Pitt volleyball (ACC 4-0, 12-2) kicked off its first full weekend of conference play in the Fitzgerald Field House with a bang, sweeping Clemson (ACC 0-2, 12-2) on Friday night and beating Georgia Tech (ACC 1-3, 6-7) on Sunday afternoon. Currently standing at No. 5 in the country, this weekend’s wins extended Pitt’s winning streak to 12 games.
Good call, coach.
Head coach Dan Fisher switched up the Panthers’ lineup during the third set of Friday’s game, adding some fresh faces to the rotation.
“It’s really important for the [players] who are producing in practice to feel like they’re [contributing],” Fisher said. “In-game rhythm feels different, so the more we can do this, the better.”
First-year middle blocker Abbey Emch came in hot off the bench, immediately putting up some major blocks against Clemson. The Ohio native ended the game with five blocks and an impressive 0.667 hitting percentage.
Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Sophia Gregoire also had an impressive game, netting four kills on nine swings during the third set and ending the match hitting over 0.300.
Pitt’s ability to shake up its lineup without missing a beat and still executing at such a high level speaks to the strength of this year’s squad.
“It says that we have depth,” Fisher said. “We have players who are getting in our practice gym, and it shows.”
Give them their flowers.
Every time first-year outside hitter Dagmar Mourits steps onto the court, she improves.
“[Clemson] was targeting Dagmar,” Fisher said, “so I think it was a nice challenge for her to be challenged over and over again.”
The Netherlands native helped the Panthers in all aspects of their game against the Tigers, defensively earning eight digs and a block and improving her passing game, all while managing to get five kills on nine swings, hitting an efficient 0.444. On Sunday, Mourits notched four blocks, a dig and six kills.
On Sunday, Pitt’s offensive players were on a roll, with junior opposite hitter Olivia Babcock leading the charge. Babcock contributed nearly half of the Panthers’ 59 kills, notching 25 kills on 47 swings, hitting 0.404. Fellow junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless followed close behind with 16 kills on 28 swings, hitting 0.429.
Every time in the past four years that Georgia Tech has traveled to the 412, the Yellow Jackets have forced the Panthers into a fifth set. But despite Georgia Tech’s best efforts to slow the Panthers down, Pitt took the game in four sets, winning 25-17, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-23.
“I think we all just stepped up,” Babcock said. “Seeing us not needing to go to five to ramp ourselves up and finish. It was just really nice that we were able to apply pressure in those last two points, because I know we’d been working on being a team that can apply pressure after twenty [points].”
The other side of the net
It was evident after the first set that the most Clemson could do during this match was attempt to slow the Panthers down, which they achieved slightly during the third set. The Tigers ended the match with a dismal 0.061 hitting percentage compared to the Panthers’ 0.479 — one of the team’s highest hitting percentages of the season thus far.
During the second set, Clemson junior outside hitter Kennedy Wagner went down with a serious knee injury and didn’t return for the rest of the match. This was the metaphorical nail in the coffin for Clemson. Wagner is objectively its best offensive player, averaging roughly fourteen kills per match and a 0.285 hitting percentage.
On Sunday, Georgia Tech came into the game fresh off a loss against SMU, whom Pitt dealt back-to-back losses to last week. To make matters worse, junior right side hitter Larissa Mendes — arguably one of the Yellow Jackets’ strongest players — didn’t travel with the team to Pittsburgh this weekend.
Georgia Tech struggled early in the match, and its hitting percentages reflected that. The Yellow Jackers were seemingly unable to break out of the negatives, hitting -0.033 and -0.036 in the first and second sets, respectively.
The Yellow Jackets almost clawed their way back into winning territory during the third set, bouncing back to take the set 25-21 and hitting 0.296. Georgia Tech had a familiar face leading its team during this set. It was former Panther sophomore middle blocker Bianca Garibaldi who earned nine kills on 12 swings and a hitting 0.500 percentage in the match. She also managed to tie redshirt senior Bre Kelley for the leading blocker, with eight blocks for the game.
What’s next for the Panthers
Pitt travels down to the Sunshine State this Friday, Oct. 10 to face off against Miami in Coral Gables at 7 p.m. The game is available to stream on ACC Network.