No. 7 Pitt Prepares for Senior Night vs. Syracuse

PITTSBURGH – No. 7 Pitt (24-2, 14-0 ACC) carries its 17-match winning streak into Friday’s contest against Syracuse (11-13, 7-7 ACC) on Friday night inside Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers will take on the Orange, at home, for the first of four RPI based matches against ACC opponents to close out the season. It’s senior night at the Field House as the Panthers celebrate six seniors: Ashley Browske, Courtney Buzzerio, Cam Ennis, Serena Gray, Chiamaka Nwokolo and Sabrina Starks.
 
Pitt has won 17 matches in a row, the third longest active streak in the country, and the longest among Power 5 schools. Pitt is the only Power 5 team with an undefeated conference record and has won its last 40 home matches against unranked ACC opponents.
 

 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers swept Syracuse last Friday before defeating Boston College in four sets the following Sunday, remaining perfect in ACC play (14-0). Rachel Fairbanks recorded double doubles in both matches, posting 11 kills and 16 assists in the sweep over Syracuse and 10 digs with 27 assists in the win over BC. She leads the team with 12 double-doubles this season, tied for the third most in the conference.
 
The Panther pin hitters posted some of their most efficient numbers as a unit last weekend, as Julianna Dalton, Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Buzzerio combined for 65 kills on .345 hitting. Dalton was particularly strong on defense as well, making a season-best five blocks against Boston College while adding in a pair of aces. Dalton is now tied with Gray for third on the team with 16 aces this season.
 
SUPER SENIOR CLASS
The six seniors being celebrated at the match have all contributed in major ways to this season’s success. Buzzerio leads the team in kills with 332, doing so on .333 hitting. She owns the highest hitting percentage in the nation by a pin hitter with 650 or more attacks and joined Kayla Lund as the only Panther to have won ACC Player of the Week three times in the same season after Lund did so back in 2018.
 
Gray leads the team with 102 blocks this year and owns the eighth highest hitting percentage in the nation (.417). She is on pace to become the second Panther in program history to achieve back-to-back .400+ hitting…