Upper campus rundown: Volleyball breaks records
MORE HEADLINES - Pitt makes changes to two-deep for Duke game | Video: Narduzzi's Monday press conference | Narduzzi on the off week, the offense and more | Inside the numbers: A closer look at Pickett and the passing game | PODCAST: The stretch run for football | Under the lights: Pitt's commits push for the playoffs
Another week, another impressive showing from the Pitt volleyball team. Get the latest on those Panthers and more in this week's Upper Campus Rundown.
Women’s Volleyball
The Pitt Volleyball program had a rather memorable weekend as the Panthers won a pair of big home games to remain undefeated in front of record-breaking crowds at Fitzgerald Field House. On top of all that, junior Stephanie Williams was named co-ACC player of the week for her performance in the two matches.
On Friday night, Pitt swept Notre Dame in three sets in front of 2,011 fans. In the first set the Fighting Irish held a 23-22 lead, and the Panthers closed out the set on a 3-0 run including a pair of kills by Layne Van Buskirk to win it 25-23.
In the second set, Pitt got up to a 22-14 lead and cruised to a 25-17 win. The Panthers finished the night strong with a 25-18 win to take the match.
On Sunday, No. 21 Louisville came to town with first place in the ACC on the line. 2,152 fans packed into Fitzgerald Field House breaking the attendance record from Friday night. Pitt won in four sets with close matches all the way. The signature moment of the whole match was a 15-1 run in the fourth set on the way to a 25-20 win to close off the match.
Pitt is now 22-0 on the year and have moved to No. 5 nationally in this week’s AVCA poll. The Panthers also own the No. 5 spot in the RPI rankings as well. Dan Fisher’s team has a pair of road games on the horizon this week: Wake Forest on Friday, and Duke on Sunday.
Men’s Soccer
Pitt started the week with a 3-2 win over Temple at home to get back to .500. The Panthers had an opportunity to move above .500 and pull an upset over 14th-ranked Duke on Friday. It wasn’t meant to be for Jay Vodovich’s squad, as the Panthers dropped a 3-1 decision to the Blue Devils and fell to 7-8 on the year.
Pitt fell behind 3-0 in the first half, and couldn’t comeback from the large deficit. Edward Kizza netted his 13th goal in the 57th minute to avoid the shutout. Kizza is first in the ACC in goals scored, and is tied for fourth nationally. He is the leading goal scorer among players in power-five conferences.
The Panthers have a pair of tough games this week to close out the regular season. Tonight, the Panthers travel down to Morgantown to face off against West Virginia, which owns a 10-5 record. The Panthers will return home on Saturday to close out the regular season with a 7 p.m. start time against Notre Dame.
Women’s Soccer
The Pitt women’s team lost a pair of home games last week to drop to 4-11-1 on the year, and 0-9 in the ACC. On Thursday, Pitt was defeated by No. 14 Florida State 4-0. The Seminoles outshot the Panthers 22-2 in the match.
On Sunday, Pitt closed out the home portion of it’s schedule with a 2-0 setback to Notre Dame. This game proved to be a tight one with the Irish edging the Panthers in shots 16-14. Pitt hosted senior day for the six senior members of the team: Taylor Pryce, Ashley Moreira, Mikayla Schmidt, Ali Higgs, Bel van Noorden, and Clare Beahn.
The Panthers will conclude it’s season this week with a trip to 11th ranked Boston College on Thursday.