Volleyball: Panthers can’t keep up

The Pitt volleyball team was unable to keep pace with the high-tempo attacks of Marquette and… The Pitt volleyball team was unable to keep pace with the high-tempo attacks of Marquette and Syracuse as it was shut out 3-0 by both teams this weekend.

The Panthers (14-12, 4-7 Big East) are now ranked 10th in the Big East with only four games remaining on their schedule. Marquette and Syracuse — two teams that like to attack offensively early and often — used their strength inside to dominate the Panthers.

“Both of these teams like to keep the match moving, and we knew that going in,” sophomore outside hitter Monica Wignot said. “Marquette and Syracuse were able to move the ball to their hitters quickly, and we did not handle it well this weekend.”

In Saturday’s match against the Marquette Golden Eagles (20-6, 10-0 Big East), the Panthers were able to match their opponents’ speed in the first set, as they battled to tie the score nine times. However, two Panthers’ errors combined with Marquette’s scoring with an ace and a kill helped the Golden Eagles put together a series of runs to earn the 25-19 victory.

“Marquette is an experienced team that does an excellent job of consistently competing at a high level,” Pitt head coach Toby Rens said. “They were able to take advantage of opportunities to string together points, which we struggled to do.”

The second set also ended with a 25-19 score in Marquette’s favor, but the Golden Eagles held the advantage for the majority of play and never relinquished the lead in their 25-16 final set victory.

Marquette, currently No. 1 in the Big East, dominated most of the statistical categories in the match as they collected more hits and more digs than Pitt.

The Panthers, however, finished the match with the blocking advantage, thanks to a career-high six blocks from freshman setter Lindsey Zitzke.

“Despite the loss, it was good to see our blocking improve,” Wignot said.  “We have been working on it in practice, and it should help our offense in the future.”

Zitzke led all players in rejections and also paced the Panthers on defense with her team-high seven digs.

“I felt like I had been struggling all season with my blocking,” Zitzke said after the Marquette match. “Having some success today was a good sign, and I hope that I can continue to help the team by putting a good block up.”

Offensively, both Wignot and senior middle hitter Kiesha Leggs recorded double-digit kill figures for the 17^th time this season, with 10 and 11, respectively.

“We tried to be aggressive in order to match the intensity and speed of Marquette,” Wignot said in regards to her team’s offensive attack. “We had the right approach and focus but just didn’t come away with the win.”

The Panthers had little time to catch their breath as they welcomed Syracuse (17-9, 6-4) to the Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday afternoon. Another team that emphasizes quickness and ball movement, the Orange swept the Panthers in three straight sets with scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-21.

In Rens’ opinion, the importance of experience was again a factor in the Panther loss.

“Syracuse is similar to Marquette in terms of experience,” Rens said. “There really is no substitute for experience, and as a young team, we struggled against both opponents.”

The 2011 Panthers return just two starters from last year and have only two seniors on their current roster.

In the opening set against Syracuse, the Panthers held an early 8-7 lead, but the Orange were able to put together a 13-4 run en route to the set victory.

That 8-7 lead would be the latest advantage for the Panthers, as they failed to secure a lead past the 3-2 mark in the final two sets.

Once again, the Panthers offense was unable to match the production of their opponent as they were out-hit 43-36.

Leggs, named last week’s Big East Player of the Week, managed to record a team-high 12 kills in the match, and freshman Jessica Wynn earned 10. Leggs also propelled the Panthers to a 12-to-8.5 blocking advantage with five blocks, bringing her team-leading season total to 93.

Junior libero Margy Acton contributed 13 digs to the Panthers’ total of 51, and Zitzke once again added to the defensive efforts with 10 digs.

Typically a strength of the Panthers, the team’s serving efforts were stifled in both matches as the Pitt team recorded just four total aces in its two matches. Pitt currently leads the Big East in total aces. In contrast, they committed seven service errors against Syracuse, one less than the Orange’s six.

“Coming into these two matches, we emphasized aggressive serving to get Marquette and Syracuse out of their systems,” Rens said. “We did not capitalize on serving opportunities, and our errors really hurt us this weekend.”

The Panthers will look to end a two-match skid in Big East competition as they travel to St. John’s and Connecticut for two conference matches this weekend.