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Volleyball Suffers 3-0 Loss at Pitt
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Box Score Oct. 2, 2016
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Virginia volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) on the road at Pitt on Sunday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House.
“Today was a much better team effort and I liked how we competed,” head coach Dennis Hohenshelt said. “We played hard against a very good team that is well coached. We got better today and will keep improving to get over the hump and start putting some wins together.”
Virginia (3-13, 0-4 ACC) was out-hit by Pitt (13-3, 4-0 ACC) .320-.198. The Panthers also led in digs (43-36), blocks (5.5-5.0) and service aces (9-3).
Senior Haley Kole (Tallahassee, Fla.) led UVA with nine kills, redshirt junior Alex Thorson (Spring, Texas) finished with eight kills and senior Jasmine Burton (West Hills, Calif.) added six.
Freshman Jennifer Wineholt (San Diego, Calif.) paced the offense with 27 assists. Senior Lexi Riccolo (Wheaton, Ill.) led the back line with 17 digs and freshman Chino Anukwuem (East Hanover, N.J.) had a team-high three blocks.
Virginia took an early 3-1 lead, but a 6-0 run put Pitt up 7-3. The Panthers extended their lead with another run as the Cavaliers called timeout down 12-5. Down 14-8, Virginia mounted a 5-0 run that included back-to-back kills by Burton to cut the lead to 14-13, and pulled within one again at 17-16 but was unable to take the lead as Pitt went on to win the first set 25-20.
After three-straight points for Pitt to open the second, Virginia had a 4-0 run to go up 4-3. The Panthers regained the lead with a 4-1 run. The Cavaliers kept it close until Pitt stretched its lead out to 14-9. UVA closed the cap to 17-15 after a kill then an ace from Kole. However, Pitt finished the set with an 8-2 run to win 25-17 and take a 2-0 lead into the break.
The teams were tight to open the third set with six ties before two-straight points gave UVA an 11-9 edge. Pitt scored consecutive points to tie it once again at 11-11 when the teams traded the lead back-and-forth. A 4-1 run put the Panthers in front 17-14 as UVA called timeout. The Cavaliers were unable to come back as Pitt secured the win 25-17. UVA had its best offensive performance with a .421 hitting percentage in the final set.
Virginia will return home to continue ACC play next weekend. The Cavaliers host Georgia Tech on Friday, Oct. 7 and Clemson on Saturday, Oct. 8 in Memorial Gymnasium.