Pitt Rebounds Quickly, Beats Miami 3-1
CORAL GABLES, FL – The No. 6 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (21-4, 12-2 ACC) finished off the Florida trip with a 3-1 win over Miami (16-8, 9-5 ACC) in Coral Gables. Rachel Fairbanks recorded a career-high 48 assists in the match.
The Panthers started the first set hot, getting out to an early 8-1 lead and forced Miami to take their first timeout. Cat Flood did not let up from the service line, registering another three points to extend the lead to 11-1. The Hurricanes would not come within 10 points in the first, as Pitt cruised to a 25-15 win.
Miami would not back down, competing with Pitt from the start of the second set. Both teams went back and forth as no team had more than a three-point lead, as Miami went into the media timeout up 15-14. The Panthers would respond, earning the next three points behind a kill from Torrey Stafford and Chiamaka Nwokolo. Miami would gain some momentum, tying the set at 22-22 and forced Pitt to take a timeout. A kill a piece from Stafford, Nwokolo and Olivia Babcock secured the tight 25-23 second set win.
Similar to set two, the Hurricanes kept things interesting in the third, eventually getting out to a 14-11 lead, and Pitt took its first timeout. A pair of Panther errors forced Pitt to quickly take their second timeout. Babcock would prove deadly behind the service line and went on a run to tie things up at 18-18. Both teams would be tied once again, 24-24 before a Miami kill and Pitt hitting error allowed Miami to take the third set, 26-24.
Set four would continue to be a dog fight as points were traded back and forth from beginning to end. The Panthers would extend their lead to 12-8 and would hold the 15-10 lead at the media timeout. A pair of points from Babcock and a Rachel Fairbanks kill would pace Pitt for the stretch, but back-to-back points for Miami would forced Pitt to take a timeout, with the Panthers leading 18-13. Despite going on a 8-5 run, the Hurricanes were not able to overtake Pitt, as the Panthers secured the set, 25-23 and match, 3-1.
NOTES
– Stafford recorded double digit kills for the 15th time this season
– This is the 14th match of the season Babcock has notched at least 10 kills
– Along with her career-high 48 assists, Fairbanks notched seven digs, three blocks and two kills
UP NEXT
The No. 6 Panthers will hit the road once again on Friday to take on No. 10 Georgia Tech. The match will be streamed on ACC Network.
