Pitt swept Hawaii in three sets at the Texas A&M Invitational Saturday to earn their first victory of the 2022 Season.
The Panthers (1-1) rebounded after losing in five sets to the No. 25. San Diego Toreros the day before. The win for the Panthers is the first in five tries against the Rainbow Wāhine (0-2), who they played for the first time since the 1999 season.
Pitt broke away early in the first set, as they started out with a 8-6 lead then opened it up to a 14-7 lead after a 6-1 run. They kept Hawai’i from making a comeback and won the set 25-17.
The Panthers dominated the second set, beginning with a 5-1 lead. The Wāhine managed to keep the lead at just three points, 13-10, but the Panthers dominated the rest of the way, going on a 12-6 run to take a two set lead.
Pitt and Hawai’i battled it out in the third set with the match on the line. Pitt led 22-16 late and looked to finish the match off, but Hawai’i pulled off five consecutive points to cut it to one point.
The Panthers took advantage of two errors from the Wāhine and a kill from sophomore outside hitter Julianna Dalton finished the set, 25-21, and the match as well.
Redshirt junior Valeria Vasquez Gomez led Pitt once again in kills with 12 and Dalton produced 11 kills of her own. Right side hitter graduate Courtney Buzzerio, who transferred from Iowa this season, played a good game for Pitt, leading the team with 15.5 points, tying for second with 23 total attacks and finishing third with nine kills.
Graduate outside hitter Cam Ennis and sophomore setter Rachel Fairbanks each led the Panthers with 16 assists and senior librero/defensive specialist Ashley Browske led with 19 digs in the win.
Pitt finishes the weekend on Sunday as they take on Texas A&M in the final game of the Texas A&M Invitational.
