Volleyball splits two, honors top performers

Over the weekend, the Panthers honored two members integral to the volleyball team’s… Over the weekend, the Panthers honored two members integral to the volleyball team’s success.

On Friday, Pitt paid tribute to Diana Andreyko for becoming the 10th player in school history with 1,000 kills. Before Sunday’s match, the Panthers held Senior Day, where they honored their lone senior, Azadeh Boroumand.

Pitt would split a weekend of Big East action amidst the off-the-court festivities, beating the Cincinnati Bearcats (19-6, 8-4 Big East), and then losing to the Louisville Cardinals (18-6, 11-1 Big East).

Pitt finishes the regular season with two more Big East contests, heading to Notre Dame on Saturday and DePaul on Sunday.

Pitt 3, Cincinnati 2

Even though the commemorating took place before the game, Andreyko celebrated during the match, too, recording 26 kills and a career-high eight blocks.

In game one, the teams were tied at six when Cincinnati ran off five straight points. The Panthers showed hints of a comeback after a kill from sophomore Kelly Campbell brought the Panthers within nine, but the Bearcats continued to dominate the game. Cincinnati took game one, 30-16.

“It was a big game, and we just came out with the wrong mentality. We were too over-hyped,” Pitt head coach Chris Beerman said.

Two consecutive kills from sophomore Stephanie Ross gave the Panthers an early 6-5 lead in game two. The Bearcats would come back to tie the game at 11, but two kills from Andreyko put Pitt back on top. Cincinnati wouldn’t let the Panthers run away with the game, tying it at 15.

The play of Michelle Rossi late in the game helped Pitt finish off the Bearcats. With the score 28-25, the freshman recorded a service ace. Then she made two impressive diving digs to keep the volley going, which ended in a kill by Andreyko to give the Panthers a 30-25 victory.

After a Kelly Campbell kill, Pitt was four points away from winning the match with the score 11-3 in game five. Cincinnati, however, rode its momentum from game four to tie the game at 13, but kills by Ross and Andreyko thwarted the comeback, earning Pitt the 15-13 win.

Campbell recorded a double-double, tying her career high with 15 kills and a new career-best 15 digs. Ross also had a double-double with 20 kills and 17 digs.

Jessica Moses broke the school record for most block assists in a five game match with 12. The record had been set earlier in the year by Kim Kern. Azadeh Boroumand had 63 assists and five blocks. Michelle Rossi tied her career high of 28 digs.

Louisville 3, Pitt 1

Even though she was the only senior honored, Boroumand didn’t let the Senior Day celebration cloud the team’s hope of a strong finish to its season.

“I don’t feel like a senior. I don’t feel like I’m graduating, or like it was even my last home game,” Boroumand said. “We’re just going to keep grinding, and go to Notre Dame and DePaul, and hopefully win these next two games and finish third in the Big East.”

Game one started off with kills by Andreyko and Boroumand to give Pitt a 2-0 lead. The Panthers took an 11-8 lead, but the Cardinals then scored four straight points. Pitt tied the game at 12, but Louisville took a 13-12 lead and never gave it up.

A Tatyana Kolesnikova kill ended game one for the Cardinals at 30-22.

In game two, Louisville jumped out to an 8-2 lead and steadily increased its advantage. Pitt trailed 20-9 and couldn’t find a way to close the gap. A service error by the Panthers gave Louisville a 30-19 win.

In game two, Pitt hit negative .061, committing 10 attack errors while only recording eight kills.

“We really got careless with the ball, and things kind of snowballed,” Beerman said. “The first two games were disappointing competitively.”

Facing a sweep for only the third time this year, the Panthers came out strong in game three, but so did the Cardinals. With the score even at nine, Pitt would go on a three-point scoring run, with an Andreyko kill capping it off.

The Cardinals took an early 10-3 lead in game four. The closest Pitt came to Louisville was after an Andreyko kill when the lead was cut to 11-9, but the Cardinals were too much for the Panthers en route to winning the match.

Using two straight kills from Ross and then a kill from Andreyko, Pitt trailed 19-16, but Louisville would steamroll to a 29-20 lead. A 30-21 win in game four gave Louisville the match.

Andreyko had a double-double, with 17 kills and 11 digs. In her last home game, Boroumand had 10 digs and 41 assists, as well as two service aces.

“I’ve coached very few people with her intensity level,” Beerman said of his departing senior. “It was sad we couldn’t get her a win today. Tough team to play against, but I thought she again had a great match and did all she could. I’m very proud of her.”