Volleyball splits, loses first home game

The Pitt volleyball team suffered its first home loss of the year to Syracuse Sunday, but… The Pitt volleyball team suffered its first home loss of the year to Syracuse Sunday, but only after it defeated Marquette Saturday.

In the 3-2 win over Marquette, sophomores Meagan Dooley and Michelle Rossi set career highs in kills and digs, respectively.

“They both played great,” Pitt coach Chris Beerman said.

Dooley recorded 23 kills on Saturday.

“She dominated,” Beerman said. “She just really stepped up her play.”

Rossi had 32 digs.

“She’s been playing so well lately,” Beerman said.

“It’s really hard to put the ball down when she’s playing back row, and it frustrates the hitters.”

As good as Pitt was Saturday, that’s how good it seemed the Orange were Sunday. Syracuse dominated the Panthers, winning the match 3-0.

Junior Kelly Campbell and senior Diana Andreyko both recorded double-doubles.

The Panthers (14-11, 7-4 Big East), are on the road next weekend to take on Big East opponents Cincinnati and Louisville.

Pitt 3, Marquette 2

Fans packed the Fitzgerald Field House Saturday for the fourth annual Field House Frenzy.

In the crowd there were numerous fan-made signs, painted faces and stomachs, and even a fan dressed as a Ghostbuster.

“It’s just great,” Beerman said of the fans.

The Panthers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in game 1, but the Golden Eagles (8-12, 5-5 Big East) rallied to tie the game at 12. A great one-handed dig by Rossi led to an Andreyko kill to give Pitt a 13-12 lead, also causing an eruption of fan noise.

Pitt went up 23-18, but couldn’t pull away from the Golden Eagles, who brought the game within four at 29-25. A kill by Dooley won the game for Pitt at 30-25.

“We just have to finish games,” Beerman said.

The Panthers took an early lead in game 2 as well, going up 11-6 after a kill by Campbell.

Marquette took the next five points to tie the game, temporarily silencing the once boisterous crowd.

Another Campbell kill hit a Marquette defender in the chest and knocked her over, giving Pitt a 20-18 lead and bringing the excitement back into the stands. The Panthers went up 29-27 on another of Campbell’s 18 kills on the day, but Marquette scored the next five points to win the game 31-19.

“It was kind of silly to lose that game after being up and playing so well,” Beerman said.

The Golden Eagles dominated game 3, winning 30-14.

“We do have some really bad games once in a while, but we do seem to push each other to respond and compete [in the next game],” Beerman said.

And that’s exactly what the Panthers did, winning game 4 by score of 30-22.

Leading Pitt’s comeback was Campbell, who recorded seven kills in the game, including the game-winner.

“She was really struggling in game 3 and really came back strong and led us in games 4 and 5,” Beerman said.

The Panthers trailed 8-7 in game 5, but tied the game thanks to a Marquette service error, and took the lead on an attack error. A kill by freshman Emily Burke won the game, 15-10, and the match for the Panthers.

Sophomore Melissa Stadelman served two aces in place of Stephanie Ross, who didn’t play because of an illness, Beerman said.

Pitt 0, Syracuse 3

The Panthers spent Sunday playing catch-up against the Orange (18-10, 6-4). In all three games, the Panthers never held a lead.

In game 1, Pitt fell behind 18-12, but rattled off four consecutive points to pull within two. Syracuse called a timeout and then took four of the next six points to lead 22-18.

The Panthers pulled within two again after a kill by junior Jessica Moses made the score 24-22. The Orange won the next four points to take a 28-22 lead and eventually won the game 30-24.

Pitt trailed 20-15 in game 2 before Syracuse won five consecutive points to take a commanding 25-15 lead. Back-to-back kills by Campbell delayed the loss, but the Orange eventually took the game 30-18.

Game 3 was the closest of all three, but ended with the same result.

The Panthers trailed 12-6, but backed by two kills from Campbell, cut the deficit to four.

After a Dooley kill made it 16-13, a great diving dig by Ross kept the volley alive, leading to a Campbell kill to bring Pitt within two.

Another Campbell kill, this one ricocheting off a defender’s shoulder, made the score 17-15.

One of Andreyko’s 10 kills tied the game at 26, and a block by Dooley tied it again at 27.

The Orange took the next three points to win the game and the match.

Andreyko finished with 14 digs to go with her 10 kills, and Campbell had 16 kills and 10 digs.