Match Stats
- Pitt def. Georgia Tech 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21)
- Pitt moves to 23-6 (16-2 ACC); Georgia Tech falls to 13-16 (8-10 ACC)
- Georgia Tech hosted, Atlanta, Georgia
- Attendance: 722
- Box Score
Pitt put one more blue-and-gold stitch in the 2017 ACC Championship banner on Sunday by sweeping Georgia Tech 3-0 in Atlanta. All that’s remaining for the Panthers is road matches against Virginia and Virginia Tech, who are both just 3-15 in the ACC this season.
Pitt got the win on the strength of a .282 hitting percentage and in spite of just 4 team blocks – their 2nd-lowest output of the season.
They countered that with 7 aces, including 4 from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Williams. That’s the 3rd time this season that she’s had that many aces, with 31 total – more than 1 per game on average.
She added to that 16 kills and a block assist for 20.5 total points – the most of any player on either team. Nika Markovic followed her with 16.5 (15 kills – .379 hitting percentage, plus 3 block assists).
Gabriela Stavnetchei had 13 kills and just 3 errors on 30 attacks for a .333 hitting percentage. The rest of the team hit just .106 combined. Ashley Askin actually had more attacks than Stavnetchei (34-30), but came away with just 7 kills from the effort. Stavnetchei has the 2nd-highest-percentage-of-her-team’s-attacks of any player in the ACC this season at 34.65%. That’s behind just Olga Strantzali of Miami.
Press Releases
Courtesy Pitt Athletics:
ATLANTA – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team remains atop of the ACC following a sweep of Georgia Tech, Sunday afternoon at O’Keefe Gymnasium in Atlanta.
The Panthers, who now own a 23-6 overall record and a 16-2 mark in conference play, remain tied with Louisville atop of the ACC standings after today’s straight sets win. Pitt downed the Yellow Jackets (13-16, 8-10 ACC) 25-22, 25-20 and 25-21.
The Panthers were solid both offensively and defensively, out-killing Georgia Tech by 20 kills, 52-32, and out-digging the Yellow Jackets 47-37. Pitt’s back row defense was led by redshirt junior Angela Seman with 15 digs.
“I was really pleased with our back row defense,” said head coach Dan Fisher. “Out-digging a good defensive team by 10 is a great victory for us.
Redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams was outstanding for the Panthers as she posted 16 kills on 30 attempts with just two errors. This marks her 22nd game of tallying double-digit kills. Williams also posted four aces and five digs.
Sophomore Nika Markovic finished the match with 15 kills and a .379 hitting percentage, in addition to nine digs and three blocks. She also earned her 22nd match with double-digit kills.
“Our pin hitters were great today and Kamalani [Akeo] did a nice job locating to them. Stephanie [Williams] had a huge day with a lot of kills and very few errors, capping off what was one of her best weekends.”
Junior setter Kamalani Akeo put up 46 assists in today’s match to help pace the Panthers offense.
Set One: Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 22
Despite a late comeback by Georgia Tech, Pitt outlasted the Yellow Jackets 25-22 in the opening set of the match. The Panthers were outstanding offensively, tallying 17 kills, led by Markovic who had seven. Akeo posted 15 assists to aid Pitt’s attack.
With the score tied 5-5 after back-and-forth points, the Panthers went on a 6-1 run to force Georgia Tech to take its first of two quick timeouts. Pitt posted three kills, two aces and a block to take an 11-6 lead.
Just four points leader, three of which were the Panthers, the Yellow Jackets called for a second break as Pitt extended its lead following an ace by Williams to 14-7.
Out of the break, Georgia Tech made a comeback, pulling within one of the Panthers, 20-19. The Yellow Jackets outscored Pitt 12-6 and forced the Panthers to use both of their timeouts.
Despite the late comeback, Pitt went on to win the set 25-22 behind a dominant performance by Markovic. The sophomore had a hand in all five of the Panthers’ final points, as the she got Pitt back on track with back-to-back kills and a block assisted by Ndee to put the Panthers ahead 23-19. Markovic also gave the Panthers set point, 24-20, before closing out the frame with the winning kill, after consecutive points by Georgia Tech.
Set Two: Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 20
Pitt took a 2-0 lead in the match after earning a second set win, 25-20. Pitt was solid on offense once again, hitting .389 with 19 kills. Williams led the squad with seven kills and hit at a .462 clip, while Lund added five.
The Panthers got out in front early 8-3, but a physical Georgia Tech team battled back to trail Pitt by just a point, 12-11, and force the Panthers to call a timeout.
The break gave Pitt a chance to regroup and doing just that, extended its lead to 18-14 thanks to back-to-back kills by Lund and Williams.
The Yellow Jackets took a timeout of their own but were unable to hold off a dominant Panthers offense.
Set Three: Pitt 25, Georgia Tech 21
Despite trailing early in the third set, Pitt battled back to earn a 25-21 victory over Georgia Tech and take the match in straight sets.
The Panthers struggled out of the gates in the final frame falling behind early, but a 10-point run, led by Williams at the service line, put Pitt back on top with a 17-10 advantage. The run featured four kills by the Panthers and two aces by Williams.
Pitt led by as many as eight points, but the Yellow Jackets didn’t go down without a fight as they made their way back within three, 23-20.
Georgia Tech forced the Panthers to take a timeout but the Yellow Jackets were unable to hold off Pitt as Williams smacked two straight kills to end the match.
Up Next
Pitt will close out the regular season with matches at Virginia Tech and Virginia next weekend.
Courtesy Georgia Tech Athletics:
THE FLATS –Georgia Tech volleyball (13-16, 8-10 ACC) fell to Pittsburgh (23-6, 16-2 ACC) 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in O’Keefe Gymnasium.
How it happened:
Battling it out to start the match, the teams traded points to a score of 5-5 before Pittsburgh jumped ahead with a 6-1 run. The Jackets called a timeout to shift the momentum but Pitt kept coming and Tech used its second timeout, trailing at 14-7. The Panthers kept rolling but a kill from senior Gabby Benda started to turn the tide in favor of the Jackets and Tech would pull within one at 20-19 off a block by junior Lauren Frerking and senior Sydney Wilson. Pittsburgh was able to maintain its lead and put away the set at 25-22 to take the 1-0 lead.
Pittsburgh took the lead at 3-2 and held onto it. The Jackets kept it close, after trailing by five at 10-5, Tech closed the gap to bring the score within one at 12-11 off a block from sophomore Kodie Comby and Frerking. The Panthers hit the gas and pushed their lead back to five at 20-15. Tech battled but was unable to overtake Pittsburgh and the Panthers took the set at 25-20 for the 2-0 lead.
Tech came out rolling in the third, taking the 6-3 lead off back-to-back service aces from senior Ashley Askin, causing Pitt to call a timeout. The Jackets stayed ahead until a 10-0 run by the Panthers overtook the lead and put the set out of reach. The Panthers sealed the match with a 25-21 win of the third set.
Up next:
Tech returns to the court on Wednesday, Nov. 22 to take on Miami at 6 p.m. in O’Keefe Gymnasium. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
Quick hits:
– Askin’s two service aces matches her season best.
– Gabriela Stavnetchei recorded a career-high three solo blocks.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter ( @GTVolleyball ), Facebook ( Georgia Tech Volleyball ) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com .
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