Volleyball: Despite loss in Big East championship, Panthers hope for NCAA Tournament berth

So far, it’s been a season of firsts for the Pitt women’s volleyball team.

Pitt had three… So far, it’s been a season of firsts for the Pitt women’s volleyball team.

Pitt had three first-year starters step in this year, a 20-win season for the first time in three years and its first win over a ranked opponent — a 3-0 win over then-No. 18 Wichita State — since 2005.

But another first, Pitt’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2004, is in limbo as Pitt sits on the bubble as a team the NCAA Tournament selection committee might or might not select for the Tournament.

“We’re probably part of nine or 10 teams fighting for five spots, so we’re smack dab in the middle of the bubble,” head coach Toby Rens said.

Pitt postseason hopes took a significant blow with a 3-1 loss to sixth-seed South Florida in the Big East championship last Friday. Pitt needed to either reach the finals and play competitively in the final match to earn a shot to play in the NCAA Tournament, or win the tournament to secure an automatic bid.

“I thought South Florida played very well. It really boiled down to they forced us to make some uncharacteristic errors,” Rens said. “The mistakes set us back, and they played the pressure situations very well. We were off just enough to make a difference.”

Rens said a more physical presence with the blocking would have helped the Panthers excel in the pressure situations.

Senior Meagan Dooley led the Panther effort with 14 kills, five blocks and five digs. Dooley was named the Big East player of the year during last Thursday’s All-Big East reception.

“I really wanted to win that award. It’s a huge honor,” she said. “When they started reading off the stats first, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s not me. It can’t be me.’ Then they said my name, and I was in complete shock that I actually won it over some great players in our league.”

Dooley became the fifth Pitt player named player of the year in the program’s history, and the most recent since Megan Miller in 2004.

“I was absolutely ecstatic for her,” Rens said. “She definitely had eyes on winning the player of the year this year.”

Winning as a middle blocker is rare. Usually, Rens said, the award goes to an outside hitter or setter who can accumulate the statistics to compile a more impressive resume for the award.

“For her to get that as a middle hitter, that speaks volumes about how opposing coaches thought of her and how she’s such a threat offensively,” Rens said. “Teams would double and triple team against her, and she still scored against them.”

Dooley credited the success of the team with her personal success.

“I think it’s a testament to what our team has done this year,” she said. “For me to get it over an outside hitter, it really shows just how good of defense we play.”

Dooley’s year was one of the best in recent Pitt history. She was a two-time Big East player of the week and earned ESPN Academic All-District first team honors.

She finished the year leading the Big East in blocks (1.71) and points (4.94) per set. Those numbers were good enough to rank her sixth nationally in blocks per set and 18th in points per set.

She finished second in the league with a .386 hitting percentage. As far as all-time career Pitt records go, Dooley stands at second with 514 career total blocks, 124 blocks solos and 390 block assists. It’s possible she could top these lists by the end of the regular season, but Dooley would need spectacular efforts in the last couple games.

Also receiving awards were Michelle Rossi, for libero of the year, and Amy Town, who was named to the second team All-Big East.

Rossi earned her first All-Big East honor and was the lone libero selected to the 12-member first team. She became just the second player in Pitt history to earn libero of the year, following Megan McGrane in 2003 and 2005.

“Michelle, a long time ago, said she wanted to be the best libero in the conference, and she worked very hard,” Rens said. “It was nice to see her attain that.”

Rossi averaged 4.79 digs per set on the year and recorded 20 or more digs in a match nine times this season. Rossi surpassed the 2,000 mark in career digs in Pitt’s last regular-season match — good enough for second all-time.

It was Town’s first all-conference selection. Town finished fifth in the Big East in kills per set (3.89) and seventh in points per set (4.42).

“Amy was all-conference this year and didn’t get anything last year. It’s really nice to see the recognition of her significant improvement,” Rens said.

The Panthers play in one final tournament before closing out their season. On Friday, the they will play Virginia Commonwealth in their first game of the Virginia Commonwealth tournament.

Their second scheduled opponent in the tournament is Delaware, which will be the Panthers’ final regular-season game.

Most schools usually finish out their regular-season play with the conference tournament, but Rens said he scheduled the games for a good reason. Both teams are formidable opponents, with good RPI rankings, as VCU ranks first in its conference with Delaware in second.

“Hopefully, with wins over a conference champion and runner-up, we can give the NCAA Selection Committee more things to think about,” Rens said.