Volleyball: Panthers led to victory by Leggs

This past weekend, Pitt women’s volleyball team focused on getting the ball to middle blocker… This past weekend, Pitt women’s volleyball team focused on getting the ball to middle blocker and senior Kiesha Leggs.

After leading her team offensively in both of its matches and totaling 37 kills on the weekend, Leggs ensured that the team achieved that goal.

“We really wanted to focus on making each of Kiesha’s scoring opportunities count,” head coach Toby Rens said of the Panthers’ game plan. “Kiesha did an excellent job in responding to the challenge and providing an offensive spark.”

For Leggs, her performance was just her contribution to the overall team effort.

“My personal goal is to do whatever I can do to help the team win,” Leggs said. “I don’t really pay attention to personal numbers, but when the results lead to a victory, I notice that.”

Although the Panthers were successful in generating production from the middle position, they fell short of head coach Toby Rens’ larger goal of a weekend sweep. In two Big East contests, the Panthers recorded a win over Georgetown but fell to Villanova.

“In the Big East, it is important to get wins whenever possible, and we hoped to get two this weekend,” Rens said. “We weren’t able to accomplish that this weekend, but we will take one win.”

On Friday night, the Panthers (12-6, 2-2 Big East) came back from a 0-1 set deficit to defeat the Georgetown Hoyas (9-8, 1-3) 3-1 with set scores of 25-14, 25-17 and 25-20.

Leggs paced the offensive attack, leading all players with 20 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Monica Wignot contributed 12.

Defensively, the nine digs of junior Alexa Campbell led the Panthers, while freshman setter Lindsey Zitzke and junior libero Margy Acton contributed with seven and six, respectively.

In the first set, the Panthers managed only eight kills, whereas the Hoyas recorded 11 en route to a 25-16 opening set victory. But as the match progressed, the Panther offense responded and Pitt eventually gained the overall edge in kills, 50-35.

Rens attributed the turn-around after the first-set loss to a complete team effort.

“In the first set, Georgetown really keyed in on Kiesha and it threw us off of our plan,” Rens said. “In the rest of the match, the defense and our other hitters stepped up so that we could still use Kiesha and come away with the win.”

Leggs has come to expect, and even welcome, that attention from other teams.

“I like being that player that the other team focuses on and singles out,” Leggs said. “It gives me a chance to really prove myself and my skills by still being able to produce offense.”

For the Panthers, the match against Georgetown gave a chance to demonstrate their ability to overcome challenges — especially those encountered on the road.

“I was proud of how we were able to come out strong after the first-set loss,” Acton said. “We have a lot of inexperience and to be able to come from behind to win our first Big East road match is impressive.”

Acton said that, as a young team, the Panthers will only continue to improve. The Panther roster contains only two seniors, and sophomores and freshmen record substantial court time.

However, the Panthers were unable to record another match win when they traveled to face Villanova (12-5, 4-0) and suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Wildcats.

After dropping the first set 25-21, the Panthers fought back to earn a 26-24 victory. But the Wildcats eliminated hopes of a comeback as they took the final two sets 25-14 and 25-21 to ensure a match win.

Once again, Leggs led both teams with her 17 kills from the middle blocker position, and Wignot again reached double-digits with her 10.

The defense totaled 67 kills with Acton recording 24 and freshman Delaney Clesen chipping in with 15.

“Defensively, I thought we were very strong,” Acton said. “Our goal is always to keep the momentum on our side, which is critical in close matches. We just weren’t able to finish this time.”

In the match, the teams tied 25 times with 12 lead changes — evidence that the two Big East teams were evenly matched.

“Coming into the match, I thought that we matched up well with Villanova and that showed in the close sets as well,” Rens said. “The difference seemed to be a bit more poise on the part of Villanova and an ability to control the match after we took the second set.”

The Panthers will return home for two matches next weekend at the Fitzgerald Field House as they welcome Notre Dame on Saturday and DePaul on Sunday.