Volleyball unbeaten

One week after sweeping the field at the Magnolia Invitational in Mississippi, the Pitt… One week after sweeping the field at the Magnolia Invitational in Mississippi, the Pitt volleyball team continued its early season dominance by clinching its second tournament title at the Rhode Island Invitational over the weekend.

The Panthers (7-0, 0-0 Big East) opened the weekend on Friday with a 3-1 victory over Akron (2-2).

Pitt cruised through the first two games of the match, winning 30-20 and 30-22, respectively. The Zips took advantage of the Panthers’ lowly .182 hitting percentage to narrowly win the third game, 30-28.

Pitt, however, finally put Akron away in the fourth with a 30-19 triumph.

Sophomore Stephanie Ross led the Panthers with 16 kills in the match while posting a .387 hitting percentage. Junior Diana Andreyko also continued her stellar play by posting her fourth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 11 digs.

Later that evening, Pitt routed the hosting Rhode Island squad.

The Panthers made quick work of the Rams by winning three straight games and never allowing Rhode Island to score more than 24 points.

Andreyko posted another double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs. Ross, meanwhile, added 12 kills and seven digs of her own.

Defensively, freshman Meagan Dooley had an outstanding match, posting new career highs in block assists (eight) and total blocks (nine). Sophomore Jessica Moses also added six blocks to improve her team-high total to 36 on the season.

On Saturday, Pitt clinched the tournament title in convincing fashion with a 3-0 shutout of Northeastern.

The Panthers once again relied on their depth and received strong contributions from nearly every player on the court. Senior Azadeh Boroumand recorded her first double-double of the tournament with 35 assists and 12 digs. Stephanie Ross led Pitt in kills with 17 while Andreyko finished with 15 kills and eight digs.

Dooley and fellow freshman Kim Kern led the defense with 6 total blocks each while yet another freshman, Michelle Rossi, added a team-high 18 digs.

“The team played very solid volleyball for three matches and maintained a good degree of focus throughout,” head coach Chris Beerman told PittsburghPanthers.com. “There was a good team effort this weekend.”

For her efforts, Diana Andreyko was awarded tournament MVP. Stephanie Ross was also named to the all-tournament team.

The Panthers will attempt to remain unbeaten as they host Duquesne tonight at 7 p.m. in the Fitzgerald Field House.