Nov. 22, 2003

Box Score

NOTRE DAME, IND. - Top-seeded Pittsburgh swept Villanova, 3-0, in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Tournament at the Joyce Center on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers posted scores of 30-24, 30-26 and 30-25 to advance to Sunday's championship. Pittsburgh will face the winner of Notre Dame and Miami.

Villanova opened up a lead late in game one, when a kill by Katie Lanting made the score 22-19. Megan Miller and Wendy Hatlestad brought Pittsburgh to within 22-21 and then the Panthers tied the score with block assists by Lindsey Macke and Miller. Pittsburgh took the lead for good 25-24 on a kill by Hatlestad and fired off five consecutive points to seal the match.

Pittsburgh raced out to a 14-10 advantage at the start of game two behind three points by Miller and strong blocking up front by April Puzauskas. Villanova's Kerri Sullivan and Adrian Semrau teamed for a block assist, then Celine Nguyen registered an ace and Sullivan blocked a Panther attempt to trim the gap to 14-13.

The Wildcats tied the score twice, and later pulled to within 21-20 on a block assist by Sullivan and Nguyen. The Panthers opened up a 26-22 advantage, but again the Wildcats clawed back, with kills by Erin Birunas, Lanting and Sullivan. Abby Fechhelm scored two points and Sarah Rollman belted the final kill to give the Panthers the 30-26 decision.

Dana Kabashima managed five kills and 12 digs against Pittsburgh.

Semrau helped the Wildcats out of the gate in game three with three early kills and a block assist as the squad built a 14-9 cushion. Miller and Rollman guided the Panthers back into the game, as Miller had a kill and block, while Rollman managed two kills to give Pittsburgh a 15-14 lead.

Dana Kabshima responded with a kill to tie the game and then a Panther attack error gave the lead back to the Wildcats, 16-15. The teams battled for every point, with Villanova finally opening up a three-point margin, 21-18, on a kill by Lanting. Miller and Rollman refused to let up and kept the Panthers within one, 24-23. Then a Wildcat attack error and a solo block by Miller gave the Panthers their second lead of the game that they would never relinquish.

Lanting led the Wildcat offense with 10 kills and a .207 hitting percentage to go along with her one solo bock and four block assists. Sullivan and Birunas each managed eight kills for Villanova. Nguyen and Kabashima fueled the defensive effort with 14 and 12 digs, respectively. The Wildcats finished with a .141 hitting percentage and eight total team blocks.

For Pittsburgh (23-5), Hatlestad posted a match-high 16 kills, while Rollman and Miller chipped in with 15 and 10, respectively. Megan McGrane registered 22 digs, while Puzauskas talied two solo blocks and three block assists.

Villanova closes out its season with an overall record of 14-15.