Sept. 27, 2008
Box Score
VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Villanova volleyball team dropped its BIG EAST opener to Pittsburgh, falling 3-2 (25-19, 25-15, 16-25, 15-25, 11-15), on Saturday afternoon in Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.
Senior Dana Tartazky led the Wildcats (8-6, 0-1) tallying 19 kills and collecting 16 digs to post her third double double of the season.
Two other Wildcats were in double figure kills as freshmen Maggie Mergen and Morgan Petkovich hit 12 kills and 10 kills respectively.
Freshman Kim Maroon collected 14 digs, while junior Chelsea Graman gave out a match-high 43 assists.
Villanova came out strong in the first match, never trailing throughout. A 12-10 lead by VU turned into 15-10, following serves from Mergen and a miscue from the Panthers (8-7, 1-0). Pitt threatened to come within a point at 18-17, but a kill from Tartazky pushed the Wildcats' lead back to three points, 20-17. Villanova scored five consecutive points to end the first set with a 25-19 victory.
Pittsburgh got on the board first in the second frame and held a 6-4 lead, but the Wildcats returned to use a 10-3 run after a Pitt miscue and forced the Panthers into a timeout. After the break, Villanova went on a 5-3 run to increase its lead to 20-12 as Pitt used its final timeout. Junior Amy Gulyas served three consecutive points and a kill from Tartazky ended the second frame with a `Nova victory.
An 8-8 tie in the third stanza changed to a 13-9 Pitt advantage and forced VU to use a timeout. The Panthers continued pressure after the break and used a 6-2 run; to jump to a 19-12 lead as the Wildcats used their final timeout. A miscue from the Panthers gave VU a point after play resumed, but the Wildcats scored just three more points as they dropped the third set.
After falling to an early 5-1 deficit, `Nova used a timeout to regroup, but Pitt held a 12-6 lead after a kill from the Panthers. Trailing, 18-12, Tartazky slammed the next three kills for the `Cats and came within seven points of Pitt, but consecutive service aces from the Panthers sealed a 25-15 victory to send the match into a fifth set.
In the final set, each team traded points as there were four ties early. After three consecutive kills from Pitt, Villanova called timeout, trailing 9-6. With the Panthers in front, 11-7, Villanova used its last timeout, but could not score following the break as Pitt jumped to a 13-7 advantage. A kill from Tartazky and a miscue from the Panthers saw VU push to within four points, 13-19, and were then trailing just 13-10. Pitt served for match point at 14-10, but the Wildcats were able to score and sent Pitt into a final timeout. After the break, the Panthers sealed their victory, winning the final set, 15-11.
Villanova will be back on the court to continue BIG EAST action on Sunday, Sept. 28 to host West Virginia. The match will begin at 2:00 p.m.
