Takeaways | First-years stepped up, mistakes haunted Pitt volleyball over the weekend

No. 6 Pitt Volleyball (21-4, 12-2 ACC) suffered its second loss in ACC play on Friday in Tallahassee against Florida State (18-8, 12-2 ACC) in a 3-2 loss, putting the Panthers in a four-way tie for first place in the ACC. But on Sunday, the Panthers rebounded against Miami (16-8, ACC 9-5) in a 3-1 victory.

Here are my takeaways from the Panthers’ up-and-down weekend. 

In the clutch moments, the first-years step up

With the Panthers on the brink of getting swept by Florida State, the Panthers relied heavily on first-year outside hitter Torrey Stafford and first-year right-side hitter Olivia Babcock. After head coach Dan Fisher called a timeout with the game tied at 21, Pitt had five attacks for the rest of the set. Babcock and Stafford accounted for all five attempts. They combined for three kills and caused one error on their pivotal attempts. The first-years’ clutch play helped the Panthers extend the game and win set three 25-23.

In set five against the Seminoles, the Panthers had the chance to accomplish their second reverse sweep of the season and Pitt looked to Stafford. With the score of 13-11 and Florida State leading, Pitt went straight to Stafford, where she earned a kill in the middle of the Seminoles’ defense. 

But soon after, Stafford got subbed out to join Babcock on the sideline when she rotated to her back row rotation in favor of a more defensive lineup. With the first-year players off the court and a controversial no-call going against Pitt, the Panthers ultimately lost both the set and the match. 

On Sunday, Pitt used the first-years exclusively in clutch moments of set two. After the Hurricanes knotted the game up at 22, junior setter Rachel Fairbanks had three sets, each going to Babcock or Stafford. The first-year players ended up getting two kills on their swings. The other swing caused a Miami overpass straight to graduate student middle blocker Chiamaka Nwokolo, where she terminated the ball for a Panther kill and set two victory 25-23.

During set three, with the Hurricanes on the verge of getting swept, the Panthers were down 24-22, where they set Babcock twice during a Miami set point. On Babcock’s first swing, she made do with a kill from the back row. But soon after, Babcock made a rare late-game mistake with an attacking error, giving Miami the set three victory 25-23.

During the last set of the Panthers weekend, Pitt and Miami were knotted up at 22 once again. As they had throughout the weekend, Pitt went to the first-year players. Fairbanks’ two sets to the first-year players accounted for two kills. This helped the Panthers clinch the 25-23 set victory and 3-1 match win.

In the Panthers’ sets that were decided by two points, their first-year players were clutch when it mattered most. 

Serve receive success is crucial for the Panthers’ success

The Panthers dropped four sets over the weekend — the most sets they’ve lost in a weekend so far this season. The Panthers’ issues in serve-receive are a large part of the Panthers’ struggles. 

Pitt allowed 13 Florida State service aces on Friday night, the most Florida State had all season and the third-most an ACC team has had in a single game all season. The Panthers serve-receive troubles doomed Pitt throughout the game and are ultimately why the Panthers lost.

Against Miami, the Panthers’ serve-receive returned to form. The Panthers only allowed four aces from the Hurricanes. On the season, Miami is tied for third-most aces per set. Taming the Hurricanes’ strong service was a huge relief for the Panthers, making the troubles against Florida State symbolize more of an off night.

The Panthers’ next two contests are the top two teams in the ACC for service aces per set, No. 5 Louisville and No. 8 Georgia Tech. Pitt needs their serve receive to show up against these top teams, and they can’t have the same troubles they had against Florida State.

Two Positive Takeaways 

No matter the lineup run by head coach Dan Fisher, Fairbanks succeeds. Against Florida State, Fisher changed the lineup from a 5-1 to a 6-2 midway through set two. In the five-set bout, with Fairbanks playing as a right-side hitter and setter, she had her second straight game with a double-double. The Tustin, California, native finished her night with 39 assists, 11 digs and three kills. 

On Sunday in Coral Gables, the Panthers played their 5-1 rotation throughout the game, with Fairbanks netting a career-high 48 assists. Because Fisher can play Fairbanks as both a setter and a right-side hitter, it keeps opponents on their toes for what Panther rotations they should prepare for. 

Senior outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez’s usage has decreased this season due to the talented first-years. But over the weekend, Vazquez Gomez impressed. On Friday the senior had a double-double with a season-high 14 kills and 12 digs. Against Miami, Vazquez Gomez accounted for 10 kills, her fourth-highest total of the season, and 5 digs. 

The Panthers stay on the road next weekend as they travel to Atlanta, Georgia, for a pivotal top-ten match against No. 8 Georgia Tech (21-3, 12-2 ACC) on Friday at 5:00 p.m on the ACC Network.