Volleyball: Panthers win two Big East games on the road

In evaluating the two road victories for the Pitt women’s volleyball team, head coach Toby… In evaluating the two road victories for the Pitt women’s volleyball team, head coach Toby Rens praised the entire team for their efforts against Georgetown and South Florida.

“We really had a great balance, both offensively and defensively,” he said. “I was pleased with our team play as a whole over the weekend.”

Pitt (13-7 overall, 5-1 Big East) secured its seventh shutout of the season against Georgetown (11-10, 1-4) on Friday, setting the tone early in the first set with a 25-9 win.

“The aggressive start to the match really helped us continue with a high level of play throughout the following sets,” Rens said.

The Panthers took the next two sets by way of 25-12 and 25-18 scores. Senior Meagan Dooley led the Panthers with 11 kills and eight blocks.

“Dooley is able to be such an offensive weapon because of the excellent play around her,” Rens said. “The passing of Michelle Rossi and the hitting and blocking of [Melissa] Stadelman and [Imani] Harper enable Dooley to do her job.”

On Sunday, Pitt faced an even tougher challenge in Tampa against South Florida (10-5, 3-2). Rens said the crowd was a major factor and the environment was hostile.

But despite the enthusiastic home crowd and losing the first set, the Panthers fought back to take the second and third sets and finished the match with a fifth-set victory, 15-9.

Defensive improvements and blocking adjustments proved to be the answer for Pitt in the later sets. They succeeded in shutting down the Bulls’ star player, Marcela Gurgel, who was named the Big East Pre-Season Player of the Year.

Harper, a junior, led the Pitt team with 13 blocks in its win at South Florida.

“Double-digit blocking numbers do not occur often, and Harper’s play, combined with the nine blocks of Stadelman, really made the difference,” Rens said.

The effective team play carried over from the Georgetown match, as four Pitt players — Dooley, Harper, Stadelman and Amy Town — put up double-digit kills against South Florida.

The Pitt women’s volleyball team will look to extend its winning streak to four matches when it takes on conference leader Notre Dame in a home match on Saturday.