No. 4 Pitt volleyball (16-1, 6-1 ACC) bounced back from its first loss of the season with a commanding 3-1 victory at Miami (14-3, 5-2 ACC) on Friday.

The Hurricanes looked like they came out with something to prove, and it’s hard to blame them. While Miami lacks the impressive non-conference schedule that Pitt possesses, the Hurricanes have put together one of the conference’s best records with little to no attention in return.

Friday marked an opportunity for Miami to capitalize on a highly-ranked Panther team coming off of its first loss of the season, and put the program amongst the top tier of the ACC with No. 2 Louisville, No. 4 Pitt, and No. 16 Georgia Tech.

Miami opened the first set with an early advantage, but it didn’t come quickly. The two teams battled through many long, excruciating points, setting the tone that the heavily-favored Panthers wouldn’t coast to another stress-free sweep on Friday.

Except those lengthy points only occurred when the serving team could get the ball in play, something that Pitt struggled with out of the gate, committing three service errors early in the first game. But a late 6-0 Miami run filled with Panther receiving errors wound up making the biggest difference, and the Hurricanes took the first game 25-22.

Miami kept Pitt’s fifth-year dynamic duo of Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee quiet in the first set, combining for four kills on 14 attempts, with the former committing five attacking errors. The Panthers desperately needed that star power back, and it returned with vengeance the rest of the night.

Lund and Ndee navigated past Miami’s tall net presence with seven kills each in the second game. The Hurricanes, who had five rejections in the first game, couldn’t record a single block in the second. and the Panthers tied the match at one set a piece. Serena Gray sent a Miami attack attempt back to give the Panthers the set 25-22, tying the match at one apiece.

The third set was the most lopsided. Miami could not find a rhythm offensively, recording only. seven kills total, and Pitt continually found lapses in the Hurricane defense. The Panthers took the game 25-16, defiantly shifting the match in their favor.

Pitt looked in complete control, but Miami wouldn’t go away yet. The Hurricanes put up a fight in the fourth frame, evening the set at 16-16. But Ndee, who racked up a match-high 18 kills, wrapped things up in Coral Gables with three kills in the last seven points. Lund struck the final blow to close the set 25-18 and put Pitt back in the win column.

The Panthers will stay In the Sunshine State for a 1 pm match at Florida State on Sunday.