Volleyball: Panthers begin season with challenging weekend at Purdue

Despite an impressive defensive performance by senior Margy Acton, the Pitt volleyball team left…Despite an impressive defensive performance by senior Margy Acton, the Pitt volleyball team left the Mortar Board Premier Tournament, hosted by Purdue, with a losing record of 1-2.

Acton, a libero, was added to the All-Tournament team after posting double-digit digs in each of the team’s three matches.

Pitt 3, George Washington 1

The Panthers started the weekend by winning their opening match of the season against George Washington. Acton led the defense with her team-high 16 digs, while junior outside hitter Monica Wignot had 10 digs and paced the offense with 16 kills.

After falling to the Colonials in the second set, the Panthers regained their focus and relied on their defense to complete the match victory. For head coach Toby Rens, the first match of the season played out as he expected.

“This was typical of a first match,” Rens said. “It was hard to find a rhythm, but our defense anchored us and did a good job of extending some rallies, especially in the third and fourth sets.”

On Saturday, the Panthers faced two nationally-ranked teams: No. 21 Northern Iowa and No. 9 Purdue. Before Saturday’s matches, Rens acknowledged the importance of facing tough competition early in the year.

“This will be a great opportunity for us to see who steps up and comes to play,” Rens said. “Playing Northern Iowa and Purdue in this setting will only help us, and I am excited to see how they respond.”

No. 21 Northern Iowa 3, Pitt 0

Against Northern Iowa, the Panthers managed to keep the first two sets close, falling by scores of 19-25 and 21-25, but UNI used its potent offense to pull away in the final set with a 13-25 victory. Northern Iowa had three players finish with double-digit kills, including Amy Braun, who finished with a game-high 17.

Acton anchored the Pitt defense once again with her 12 digs, but it was not enough to stall the attack of Northern Iowa. Pitt struggled to produce points on offense and recorded only 24 kills in comparison to Northern Iowa’s 46.

No. 9 Purdue 3, Pitt 0

The intensity of the competition only increased as the Panthers faced the Purdue Boilermakers later that day and were once again swept.

After losing the first set, the Panthers fought back in the second set to keep the score tight. Throughout the set, the lead changed five times, and the score was tied 10 times. The Panthers led by as many as four points at 12-8, but the Boilermakers used a 6-0 run to take the lead and eventually the set.

Purdue’s Amanda Miller, who won the tournament’s MVP award, said in an interview on Purdue’s athletics department website that coming back in the second set gave the Boilermakers a lot of confidence.

“The second set we were down, and then we had to come back to beat them,” Miller said. “That gave us a lot of momentum heading into the third set.”

In the final set, Purdue dominated, opening play with an 11-0 advantage before winning 25-6.

Pitt senior middle blocker Jasmine Dittrich felt that her team prepared well for the two matches against ranked teams but that the Panthers’ youth showed in the defeats.

“We are a young team and less experienced than others, but our team chemistry sets us apart, and we have a desire to win,” Dittrich said. “We will only continue to improve.”

The Pitt squad consists of only four seniors and three juniors, while five sophomores and two freshmen saw playing time this past weekend.

The Panthers will travel home to host the Pitt Panther Invitational next weekend at the Fitzgerald Field House where they will face Butler, Coastal Carolina and Howard.

For Dittrich, Pitt’s team this year has a potentially great season ahead if it can build from learning experiences in its losses.

“We push each other to become better individually and collectively,” Dittrich said. “We have the tools, but we need to apply that training in the matches.”

Rens agreed, noting that the high level of competition over the weekend allowed the team to see where it may have weaknesses.

“We had some high points in our three matches this weekend, including our defense, which kept us in many sets,” Rens said. “We also recognized that we need to improve in our serve receive and in running our offense effectively, and that is where our focus will be this week in practice.”

Pitt’s first match of the invitational will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. as the Panthers take on the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina.