No. 7 seed Cougars fall to No. 2 seed Panthers, 3-0

PITTSBURGH — No. 7 seed BYU women’s volleyball fell to host and No. 2 seed Pittsburgh in three sets (21-25, 22-25, 18-25) in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at Petersen Events Center on Saturday night.

BOX SCORE

'I'm really proud of our group and the match they played tonight," BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. "I want to congratulate Pitt on advancing. I thought they played a great match, and I wish them all the best in the tournament. I thought they've been great hosts. It's been great to be out here. I’m proud of our team, the fight that we gave them and I’m really proud of the season that we put together. It was just a good opportunity for us to be out here and play in Pittsburgh, so we'll cherish this opportunity and be grateful for it."

The Cougars (22-7, 15-3 WCC) hit .236 to the Panthers .299, but recorded just 35 kills while Pitt put down 56 kills. BYU out-blocked the Panthers nine to three but Pitt totaled 16 more digs than the Cougars, at 58 to 42.

Outside hitter Erin Livingston finished with 13 kills, while middle blocker Heather Gneiting added five. Middle blocker Kate Prior, setter Whitney Bower and outside hitter Elyse Stowell contributed four kills each.

Bower tallied 25 assists, with libero Kelsey Knudsen recording 10 digs. Gneiting tied her season-high with seven total blocks. Livingston was second on the team with four. 

Set 1
Going back-and-forth early, the Cougars got three kills each from Gneiting and Livingston. A 4-0 Pitt run that spanned both the media timeout and a BYU timeout had the Cougars trailing by five before a Kate Prior-Gneiting double block and Alyssa Montoya ace made it 18-15, Panthers.

Kills by Elyse Stowell and Livingston, as well as a Gneiting-Livingston double block made it 22-18, Pitt as BYU took its second timeout. The Cougars scored on a Whitney Bower dump kill and two kills from Livingston down the stretch, but Pitt would take the first set, 25-21.

Set 2
BYU answered an early 6-0 Pitt run with a 5-0 run of its own, tying the second set at 7-all. The Panthers took seven of the next 10 points and led 14-10 at a Cougar timeout. With a 3-0 run, BYU cut the Pitt lead to two, at 16-14, forcing a Panther timeout.

Pitt took four of the next six to go ahead 20-16. A Whitney Llarenas quick-hitter, two kills by Livingston and an Eden Bower kill kept the Cougars in it, as Pitt called its second timeout with a 23-20 advantage. 

Gneiting was involved in two double blocks, one with Livingston and the other with Whitney Bower, to draw within one at 23-22, but a service error and Panther kill closed out the second set for Pitt, 25-22. 

Set 3
The Panthers went on a 3-0 run and a 4-0 run that spanned a BYU timeout before a Livingston kill down the line made it 7-3, Pitt. Then trailing 13-6, the Cougars took their second timeout. 

Another 3-0 run by the Panthers had BYU down 10, at 16-6, with a cross-court Livingston kill and Gneiting service ace ending the run. Whitney Bower won a joust at the net, Eden Bower dropped a tip kill, Prior sent one cross-court and Whitney Bower scored on a dump to then make it 20-13.

Two slide kills by Gneiting had the Cougars down 22-16, and Pitt took a timeout. A Livingston tip kill and Aria McComber ace capped off a 4-0 BYU run that had the Cougars within four, but Pitt scored the next three points to close out the final set, 25-18. 

Pitt will advance to the Sweet 16 to take on No. 3 seed Florida in Madison, Wisconsin. Game time and broadcast plans for the regional semifinals will be announced at a later date.