Golden Eagles Drop BIG EAST Opener to Pittsburgh, 3-0

Sept. 26, 2009

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Marquette women's volleyball team dropped its BIG EAST Conference opener Saturday afternoon to Pittsburgh, 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-19). The loss puts Marquette at 10-5 overall, 0-1 BIG EAST.

Junior Leslie Bielski led MU with 11 kills and six digs, while setter Nikki Klingsporn registered 34 assists.

Marquette jumped out quickly in the first and took a 13-6 lead after a five-point run. Things started to go awry for the Golden Eagles after a Bielski attack right into a pair of Pitt blockers gave the Panthers life. Four more attacks by Marquette's outside hitters were blocked by the Pitt front line to pull the score even at 18-18, leading to the Golden Eagles' first timeout of the frame. Out of the timeout, Pitt grabbed its first lead of the set at 19-18 and would not look back, taking the opening set 25-23.

Bielski led MU with six kills in the first while Klingsporn assisted on 12 MU kills.

Poor passing in the second by MU led to a tough second set for the Golden Eagles. After a Bielski kill gave MU its first point and a 1-1 tie, the Panthers went on a tear, taking six of the next seven points for a 7-2 advantage. A kill by Rabbecka Gonyo brought the score to 7-3 only a point after the junior middle hitter dislocated her left pinkie finger.

The Panthers combined to hit .536 (17-2-28) in the second while the Golden Eagles were limited to a .114 (10-6-35) attack percentage. Bielski once again led MU in kills with five.

Marquette withstood an early barrage by Pittsburgh in the third, trailing 8-2 before kills by Klingsporn and Ashley Beyer put MU back in the set. MU continued to chip away at the Panther lead with four kills from Jones and three from Holly Mertens before eventually knotting the set at 16-16. After a Pitt timeout, the Panthers went on a 4-0 run to take a 20-16 lead and win the set 25-19.

Pittsburgh (9-6) outside hitter Megan Dooley, the reigning BIG EAST Player of the Week, led the Panthers with 14 kills, while Amy Towns registered a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs.

The Golden Eagles return to action Sunday at West Virginia with the match scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. Live streaming stats and video will be available on www.msnsportsnet.com