Panthers reward fans with Wake Forest sweep in return to Fitz
No. 4 Pitt (19-2, 9-2 ACC) bounced back from its five-set loss against No. 2 Louisville with ease on Friday, sweeping Wake Forest in the Panthers’ return to the Fitzgerald Field House.
Going from Louisville to a home matchup with Wake Forest presented quite a polar opposition. The Cardinals gave Pitt fits every point of that match, truly forcing one of the greatest battles in ACC history.
On the other hand, Wake Forest has not fared well in conference play. The Demon Deacons lost eight of their 10 ACC matches prior to Friday, including their last three. Worth noting, however: Wake Forest managed to steal a set off of Louisville when the two teams met, a relatively rare feat this year.
The Panthers got off to a strong start in front of their home crowd. Head coach Dan Fisher’s squad hadn’t felt the presence of its student section, the Volley Pitt, in nearly 20 days, thanks to a four-match road stretch in between.
Pitt notched the first four points of the match, fueled by a Sabrina Starks kill and block on the next point. Kayla Lund’s service error stopped the run, but soon her team had built a 7-2 lead.
Wake Forest did all it could possibly do on the defensive end, but simply couldn’t produce an effective attack necessary to compete with a team of Pitt’s caliber. The Demon Deacons staved off four set points, before Starks’ second kill of the night gave Pitt the game 25-20.
The outmatched Wake Forest squad took advantage of the momentum it gained at the end of the first game, putting up a much stronger fight in the second. Pitt crawled out to a 9-5 lead, which vanished in seconds with a 4-0 Demon Deacon run.
Trailing 22-20 in the second game, Wake Forest made a service error that would start a timely Pitt charge. The Panthers won the next three points, shifting the score to 24-22.
Pitt had gone the entire set without an ace, and it finally came at the perfect opportunity. Junior setter Lexis Akeo found a hole in the Demon Deacon setup, capping off a five-point run to clinch the second game.
Wake Forest jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third game, but the Panthers quickly quieted any murmurs of a comeback. A string of Wake Forest attacking errors allowed Pitt to even the set 8-8.
From there, the Panthers found a groove it would not come out of. The unlikely hero of the final frame: redshirt sophomore Valeria Vazquez Gomez.
The outside hitter from Puerto Rico hasn’t received quite the substantial role she had last year, only appearing as a serving specialist primarily the last few matches. She didn’t record a single kill or ace during the entire road trip
But Fisher started Vazquez Gomez in the third game, and she made a difference with both her serves and attacking prowess.
Pitt gained separation off of a five-point run on Vazquez Gomez’s serve, including one ace that left the Demon Deacon players stumped. She followed that up with three more kills that helped the Panthers coast to a 25-17 victory in the final set.
A lengthy road trip in the books, Friday’s bout marked the first of four consecutive matches Pitt will play at home. The Panthers face Virginia Tech in a “Volley-ween” special on Sunday at 1pm.