PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (7-0, 0-0 ACC) handed in-state rival Penn State (8-1, 0-0 Big Ten) State its first loss of the season in three sets in front of a sold-out Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night. The 11,800 fans in attendance broke the previous record of 8,865, set against Louisville in the Petersen Events Center last November. The Panthers were led by Torrey Stafford who notched 17 kills and eight digs and Rachel Fairbanks, recording 42 assists in the sweep. The Panthers have now won 21 straight sets this season.
Pitt fed off the crowd’s energy early in the match as kills from Stafford, Olivia Babcock and an ace from Valeria Vazquez Gomez helped the Panthers get out to a 4-0 lead. Penn State tried to minimize Pitt’s advantage, but the Panthers successfully sided out at a high rate, and once again went on another run behind the serve of Vazquez Gomez. Penn State was forced to take a timeout, down 8-16. Junior defensive specialist Dillyn Griffin made an immediate impact off the bench for the Panthers as she dialed up an ace and pushed Pitt to a 21-11 lead. A Nittany Lion hitting error, two Pitt kills and a block from Babcock and Bre Kelley allowed Pitt to take the first set, 25-15.
The Panthers and Nittany Lions went point for point to start the second set, as both teams were knotted up at nine a piece. A 6-2 run from the Panthers gave them the lead at the media timeout, 15-11. A surge in the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Pitt Panthers #H2P…