, 0-4 ACC] 25-20 in the first set, while a late surge carried Pitt to a 25-17 victory in the second. The third set was a back-and-forth affair, but the Panthers were able to outlast Virginia 25-17. Pitt is now on a six-match win streak.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Stephanie Williams earned a double-double to propel the Panthers to victory, tallying 10 kills and 11 digs. Her four aces were also a career high.
Junior outside hitter Mariah Bell led the charge for Pitt with 12 kills, while freshman middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk provided 11 kills and hit .647 on the match.
Sophomore setter Kamalani Akeo tallied 35 assists for the Panthers who at a team hit .320 on the day.
Pitt registered nine service aces, including four from senior outside hitter Maria Genitsaridi on top of Williams’ four. Redshirt sophomore libero Angela Seman paced the Panthers with 14 digs.
Set One: Pitt 25, Virginia 20
Pitt climbed out to an early lead in the opening set, behind two kills by Williams and two blocks by Van Buskirk. Genitsaridi had two serving aces to help propel the Panthers ahead 13-6.
Virginia battled back though, as a 5-0 run cut Pitt’s lead to 14-12 forcing coach Dan Fisher into calling a timeout. Out of the break, Bell provided some momentum to help lead the Panthers to victory in the first set, 25-20.
Van Buskirk, Williams and Bell all had four kills in the first set for the Panthers, while Seman had eight digs.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Virginia 17
The second set was a dead lock from the get-go, with Pitt operating with a two point lead for the majority of the set after a Potts kill and block combo. The Panthers maintained a nice pace and extended their lead to 17-14 following a pair of kills from freshman Nika Markovic. A final run helped push the Panthers lead to 24-17 before they capitalized and took the second set, 25-17.
Bell led all Panthers with five kills in the second set.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Virginia 17
The third set saw Virginia cling to an early lead that was cut by kills from Van Buskirk and Bell. The Cavaliers led as late as 13-12, but Pitt was able to knot the score at 13 and after serving performances from Genitsaridi and Williams. The Panthers were leading 18-15 and then 22-16 before closing out the game 25-17.
Van Buskirk had six kills to pace the Panthers in the third set. Pitt had six service aces in the final set, including three from Williams, two from Genitsaridi and one from Bell.
Up Next
The Panthers will head to Durham, N.C. to take on the Duke Blue Devils [9-5, 3-1 ACC] Friday, Oct. 7 at 6:30 p.m. It’s the first of four straight conference road games for Pitt, who will also visit Wake Forest, Miami, and Florida State in that stretch.
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