EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 4 University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (2-0, 0-0 ACC) continued its dominance on opening weekend against Long Beach State (0-1, 0-0 Big West) on Saturday afternoon. Senior setter Rachel Fairbanks recorded her second straight double-double while Torrey Stafford had a match high once again with 12 kills.
The Panthers got out to an early 5-1 lead behind a kill and ace from Valeria Vazquez Gomez. Stafford began to heat up at the net, notching a pair of kills. The tough Pitt block forced a few attack errors, leaving Long Beach State to call a timeout. A consistent Panther offense and offensive errors on the side of The Beach caused them to take their second and final timeout, with Pitt leading 20-11. A kill a piece from Ryla Jones and Blaire Bayless and an ace from Mallorie Meyer secured the first set win, 25-12.
Pitt kept the gas on in the second set, taking an early 9-2 advantage as Long Beach State called its first timeout. A strong serving run from Stafford and an evenly distributed offense from Fairbanks negated a strong run for Long Beach State as it called its final timeout, down 19-9. Vazquez Gomez’s strong serving along with freshman Dalia Vîrlan’s first two kills as a Panther allowed Pitt to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The beginning of set three was tight, but an early score of 4-3 quickly became 13-7 in favor of Pitt. An awakened Long Beach State offense and a pair of Pitt errors allowed The Beach to climb within one of the Panthers at 17-16, but an 8-4 run and a…
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