Marquette Drops a 3-2 Contest at Pittsburgh

Oct. 27, 2007

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - In a five-game battle, the Marquette volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-30, 31-29, 30-14, 22-30, 10-15), to Pittsburgh in the middle of a five-game road trip. MU is now 8-11 overall, 5-4 in the BIG EAST.

Senior Kimberley Todd notched her sixth consecutive, and 13th double-double of the season slamming 25 kills and collecting a career-high 19 digs. Senior Katie Weidner added her seventh double-double of the season as she dished out 59 assists and tallied 13 digs. Senior Tiffany Helmbrecht posted a season-high 11 kills and six blocks, while junior Ashlee Fisher hit 15 kills and junior Terri Angst collected 17 digs in the loss.

"It was a very exciting match," head coach Pati Rolf said. "It was high powered from both teams, but Pittsburgh executed better at the end. Game three was probably the best game we've ever played, but we need to work on maintaining that level throughout."

Game one was a close contest as the teams battled for each point early in the game. Trailing 11-10, freshman Rabbecka Gonyo smashed a kill to tie the game, but the Panthers went on a 6-1 run and pushed into a 17-12 advantage. Following another scoring run by Pittsburgh, MU trailed 22-15 before scoring four unanswered to pull within five points at 22-17. The Golden Eagles held Pittsburgh at 28, scoring three consecutive, but the Panthers earned game point on a kill to take a 30-25 victory.

The second frame saw the Panthers charge to a 5-1 lead, but MU pulled within two points, trailing 8-6 on a kill from Weidner. Pitt scored three unanswered only to watch MU charge back on a 5-0 run and tie the score at 11. The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game as consecutive errors from the Panthers gave them a 23-21 advantage. The teams would fight point-for-point in the remainder of the game as the Panthers served for game point with a 29-27 lead, but three consecutive Pitt errors saw MU tie the score at 29 apiece. Gonyo smashed a kill for a 30-29 MU advantage, and Todd secured the victory with a winning kill. The Golden Eagles earned the win, 31-29.

Game three belonged to Marquette as they jumped to an 8-4 lead on a kill from Todd to force the Panthers to call timeout. The struggles continued for Pittsburgh following the break, as MU held a 17-10 advantage after a Panther error. A 6-2 run from the Golden Eagles led by two kills from Brown saw the lead increase to 23-12. The Panthers scored just two more points as MU ran off a 13-2 run to earn the 30-14 victory. The Golden Eagles hit a .391 clip as a team, while holding Pittsburgh to -.025.

Pittsburgh regrouped in the fourth stanza taking its own 8-4 lead early, though the Golden Eagles capped a 4-2 run to push the score to 10-8. The Panthers went on a 5-2 run to increase their advantage as they led 15-10. MU would not lead at all in the fourth game, falling 30-22.

In the fifth and deciding frame, Fisher notched a kill to tie at two each. It was a battle for points as the teams were tied at four and five, but MU pulled ahead 6-5 following a kill from Todd. Tied again at six apiece, Pitt took a lead on an MU error, but Gonyo slammed a kill for a 7-7 tie. Helmbrecht gave the Golden Eagles an 8-7 advantage as the teams switched sides, but the Panthers ran off three unanswered to give them an 11-8 advantage. MU scored just two more times as Pittsburgh earned the final game, 15-10 and took the match victory.

The Panthers were led by Meagan Dooley with 23 kills and .356 clip, while Diana Andreyko hit 17 kills and collected 13 digs.

The Golden Eagles make their way to West Virginia and take on the Mountaineers Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m. CT.