No. 10 Pitt Opens ACC Play Against North Carolina and NC State

PITTSBURGH – No. 10 Pitt (9-2, 0-0 ACC) begins its 10^th season of ACC play this weekend with a pair of matches against North Carolina (Friday) and NC State (Sunday) inside Fitzgerald Field House. Conference champions in three of the last five seasons, the Panthers begin their march towards a potential fourth title after a nine-win non-conference schedule.
 

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

 

LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers delivered a pair of impressive sweeps in the final weekend of non-conference play, defeating Tennessee and No. 5 Ohio State. The win over Ohio State. The win over OSU marked the 2^nd time in program history that Pitt has swept a Top 5 opponent and the first time doing so at home (at No. 4 Penn State – 9/20/19).
 
Courtney Buzzerio finished the weekend with 29 kills (4.83 kills/set) on .391 hitting, earning herself ACC Player of the Week honors. She is the first Panther this season to earn a conference weekly award and currently leads the nation in hitting percentage by a pin hitter with over 250 attacks (.364).
 
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
One of Coach Fisher’s proudest achievements this season has been on defense. Pitt has out-dug its opponents in 10 of its 11 matches, with the only exception coming in Pitt’s 3-0 sweep of Tennessee.
 
Ashley Browske has been the defensive catalyst this year. She delivered 48 digs (4.36/set) at the Texas A&M Invitational, her highest average over a three-match span in her career.
Browske is averaging a career-best 3.16 digs/set this season, after setting her previous high point last year with 3.03.
 
She is saving her best for the top-ranked opponents, averaging 4.08 digs/set against Top 25 ranked teams and a stellar 4.43 digs/set in Pitt’s two victories over Top-10 teams (at No. 7 BYU and vs. No. 5 Ohio State).
 
CHASING MILESTONES
Courtney Buzzerio became the 19th Panther to record 1,000 kills when she mashed 12 against American last Friday. Her career total now stands at 1,020. Sabrina Starks owns with 357 block assists and 399 total blocks, both seventh in Pitt history. She is 1 block away from becoming the seventh Panther in program history to achieve 400 blocks in a career.
 
Lexis Akeo entered her senior season ninth on the all-time assist leader board with 2,341. She is now…