Panthers trounce Eagles 3-0 on Senior Day; 4th consecutive sweep
Four home matches, four sweeps. The Panthers wrapped up their home stretch with a 3-0 bruising of Boston College on Sunday, their 17th consecutive victory against the Eagles.
Emotions ran high as the Panthers celebrated senior day festivities before the match, including the decorated careers of fifth-year stars Chinaza Ndee and Kayla Lund. Pitt still has one more home match against Louisville this season, but opted for an early senior day with the Cardinals coming to town the day before Thanksgiving.
The Panthers got off to some slow starts in their road trip last month, losing multiple first or second sets to weak opponents. They seem to have fixed that lackadaisical issue, and the team got itself to a quick advantage on Sunday, winning the opening set 25-15.
Penn State transfer Serena Gray blitzed the Eagles with efficiency in the first game, scoring four kills on five attempts. While solid passing from Pitt setters Kylee Levers and Lexis Akeo played a role in that, Gray also punished Boston College overpasses with ease.
But most importantly, Pitt formed an unbreakable wall defensively that stifled the Eagles’ hitters. Pitt senior Sabrina Starks made the most of her special day, racking up four ejections in the first game and altering many more Boston College attack attempts, who logged seven errors to nine kills in the opening set.
The Eagles found their offensive footing in the second set, limiting themselves to just two attacking errors. Clinging to a one-point lead late in the game, Pitt turned to Lund on the serve, who gave Pitt a much-needed cushion.
Lund’s serving prowess and multiple ferocious attacks by Pitt hitters helped the Panthers close out the second game on an 8-2 run, 25-19.
Like Pitt’s other recent blowouts, head coach Dan Fisher turned to his bench for the final set. With Lund off the floor, the Eagles prevented the Panthers from pulling away easily, aided by a wave of Pitt service errors.
Fortunately for the Panthers, Fisher left Ndee in the match, and she continued to punish Boston College for sending only one blocker her way throughout the afternoon. Ndee finished with a match-high 13 kills on a .417 hitting percentage.
Trailing 22-21 in the third game, Fisher stuck with his decision and continued to rest Lund while his reserves tried to finish the match off. Redshirt sophomore Valeria Vazquez Gomez came up with a kill and block on consecutive points to give Pitt the lead, and senior Leketor Member-Meneh finished the match with a kill a few points later.
The Panthers improve to 21-2, 11-2 in the ACC, and haven’t dropped a set since their 3-2 loss at Louisville two weeks ago. They now head to the nation’s capital for a non-conference bout against American, before traveling for three more road matches against ACC competition.