Volleyball: Panthers face first Big East road tests

The Pitt volleyball team will hit the road for just the second time this season when it travels… The Pitt volleyball team will hit the road for just the second time this season when it travels to Georgetown and Villanova for a Friday-Sunday Big East series this weekend.

The Panthers (11-6, 1-1 Big East) have played the majority of their matches at the Fitzgerald Field House, only leaving town for a three-match tournament at the University of Central Florida.

Freshman outside hitter and defensive specialist Cassandra Congemi said the team looked forward to getting on the road.

“Still, it is exciting to travel and have the chance to win on someone else’s home court.”

The Panthers won two matches in the UCF tournament, so the experience is not completely new. However, the implication of Big East play puts much more at stake.

“Every match in the Big East will be hard-fought and competitive,” sophomore middle blocker Brenea White said. “We have to go in to every match, home or away, with the same level of mental focus.”

On Friday, the Panthers will face conference opponent Georgetown at the McDonough Arena in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas are led on offense by sophomore middle blocker Annalee Abell and on defense by senior libero Tory Rezin.

Abell contributes significantly in nearly every category, including points per set (2.55) and kills per set (2.14). Rezin leads the team in digs per set (3.95).

The Panthers will look to combat those players with their own offensive and defensive weapons. Sophomore outside hitter Monica Wignot has played impressively for the Panthers in recent matches, leading the team in kills in its first two Big East contests.

Freshman setter Lindsey Zitzke was named the Big East Freshman of the Week for the second time as a result of her impressive performances.

“Lindsey has really been able to set the pace for the offense consistently,” head coach Toby Rens said. “She keeps us playing at a fast tempo, which is what we want to do.”

In the opening weekend of conference play, Zitzke recorded a double-double in the 0-3 loss to Seton Hall with 44 assists and a match-high 22 digs while she earned four serving aces in the 3-0 win against Rutgers.

After the Georgetown match, the Panthers will travel to Philadelphia to take on Villanova Sunday afternoon. The Wildcats have already won their first two Big East matches against DePaul and Notre Dame.

The Villanova team boasts a balanced offensive attack, with a three-class trio of senior Maggie Mergen, junior Morgan Petkovich and sophomore Allison Williams contributing with kills and blocks.

Rens said he wants to generate a balanced offensive attack by making sure that all hitters are involved.

“We want to work on getting the ball to our middle hitters more,” Rens said. “By distributing the ball, we can keep our opponents off balance.”

Kiesha Leggs, a senior middle blocker for the Panthers, finished with 17 kills in this weekend’s two matches, but Rens said she can contribute more.

“Kiesha has so much talent,” Rens said. “It would be a waste to not get her more hittable sets.”

For some of the players, practice this week will focus around mental preparation.

“The biggest thing in preparation this week is to maintain consistency in our practices,” Congemi said. “We want to emphasize the necessity of finishing strong and reducing mental errors.”

White agreed with her teammate, especially on the importance of mental toughness on the road.

“We have the skills to play with every team in the Big East, whether at home or away,” White said. “If we can focus on one match at a time and run our game plan efficiently, we will be successful regardless of where we play.”

Pitt successfully executed its game plan in one game this past weekend as the Panthers began conference competition by falling to Seton Hall and defeating Rutgers.

Pitt started out strong in the Seton Hall match, earning a 25-22 victory in the opening set. In that set, the defense led the team, as the Panthers recorded four blocks to the Pirates’ one.

In the entire contest, Pitt outblocked Seton Hall 14-8.

Offensively, Wignot contributed eight of the team’s 14 total kills in the opening set. Wignot went on to lead all players with 20 total kills in the match.

Despite their early success, the Panthers were unable to sustain leads in the remaining sets, and the Pirates won the final three sets with scores of 26-24, 25-18 and 25-22.

“We were definitely upset by the loss to Seton Hall at home, especially since it was our first Big East match,” Congemi said. “But with a match against Rutgers coming up, we knew that we could not dwell on the loss and that we needed to focus on the next opponent.”

The Panthers dominated the match against Rutgers in nearly every statistical category, including kills, digs, blocks and service aces as they earned set victories of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-9.

Wignot once again set the pace offensively with 10 total kills while juniors Margy Acton and Alexa Campbell led the defense with 11 digs each.

Comparing the Seton Hall and Rutgers matches, the Panthers acknowledged that their improvement was due to both physical and mental factors.

“When we came out against Rutgers, we had a mindset that we did not want to lose again,” White said. “That change in mental focus, along with some game adjustments, allowed us to get the win.”

The Panthers made an important adjustment in their serving. Against Seton Hall, the Panthers committed 16 service errors and earned five aces. That ace tally increased to 12 against Rutgers.

“We bounced back against Rutgers after a tough loss,” White said. “We took control of the game, and that is what we need to do in the future, especially on the road.”