Eagles Suffer First ACC Loss at Hands of No. 3 Pitt

Sunday, October 13

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

2:30 PM

Boston College

14-5, 5-1ACC

University of Pittsburgh

17-1, 6-0ACC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Pitt	25	25	25	3
Boston College	23	22	23	0

Jewel Strawberry digs a ball against Pitt

Photo by: Martin Foley

Eagles Suffer First ACC Loss at Hands of No. 3 Pitt

October 13, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score

The volleyball team held the Panthers to their narrowest margin of victory this season

By: Athletic Communications

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass – The Boston College volleyball team (14-5, 5-1 ACC) fought with tremendous effort but ultimately dropped their first conference loss of the season at the hands of No. 3 Pitt (17-1, 6-0 ACC), as the Panthers took the win in three sets on Sunday afternoon in Power Gym.

Sophomore Jewel Strawberry put up 14 kills and 10 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Senior Cat Balido came close behind with nine kills of her own, adding three digs along the way. Strawberry and Jill Strockis each added an ace to total BC with two while Pitt earned just one. Setters Jane DeJarld and Madison McKnight each tallied 14 assists.

Junior Amaka Chukwujekwu found the most consistent pace on the afternoon for the Eagles, hitting at a .438 percent with eight kills and only one error. The Laurel, Md. native also led defensively, recording seven blocks topped with three solos to tie Pitt's Sabrina Starks for match-best.

The Eagles held Pitt to fewer than three points in each deciding score on the afternoon, the narrowest margin of victory out of all of Pitt's wins this season. The Panthers' only other seven-point margin of victory was over No. 16 Utah on Sept. 14.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1 – The Panthers gained an early lead with a 7-2 advantage before the Eagles tallied for five straight points to tie the set at 7-all. The teams traded points before BC rallied for another five points to take a 14-12 lead. Pitt answered with four of their own, then adding another three after a point in BC's favor from an attack error. With a 19-15 lead for Pitt, BC pushed within one then tied the set at 20. The teams went back-and-forth before Pitt added two in a row and took the set on a block from Chinaza Ndee and Starks, 25-23.

Set 2 – The Eagles had the upper hand early on, storming to an 8-3 lead and running. The teams traded points before Pitt found their footing and adding eight points to take a 15-11 lead, cut by two BC timeouts. A kill from Balido stopped the run as BC added three of the next four points, then added three more to pull within one with a 19-18 score in Pitt's favor. The Panthers capitalized, earning six of the next 10 points for the win off of a kill from Ndee, 25-22.

Set 3 – BC once again ran first, earning an 11-4 lead and continuing on to push to 13-5. Pitt added six of the next seven points to come within three points, but BC added two of their own to hold onto their lead. A four-point run from Pitt to tie the match at 20-all seemed to be the deciding factor, as the Panthers prevented BC from adding more than one point at a time for the remainder of the match. The visitors took the set and match off of two kills from Ndee and Stephanie Williams and a BC error, 25-23.

UP NEXT
The Eagles jump back onto the road to take on No. 23 Florida State and Miami next weekend in Florida.