No. 1 Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Syracuse

No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball swept Syracuse on the road to stay undefeated.

Pitt Volleyball celebrates a point in the win over Syracuse on Oct. 6 / Courtesy of Pitt Athlteics

PITTSBURGH -- No. 1 Pitt Panthers volleyball dominated Syracuse on the road in another sweep, as they stay undefeated on the season.

The Panthers (14-0 overall, 4-0 ACC) defeat the Orange for the 46th time in 59 meetings, improve to 17-7 in Syracuse, N.Y. and get their seventh win in the rivalry. This is also the ninth straight victory in ACC play dating back to last season for the Panthers and their seventh win on the road this season.

Both teams kept it close early on in the first set, but a 7-2 run for Pitt, thanks to four attack errors from Syracuse, gave the road team a 13-6 lead. Pitt would finish off the period with a dominant 25-11 victory, hitting .591 and holding Syracuse to .000 hitting.

Sophomore outside hitter Torrey Stafford had a sensational performance in the first set for the Panthers, with seven kills on seven swings.

Pitt started out with an 7-3 lead over Syracuse and built their advantage to 18-11. Syracuse would cut the lead to 20-16 on a 5-2 run, but Pitt responded with a 5-2 run themselves to win the period, 25-18.

The Orange had it within 8-6 in the third set, but the Panthers talent took over with a 6-1 run to earn a 14-7 lead, as sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez made three kills.

Pitt got more players in late in the third set, including outside hitters in sophomore Blaire Bayless and graduate student Cat Flood, and finished off with the 25-14 set victory and the sweep.

Stafford starred once again for the Panthers in the win vs. the Orange, leading with 16 kills and a .560 hitting percentage, while also adding five digs.

Vazquez Gomez had a great game herself, with nine kills and a .538 hitting percentage and finishing tied for first with senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika with eight digs.

Pitt hit .372 and held Syracuse to a .023 hitting percentage, their seventh time holding an opponent to under .100 hitting and the fourth straight match doing so.

The Panthers also made some changes to the starting lineup, with freshmen in Dalia Vîrlan and Ryla Jones starting at middle blocker. Redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley got the day off, while Vîrlan made her second straight start. Jones finished with five kills and hit .667 against the Orange.

Senior setter Nisa Buzlutepe got the start and fellow senior setter in Rachel Fairbanks sat for this match. She had a season-high 37 assists and added seven digs in the victory for Pitt.

Pitt will host No. 17 SMU for their first ACC home match in 2024 on Oct. 9 with a 7:00 p.m. start. They'll also travel to Dallas to take on SMU next weekend on Oct. 12 with a 2:00 p.m. start.

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