The No. 3 Pitt women’s volleyball team took care of business on Friday night, sweeping Syracuse in straight sets at Fitzgerald Field House.
The Panthers are now 21-2 on the season and 11-2 in ACC play, a match and a half behind first-place Louisville.
The first set of the evening, with the Orange holding leads of 16-15 and 22-21, but after a Kalya Lund kill to knot the score at 22 all, Serena Gray scored back-to-back service aces to give the Panthers set point. After a Gray service error, Lund earned the set-winning kill.
The second and third sets were comfortable, with Pitt opening up a 21-6 lead in the second thanks to an 8-1 run that included three Orange errors. Pitt raced to an 11-4 lead in the third thanks to a 10-1 run. Chiamaka Nwokolo scored the kill on Pitt’s second attempt at a match point for a 25-13 win in the third.
Lund had 11 kills and nine digs and Chinaza Ndee had 10 kills to go with a match-high four blocks. Lexis Akeo had 22 assists and Kylee Levers had 19. Leketon Member-Meneh paced Pitt with 11 digs and also had nine kills.
The Panthers will wrap their four-match homestead on Sunday, with a 1 p.m. start on Senior Day against Boston College. The Eagles are 4-9 in league play this season. That match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
Pitt is on the road for the following four matches, before returning home for a rematch against ACC-leading Louisville on Nov. 24.
