Despite all the excitement that came with the meeting between the Pitt and Penn State women’s volleyball teams on Wednesday night, both coaches were aware that it is only September. A national champion will not be crowned until mid-December.
Still, the Panthers (No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll for the second week in a row) and the Nittany Lions (No. 3) recognized that this was a good opportunity to assess their position.
“I think they (Pitt) are a really aggressive offensive team,” Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said in the days leading up to the game. “They’re well-coached. They always have a great game plan and their players know what’s going on.”
Pitt coach Dan Fisher said, “I knew Penn State would be very good. Especially after our spring practice game with them. They absolutely deserve their high ranking.”
So where do they stand after their non-league game in front of 11,800 cheering fans at the Petersen Events Center?
The Panthers appear to be right where their rankings say they should be after dismantling the Nittany Lions in three straight games: 25-15, 25-19, 25-18. Pitt improved to 7-0 and Penn State suffered its first loss of the season, falling to 8-1.
The attendance was a Pitt volleyball record, easily surpassing the record set last season against Louisville (8,865).
The game couldn’t have started better for Pitt or worse for Penn State, depending on your point of view. After two consecutive net breaches by the Nittany Lions, an ace by Valeria Vazquez Gomez and a kill by Olivia Babcock, Pitt led 4-0 and was never in danger.
The Nittany Lions didn’t even manage two points before Pitt took a 14-6 lead. The Panthers committed only two attack errors in the set and achieved a batting average of .429.
Penn State calmed down in the second set and even took the lead for the first time at 8-7. But Pitt scored seven of the next ten points – mainly three kills and two blocks by Babcock – to give themselves some breathing room.
The Nittany Lions were able to get within one point twice – 17-16 and 18-17 – but Pitt pulled itself together and secured the win with two kills by Torrey Stafford and an ace by Rachel Fairbanks in the final phase.
Pitt completed the sweep by going on 5-0 and 6-0 runs in the third set to build a big lead and cap off a convincing performance against its in-state nemesis. Penn State kept things exciting, going on a 6-0 run after trailing 18-8 before Pitt regained its momentum thanks to three straight kills from Stafford.
