Volleyball: Pitt hosts, wins Blue-Gold Tournament

The Pitt women’s volleyball team got what it needed at this weekend’s Blue-Gold Tournament… The Pitt women’s volleyball team got what it needed at this weekend’s Blue-Gold Tournament at the Fitzgerald Field House.

The Panthers were struggling. They had played nine out of their 11 games on the road — including three tournaments — and were on a five-game losing streak after unsuccessful trips to State College and Albuquerque, N.M.

But the Panthers dominated this weekend, winning the tournament championship on their home court and improving their record to 8-6 before heading into Big East play.

“It’s one thing if you play easy competition, but we weren’t doing that,” coach Toby Rens said. “We played five teams that were ranked in the top 20, RPI-wise. Juggling that with school and travel can be challenging for any team — let alone a team with four new starters — but I think we’ve really grown through all that and have really good preparation for the Big East games.”

The Panthers notched victories over Valparaiso (3-1), Maryland-Eastern Shore (3-0) and Youngstown State (3-2).

After averaging 4.92 digs per set, notching four assists and serving three aces, senior Michelle Rossi was named tournament MVP.

“Michelle’s been one of the most consistent players on the team,” Rens said. “Her passing and defense is consistently there, day in and day out, in practice and games. Her leadership and commitment is really helping the team right now.”

Seniors Melissa Stadelman and Meagan Dooley and junior Amy Town joined Rossi on the all-tournament team.

Dooley recorded 22 kills against Youngstown State in the finals, while Town notched a double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs.

Stadelman just missed her own double-double, scoring 13 kills, nine digs and two blocks. Sophomore Allyson Hodnik also notched a double-double with a career-high 66 assists and 16 digs.

“We get spoiled because Meagan shows up every single day. Her and Melissa really lead the charge for this team,” Rens said. “Meagan’s been on every all-tournament team we’ve played in all season — and deservedly so.”

Pitt picked up a big win against Valparaiso in its first game Saturday.

Rens said it was a significant win, as the Crusaders were picked to win the Horizon League this year and have outside hitter Angie Porche — the reigning Horizon League player of the year and a two-time AVCA all-American honorable mention.

“We worked hard to prepare for that match,” Rens said. “The play of our middles in that match — Dooley and Imani Harper — was exceptional. That really opened up things for our offense.”

In the finals, Pitt needed all five sets to beat Youngstown State. The Panthers were down 1-2 heading into the fourth set after the Penguins took two highly-contested sets 27-25 and 25-20.

The fourth set was also a tight match until the Panthers went on a 7-0 run to open up a 21-14 lead.

From there, Pitt ended the set but not after the Penguins got within three points.

Pitt jumped to an early 5-1 lead in the fifth and final set before finally taking the set on a Penguins service error.

The Panthers take their three-game winning streak into their first Big East matchups of the season.

They host two of the better teams in the Big East — Marquette (10-4) on Saturday and Syracuse (9-4) on Sunday — with the hopes of improving last year’s 8-6 in-conference record.

“Marquette is a much-improved team from last year,” Rens said. “It’s definitely going to be a battle against them, and the same with Syracuse. They’ll make you earn your points.”