MATCH STATS
- Pitt defeats Boston College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18)
- Pitt improves to 15-4; Boston College drops to 5-13
- Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
- Attendance: 415
- Box Score
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Panthers remain undefeated in ACC play after sweeping Boston College on Sunday. This is their best start since joining the conference.
Pitt hit .314 on the night, with a .348 hitting percentage in the third set, as they held Boston College to a .175 clip. The Panthers out blocked the Eagles 9-4.
Pitt setter Kamalani Akeo totaled 28 assists, five digs, and one block assist. On the other side of the net, Jane DeJarld and Camille Oemcke combined for 27 assists and five digs.
One Pitt player posted double-figure kills in Stephanie Williams with 10 kills and nine digs on a .381 clip. Kayla Lund had 9 kills on a .350 hitting percentage.
Boston College’s offense was led by Amaka Chukwujekwu, who had 11 kills with zero errors on an .846 hitting percentage. She now holds the program record for attack percentage.
Both teams will continue with ACC Play next weekend as Pitt takes on North Carolina and Boston College travels to Clemson.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh Athletics
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team earned its 12th-consecutive win and remained perfect in ACC play after sweeping Boston College at Power Gym in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Sunday afternoon.
The last time the Panthers reached a streak of that feat was in 2003, before continuing on to win a Big East Championship. Pitt’s 8-0 mark in ACC play also marks the squad’s best start since joining the conference. The Panthers are now 15-4 on the season.
“We had a pretty balanced attack and a pretty good game plan against Boston College,” said head coach Dan Fisher. “BC is a really strong serve and pass team and last time we played them they got the better of us when it came to that, so that was a huge focus of the match. I thought we did a nice job winning that battle; we had seven aces and they had two. To only give up two against a good serving team is great.”
Pitt finished with 38 kills in the match and hit .314, utilizing a balanced attack as all five of the Panthers’ hitters finished with kills.
Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams led the offense as she finished with 10 kills and posted a .381 clip to mark her 12th-straight match hitting in double-digits and 15thtotal on the season.
Freshman Kayla Lund followed Williams with nine kills and a .350 hitting percentage.
Aiding the attack was junior Kamalani Akeo, who finished with 28 assists. Pitt tallied seven aces on the day, led by sophomore Nika Markovic who finished the match with three.
Defensively, Williams and redshirt junior Angela Seman each dug up nine balls, while sophomore Layne Van Buskirk tallied five block assists.
Set One: Pitt 25, Boston College 17
Pitt opened the match with a 25-17 victory over Boston College as the Panthers hit .333 with 14 kills and dug up 15 balls in the frame.
The visiting Pitt squad got out to a great start, pulling ahead 11-5 thanks to a 6-1 run which featured three Eagle errors and kills by Williams and Van Buskirk.
The Panthers remained out in front, extending their lead to 17-11, forcing Boston to take their first of two timeouts. The Eagles second came as Pitt notched two consecutive points behind a Williams kill and Hanna Markewycz ace to lead 21-13.
A final kill by freshman Chinaza Ndee would solidify the opening set victory.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Boston College 22
In a closer set than the first, Pitt took a 2-0 lead over Boston College after winning the second frame 25-22.
The Eagles held an early lead over the Panthers at the start of the frame, but a four-point run by Pitt put the Panthers back on top 7-6.
The two teams remained neck-and-neck past the mid-point of the set but back-to-back kills by Lund gave Pitt a 17-15 lead and forced Boston College to take its first timeout.
The Eagles responded with a kill and a block to tie the set at 17, but three straight points by the Panthers, including a solo block by Williams put Pitt out in front 21-18.
Boston College battled back within two after back-to-back points, which brought along a timeout from the Panthers, but a service error and put away by Markovic ended the set.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Boston College 18
Pitt closed out the match with a 25-18 victory in the third set to sweep the Eagles. The Panthers held Boston College to a .156 clip in the final frame, while they hit .348 offensively.
It didn’t take long for Pitt to get a jump on the Eagles, as the Panthers took a 10-4 lead behind three short runs.
Pitt maintained a high level of play through the remainder of the set, calling just one timeout before the final points as Boston College scored three straight and pulled back within four, 20-16.
The Panthers returned from the break to outscore the Eagles 5-2 to end the match.
Up Next
Pitt returns home to face North Carolina and NC State. The Panthers take on the Tar Heels Friday, Oct 22 at 7 p.m. and the Wolfpack Sunday, Oct 24 at 1 p.m.
Courtesy of Boston College Athletics
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Freshman Amaka Chukwujekwu recorded a .846 hitting percentage off of 13 total attempts and 11 kills, solidifying her performance as Boston College volleyball’s new program individual match record for attack percentage against Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill.
Pitt secured an early advantage after winning the first set, 25-17, but BC fought back in the second, only to fall 25-22. The Panthers took the third set, 25-18, to take the match.
Chukwujekwu fueled the Eagles’ efforts with match-high 11 kills. Sophomore Jill Strockis also notched a match-high with her 14 digs and sophomore Jane DeJarld led the Eagles with 14 assists.
Pitt’s Stephanie Williams paced the Panthers with 10 kills, while Kamalani Akeo led the match with 28 assists.
Pittsburgh 3, Boston College 0
October 15, 2017
Power Gym, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
BC HIGHLIGHTS
– Chukwujekwu hit .846 overall, breaking the program individual match record for attack percentage, while registering no hitting errors. She also led the match with 11 kills and 12 points.
– Strockis paced the match in digs, slating 14 on the afternoon.
– Graduate Lynn Braakhuis hit .375 during the first set and .333 during the second.
– Sophomore Sophie West hit .750 in the second set.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1
Pitt found their stride early with a 6-1 run, followed by a 6-2 run. BC couldn’t recover and, though a Chukwujekwu kill put a pause on Pitt’s first set win, the Panthers took it, 25-17.
SET 2
This time around, the Eagles took an early 6-2 that included kills from freshman Alinda Dersjant, Braakhuis, Chukwujekwu and sophomore Cat Balido. Pitt got right back in it and the teams traded points until a late 5-1 run from Pitt sealed the second set decision, 25-22.
SET 3
Another run from Pitt, this time 10-2, cemented an early lead that faltered BC. The Panthers took the set, and the match, on a 3-0 run, 25-18.
Records: Boston College (5-13, 2-6 ACC), Syracuse (15-4, 8-0 ACC)
Up next: Boston College takes to the road again to rematch Clemson Friday Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
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