Volleyball hosts and sweeps Pitt Invitational

After a slow start to the season, it appears all the Pitt volleyball team needed was the… After a slow start to the season, it appears all the Pitt volleyball team needed was the comfort of playing in Pittsburgh.

Pitt had won only one of its first five matches before winning at Duquesne last week, and then sweept all three matches as host of this weekend’s Pitt Invitational, beating George Mason, 3-1, UAB, 3-1 and Buffalo, 3-0.

“The Duquesne match last week got us on the right track,” Pitt head coach Chris Beerman said. “We came into this [weekend] with some confidence and we really built on that.”

Three players from Pitt (5-5) were named to the all tournament team, the most from any of the four schools competing. The Panthers honored were juniors Kelly Campbell and Jessica Moses and senior Diana Andreyko, who was named MVP of the tournament. Andreyko was also named Big East Player of the Week.

Next weekend Pitt competes in the San Diego Tournament against UCLA, San Diego and Cal State-Northridge.

“We’ve got a really tough tournament coming up this weekend,” Beerman said. “It’s really going to test us, but I feel like we’re in a good place.”

Pitt 3, George Mason 1

All four games were fairly close as the Panthers disposed of the Patriots (6-3).

The match started off with a kill by Andreyko, an occurrence that took place often during the weekend. Pitt appeared to be in control of the game, but George Mason fought back, eventually taking a 16-13 lead in game one.

A Moses kill brought Pitt within one and an Andreyko block tied the game. A net violation by George Mason gave the Panthers a lead which they would not relinquish.

A block by Campbell gave the Panthers the 30-22 win.

With game two tied at 24, George Mason recorded a service error and two straight attack errors to give Pitt a 27-24 lead.

The Panthers closed out the game on a Moses kill.

In game three, Pitt trailed 24-22 when an ace by freshman Emily Burke brought the Panthers within one. A block by Moses and sophomore Melissa Stadelman tied it.

“She brings a lot of energy. She’s like a spark plug,” Beerman said of Stadelman.

A block by Campbell gave the Panthers a short lived 25-24 lead. George Mason took a 26-25 lead and went on to win the game 30-27.

In game four, the Panthers jumped out to 6-2 lead after Moses kill. Although the Patriots cut the lead to one at 10-9, the Panthers held on to the lead on their way to victory.

A block by Campbell gave Pitt the 30-25 win in game four and the three-games-to-one win in the match.

Pitt 3, UAB 1

It was more of the same for Pitt in its second game on Friday, as Andreyko and Campbell led the team to another win. Both players recorded double-doubles.

“They’ve been carrying us all year,” Beerman said. “They’ve both been really solid in passing, hitting and blocking. They just play a really complete game.”

After the Blazers (5-4) won the first game, the Panthers captured the next three games.

In game two the Panthers trailed early, falling behind 11-7. They tied the game on an ace by sophomore Michelle Rossi, and took the lead on a Blazer attack error. Pitt never allowed UAB to so much as tie the game after that.

The Panthers showed an effort that seemed to be missing in the first game.

Rossi kept the volley alive with a great diving dig, which lead to a kill by Dooley to give Pitt a 15-12 lead. Campbell also made a diving play to keep a volley alive, hers leading to an Andreyko kill for the 17-13 lead.

“We played at a high energy, and that lead to good play,” Beerman said.

A Dooley kill gave Pitt the 30-19 win.

The Panthers trailed 28-24 in game three, but won five of the next six points to tie the game at 29. UAB won the next point, but the Panthers tied the game on a Campbell kill. Two straight Blazer attack errors gave Pitt the win.

Pitt easily won game four, and the match.

With the Panthers leading 6-5, Moses supplied a vicious kill, which ended up hitting a UAB player in the face. Later, Andreyko threw down a powerful kill of her own that sent the Panther fans in attendance into a frenzy.

“I really want to thank the students for coming out and being so loud,” Beerman said. “It was a great environment [Friday] night, and I hope we continue to do that for all our home matches.”

Pitt 3, Buffalo 0

The Panthers swept their way to first place on Saturday with a win over the Bulls (1-11).

Game one was tied at 22 before the Panthers went on an 8-2 run for the 30-24 win. The game-winning point came on a kill by Campbell.

It was the same score and same outcome in game two, with Campbell once again winning the game with a kill.

In game three, Ross served an ace to give the Panthers a 15-11 lead. Shortly after, Rossi served consecutive aces to give Pitt a 21-14 lead. The Panthers won the match on an Andreyko kill.

“I thought we weren’t as mentally sharp [Sunday], but we got the job done,” Beerman said.