No. 8 Pitt Sweeps Miami, Wins 10th in a Row

PITTSBURGH – No. 8 Pitt (17-2, 7-0) delivered the first home sweep of ACC play, taking down Miami (25-22, 25-18, 25-22) on Friday night inside Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers utilized a balanced offensive approach to pick apart the Hurricanes, extending the win streak to 10 matches.
 
“It was a big win tonight over a very good team,” head coach Dan Fisher said. “Miami pushed us a lot. They played really great defense with a lot of long rallies. I thought we served well on the night with good production from our lefts, Buzzerio and Serena Gray. Our only room for serious improvement would be cleaning up some of our attack errors, especially in the third set. Overall, I’m happy we got a win over a quality ACC opponent. Looking forward to taking on another on Sunday in Florida State.”
 
QUICK HITS

• Courtney Buzzerio led the team in kills for the 11^th match in a row, finishing with 12 on .370 hitting.
• She has now made at least 3.25 kills/set in 11 straight matches – tied for the second longest streak of her career (12 in a row at Iowa to begin the 2021 season).
• She’s made 10+ kills while hitting at least .300 in each of her last five matches – the longest such streak of her career.
• Valeria Vazquez Gomez recorded her second straight double-double, making 11 kills and 11 digs.
• She has now made 33 kills and 34 digs in her last three matches.
• Ashley Browske led the back row with 15 digs. She has now made 10+ digs in five straight matches and eight of her last nine.
• Her five-match double-digit dig streak ties the longest such streak of her career.
• Julianna Dalton reached double-digits for the second time in the last three matches, making 10 kills along with six digs and three blocks.
• Rachel Fairbanks led the team in assists with 21, followed by 14 from Cam Ennis.
• Fairbanks and Buzzerio each made two aces. Their eighth and fifth multi-ace matches of the year respectively.
• Chiamaka Nwokolo and Serena Gray each tallied five blocks tonight to lead the team. Three of Gray’s blocks were solo, tying her career best.
• This is the 10^th win in a row for Pitt, its longest winning streak of the season. The Panthers have now had at least one 10+ match win streak in each of the last six seasons.
• The Panthers have now won 10 straight matches against Miami dating back to 2014.
• Pitt now holds 10+ match winning streaks over four ACC opponents (Miami, Virginia, Boston College and Clemson).
• Pitt has started ACC play 7-0 for the fourth time in the last six years and first since the undefeated 2019 season.

SET 1: PITT 25 – MIAMI 22
Julianna Dalton took control of the match early on, terminating balls with great efficiency while positively impacting the match in just about every way. She made five kills, an assist and a solo block in the early stages to keep the set close, 13-13, as Pitt tested the Hurricanes for weaknesses. Dalton’s sixth kill of the set was the second point on what would become a late 5-0 scoring run, off the serve of Gray, putting Pitt ahead, 22-18. A Dalton ace sealed the set, 25-22. She finished the set with six kills on .455 hitting with an assist, an ace and two blocks while successfully receiving all six serves sent her way. Browske and Vazquez Gomez held down the defensive effort combining for nine digs, with Browske posting five.
 
SET 2: PITT 25 – MIAMI 18
Pitt got off to a hot start in the second set, winning six of the first seven points with three blocks and three kills. Buzzerio led the charge in the early going, putting up two of the kills and contributing to two of the blocks along with Gray and Vazquez Gomez. FSU cut the lead to two on a couple of occasions, but a 6-0 Pitt run off the serving of Cat Flood put the Panthers ahead, 24-16, and they would win the set three points later. Vazquez Gomez and Buzzerio each made five kills while Browske Vazquez Gomez added five digs. Gray made three blocks two of which came next to Buzzerio.
 
SET 3: PITT 25 – MIAMI 22
The Panthers jumped in front again, 14-8, before Miami started slowly closing the gap. The Hurricanes even tied the score late in the set, 21-21 and 22-22, before Pitt ended the match in a quintessentially Pitt manner: a kill on the right side from kills leader, Buzzerio, an ace from the team’s ace leader, Fairbanks, and a solo block from the leader in total blocks, Gray. Five different Panthers secured multiple kills in the set while Browske made five more digs in the back row. Nwokolo delivered three blocks in the final set, bringing her match total to five.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers will take on Florida State (12-6, 4-3 ACC) on Sunday afternoon inside Fitzgerald Field House. It is the annual alumnae match, featuring an in-match recognition of our beloved #ForeverPanthers. Tickets are available at pittsburghpanthers.com and both matches will be streamed on ACCN Extra.
 
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