UVa Rallies to Defeat Pitt, 3-2
Story Links
Oct. 5, 2013
Become a Fan of Virginia Volleyball on Facebook
Follow Virginia Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram
PITTSBURGH, Pa.—The Virginia volleyball team rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win at Pittsburgh, 25-22, 20-25, 17-25, 25-21 and 15-11 Saturday night (Oct. 5). With the win, the Cavaliers (9-7, 2-2 ACC) have won multiple road ACC matches for the first time since 2010.
“We competed hard tonight, playing for every ball and every point and that was the difference between winning tonight and losing last night (at Maryland),” UVa head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “(Last night) We didn’t go for every ball and it cost us, but we were able to learn from what happened last night, play hard and come away with the win tonight.”
Junior Tori Janowski (Sterling, Va.) earned back-to-back kills to give Virginia a 9-7 lead in the decisive fifth set. A block by junior Mallory Woolridge (Glen Allen, Va.) and two Pitt (11-6, 3-1 ACC) hitting errors extended the lead to 12-7. UVa never let the Panthers within three points and went on to win, 15-11.
For the match, Pitt outhit Virginia, .148-.139, and led in blocks, 17-12, but UVa was able to hold the Panthers to a .045 hitting percentage with six errors in the fifth set.
Senior Emily Rottman (Santa Barbara, Calif.) became the fourth Cavalier in program history to reach 1,500 career digs. With a match-high 27 today, she now has 1,512 digs in four years at UVa.
The Cavaliers were led offensively by freshmen Jasmine Burton (White Hills, Calif.) and Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.). Burton hit .333 with 11 kills, while Kole led the team with 19 kills.
Woolridge had a team-high six blocks, while sophomore Natalie Bausback (Carlsbad, Calif.) added five. Sophomore Lauren Fuller (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) dished out 48 assists.
The Cavaliers had a tight lead throughout the first set, closing with kills by Kole and Janowski to win 25-22. In the second, Pitt led in hitting, .119-.070, on the way to a 25-20 victory.
Pitt hit .500 in the third set with 15 kills and one error en route to a 25-17 win. The Panthers used a seven-point run in the middle of the fourth to take the lead, 14-9, but the Cavaliers scored seven in a row of their own and never looked back with a 25-21.
Mechael Guess led Pitt with a match-high 21 kills.
Up next, the Cavaliers host their first ACC matches of the season next weekend when Syracuse (Oct. 11) and Boston College (Oct. 12) come to Memorial Gymnasium. Both matches are set for a 7 p.m. start.