Pitt loses season opener to Nebraska

Pitt volleyball gave itself the toughest possible test to start the season — a road game against the No. 1-ranked team in the country, Nebraska. And Nebraska made it obvious why it was ranked No. 1, going on a 7-1 run to close out the first set 25-22, dominating the Panthers 25-11 in the second set and winning the fourth set 25-23.

Let’s look at the bright side for Pitt: 

Pitt’s win in the third set was huge for this team and its confidence. It showed that when Pitt is playing at its best, it can beat the best of the best. Pitt dominated the third set, winning 25-20.

Head coach Dan Fisher’s adjustment to sub in both first-year outside Marina Pezelj and sophomore middle blocker Dalia Virlan for the last two sets made Pitt look a lot better than it did in the first two. Neither Pezelj or Virlan lit the world on fire with their statistics, but they were both big contributors to the win in the third set and why they were also competitive in the fourth set.

By the numbers: 

The second set was the ugliest Pitt volleyball has played for a very long time. The Panthers had their first double-digit loss in a set since the 2022 Final Four when they lost 15-2 to Louisville in the fifth set.

Last year’s AVCA Player of the Year and junior opposite for Pitt, Olivia Babcock, held the Panthers offense on their back. Alone, Babcock had 21 kills — the same number as the rest of the team combined. If Pitt plans on competing with teams as good as Nebraska later in the season, they need much more production from the players surrounding Babcock.

What about the other side?

Nebraska returned the majority of its starters from last season, which is the main reason it started the season ranked No. 1. It was also Dani Busboom Kelly’s first game as Nebraska’s head coach, and she got out to a strong start today.

Busboom Kelly has a long history against Pitt — she coached for Louisville for the past eight years. Fisher and Busboom Kelly now both have nine wins and nine losses when playing one another. Busboom Kelly’s first win as the head coach of Nebraska also marked the 1500th win in program history.

What’s next for the Panthers:

Next, Pitt plays another team with a new head coach — Florida. The Gators are ranked No. 16 and play Stanford later tonight.  Pitt will face off against the Gators on Sunday at 1 pm.