An 18-year-old steps to the service line with 18 thousand eyeballs on her, staring her down, living and dying with every movement she makes. But she’s calm and ready to change the complexion of the game.

First-year defensive specialist/libero Mallorie Meyer finds this calmness in strenuous moments just through the correct mindset.

“We always talk about positive self talk,” Meyer said. “Before I go in [I’m] just telling myself that it’s easy or that I have been in this situation before.” 

Meyer may not have been in the exact situation of serving in the NCAA Tournament before this year, but she has done her serving routine thousands upon thousands of times. 

Dribble, dribble, dribble, gently lay the volleyball on the left hand then serve over a wicked float serve.

Meyer’s float serve has made all the difference for Pitt volleyball this postseason. In Pitt’s four postseason games, Meyer has five aces and nine digs. 

Those numbers may not jump out at the casual fan, but for a first-year that only comes in one of every 12 servers, it’s remarkable. Five of the twelve aces Meyer has this season has come in the NCAA Tournament and nine of her twenty-six digs have also happened in the NCAA Tournament. 

“What a tournament for her,” Pitt head coach Dan Fisher said. “Not only she’s serving, she’s digging balls, she’s doing everything.”

The improvement in her defense, which occurred against some of the best hitters in the Nation, like AVCA National Player of the Year Finalist Kentucky sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye, is not typical, but Meyer has prepared herself for it. 

“Putting myself in high pressure situations in practice or having a coach nail balls at me,” Meyer said. “So in game its easy for me and I have already been through that and done that once.” 

In the NCAA Tournament, as the pressure of each point grows, some get squeezed out by the pressure. But not Meyer. 

In the Sweet Sixteen, Meyer had a career-high in both aces and digs with three and four, respectively. But her dominance in arguably the biggest game she has ever played in didn’t shock anyone on the team.

“I feel like every single time she stepped on the court today, it was a moment in which we really needed her,” sophomore opposite hitter Olivia Babcock said after Pitt’s Sweet Sixteen match against Oregon. “We looked at her and she was like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna get the job done.’ And we knew she was gonna do it.” 

“I just looked at her and I knew she was gonna get the job done,” Fisher said after Meyer’s performance against Oregon. “She looked like, ‘Put me in coach!’”

Then, in the Elite Eight, Meyer may not have set any new career highs, but she still rose to the occasion. The service run she guided in the second set changed the game. 

Pitt trailed 22-16 when Meyer subbed in to serve and by the time she was done serving the Panthers were tied with the Wildcats 23-23. 

“Teammates and coaches have the belief in me to perform,” Meyer said. “… We always [say] its easy for us… we always do this as usual.”

A serving specialist stepping up in clutch moments in the NCAA Tournament is just in Pitt volleyball’s DNA. In the Elite Eight against Wisconsin two years ago, now graduate student serving specialist Cat Flood went on a 4-0 serving run in the fifth set, helping the Panthers seal its second consecutive Final Four appearance. 

“Those kind of role players are so huge as we make these [NCAA Tournament] runs,” Fisher said.

When Meyer is completely shifting the momentum of a game, making a big impact, she does so in a subtle way — she’s not overanimated or anxious.

“She’s very chill. She’s like so nonchalant and it’s kind of refreshing,” Flood said. “…She’ll come in [and] she’s like, ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to do my job.”

Meyer’s unwavering confidence might come from the fact she has dominated from the service line for a while now. Meyer broke the Class B school record for aces in her junior year while playing for Lincoln East.

 And as she did in the Elite Eight, in her senior season at Lincoln East, she won a set for her team because of the comeback run she led from the service line.

Meyer’s coolheadedness is also accredited to the fact she gets to practice her serve against the No. 1 team in the nation and see how well it can work on them. 

“When I came here in the summer, when I served against our girls, it would put pressure on them,” Meyer said. “I knew if I am doing it against the best of the best then I can do it against other teams.”

In the Final Four, Pitt will count on Meyer to make the difference she has made for the Panthers in the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight. The first-year from Roca, Nebraska could play a crucial role if Pitt volleyball holds a trophy on Sunday, Dec. 21st.