Spiked in the Ozarks: Pitt drops three in Arkansas

With the birth of a new season comes hope and optimism, but that was quickly erased this… With the birth of a new season comes hope and optimism, but that was quickly erased this weekend for the women’s volleyball team.

Pitt (0-3) dropped every game it played in the Arkansas Invitational over the weekend.

Against Georgia Tech, Pepperdine and Arkansas, Pitt won only one game. It won the second game against Georgia Tech before dropping eight in a row to end the weekend.

“We played three really good teams,” Pitt coach Chris Beerman said. “We wanted to go into the weekend and get at least one win. We didn’t do that, but we played well at times.”

The last time the Panthers finished their opening weekend with a sub-.500 record was the 2002-2003 season when they went 1-2 in their first three games. The Panthers would finish that year with a 20-9 record and a fifth-place finish in the Big East.

“When you play a team, especially one that’s good, your flaws are exposed, and you need to go back and practice,” Beerman said.

Next weekend, the Panthers head to Miami, Ohio, for the Miami tournament, where they’ll play Wake Forest on Friday, and Michigan and Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.

Georgia Tech 3, Pitt 1

In their first match of the Arkansas Clarion Inn Invitational, the Panthers were ousted by the Yellow Jackets by scores of 30-28, 26-30, 30-24 and 30-27.

In the first game, Pitt trailed 26-19 but closed the gap with five straight points to bring the score to 26-24. The Panthers then brought themselves within one point, with the score 29-28 in favor of Georgia Tech (2-1). But Pitt’s late surge was just that: late.

On the next play, Georgia Tech junior Talisa Kellogg recorded one of her match-high 17 kills to end the potential Panther comeback and give Georgia Tech the one-game advantage.

The Panthers once again trailed early in game two but came back. On a kill by junior Kelly Campbell, Pitt took a 7-6 lead and never looked back from there. Campbell ended the match with a team-high 14 kills to go with her seven digs and one block.

“I thought she played great,” Beerman said of Campbell, adding that it was Campbell’s first time playing the left side, making her weekend even more impressive.

Pitt dropped the next two games to lose the match.

Although they lost, the Panthers did have a few bright spots. Senior Diana Andreyko had 10 kills along with eight digs and two assists. Junior Stephanie Ross had 12 kills, while sophomore Meagan Dooley had 13.

In her first game as a Panther, freshman Emily Burke recorded a game-high 52 assists.

Pepperdine 3, Pitt 0

In its second match of the day, Pitt lost to the Waves by scores of 30-26, 30-24 and 30-20.

The Panthers were badly out hit this match, with Pepperdine (2-1) finishing with a .431 hitting percentage to the .245 clip posted by Pitt during the match.

Andreyko led the team with 14 kills and also recorded eight digs. Dooley had another strong performance as well, with 13 more kills. Campbell had 11 kills.

For the second match in a row, Burke led players of both teams in assists with 42. Sophomore Michelle Rossi had a game-high 12 digs, along with a pair of aces.

Arkansas 3, Pitt 0

On their home court, the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1) weren’t the most welcoming host when it came time to play the Panthers. They disposed of the Panthers in three games, winning 30-24, 30-23 and 32-30.

During the first game, the Panthers comprised a .132 hitting percentage, but they raised it to .378 in game two. Andreyko recorded five of the Panthers’ 18 kills in the second game.

She finished with 13 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the year.

In the third game, the Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Razorbacks fought back and gained a 17-11 lead. Pitt then staged its own comeback, taking a 23-22 lead on a shared block by Burke and junior Jessica Moses.

The Panthers tied the game at 30 on a kill by Dooley, but Arkansas scored on back-to-back kills for the win.

In the third game, freshman Amy Town recorded four kills and three assisted blocks off the bench.

“[Town] came off the bench and basically kept us in the match,” Beerman said.

For the third time this weekend, Burke led all players in assists, this time totaling 46.

“She played phenomenal. I was really impressed with her,” Beerman said of Burke. “It’s one thing to play against sub-par competition, but those were three good teams, and she played great.”

Dooley recorded 11 kills in the match. After suffering a knee injury last year, Beerman described Dooley’s first action of the season as “fantastic.”

“We have a lot of people playing in new positions, and new people,” Beerman said. “I think over time we’re going to have a really good team, it’s just a matter of getting some experience.”