No. 10 Pitt Embarks on Three-Match Road Trip

PITTSBURGH – No. 10 Pitt (11-2, 2-0 ACC) hits the road for three matches in five days. The Panthers will take on Virginia (8-5, 0-2 ACC), Duke (9-4, 0-2 ACC) and High Point (9-6 (2-0 Big South) this week after finishing their seven-match home stretch with six victories.
 

SCHEDULE

 

 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers collected a pair of four-set victories to begin ACC play, defeating North Carolina and NC State last weekend inside Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt found plenty of offense down the middle as Serena Gray and Chiamaka Nwokolo combined for 47 kills on .563 hitting, including a career-high 14 kills from Nwokolo against NC State.
 
While the middles were bolstering the offense, it was the outside hitters pulling their weight on defense. Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Julianna Dalton each set career-highs in digs over the weekend, with Vazquez Gomez making 24 against NC State and Dalton tallying 11 against UNC. The 24 digs from Vazquez Gomez stands as the most by a Pitt non-defensive specialist since 2017 (Nika Markovic – 27 vs. St, Mary’s).
 
Serena Gray earned ACC Player of the Week honors for her efforts over the weekend, making 24 kills on .600 hitting. She set a season high with 14 kills against NC State after posting 10 kills on .750 hitting against UNC. Her .750 hitting performance was the highest hitting percentage by a Panther with 10+ kills since 2020 and the second highest such percentage in Gray’s career. She is now hitting .412 this season and is on track to become just the second Panther in program history to record consecutive .400+ hitting seasons.
 
The Panthers have started ACC play 2-0 for the seventh time in the last eight years and the eighth time in 10 seasons under head coach Dan Fisher.
 
PERFECTLY BALANCED AS ALL THINGS SHOULD BE
Pitt owns one of the most balanced offensive attacks in the nation with Vazquez Gomez, Dalton, Buzzerio and Gray each averaging over 2.0 kills/set. Those four hitters account for 75.2 percent of Pitt’s terminations with Buzzerio currently leading the way at 152. Buzzerio’s kills make up just 23.3% of Pitt’s overall output.
 
29.9% of Pitt’s offense comes from the middle with Serena Gray (90), Chiamaka Nwokolo (60), Sabrina Starks (32) and Rachel Jepsen (7)…