Volleyball takes two to get Beerman’s 200th win

With 92 assists and 14 digs, freshman setter Nicole Taurence led Pitt to two victories on the… With 92 assists and 14 digs, freshman setter Nicole Taurence led Pitt to two victories on the road over the weekend.

Taurence, who is emerging as a leader on the Pitt volleyball team, was named Big East Rookie of the Week for her performances against South Florida and Georgetown.

“We really weren’t expecting her to start this season,” head coach Chris Beerman said, “but she just keeps getting better each game. The setter controls the game, just like a quarterback does in football. The team totally trusts her now and it’s showing.”

The Panthers (10-7 overall, 3-1 Big East) have now won three in a row, all of them conference matches. With Sunday’s sweep over Georgetown, Beerman reached 200 all-time victories, and he is now 200-95 in his coaching career.

Pitt 3, South Florida 1

Senior libero Megan McGrane added 23 more digs to her quickly climbing total to move into the sixth spot on the NCAA’s all-time digs list. In Friday evening’s comeback victory over South Florida, McGrane passed Cincinnati’s Trish Ladusaw, who played from 1999-2002 on the all-time list.

McGrane needs just 665 digs to reach 2,780 and become the NCAA’s all-time leader in digs after her performance in Sunday’s match against Georgetown, where she racked up another large amount of digs.

The Panthers dropped the first game to the Bulls (1-10, 0-3) by a score of 30-24, but settled down and came back to win three in a row and claim their second-consecutive Big East victory.

“We were a little flat,” Beerman said about the Panthers’ loss in the first set. “We knew who the better team was and I told the team they just need to settle down and play volleyball.”

Pitt claimed it’s a pair of wins by scores of 30-21 in games two and three and finished with a strong 30-16 victory in the fourth set. Diana Andreyko led the Pitt offense with 18 kills and was one of four Panthers to finish with double digits in the kills category. Ashley White racked up 13 kills, while Gini Ullery and Ashley Creighton tallied 10 apiece.

White and Creighton tied career bests with their offensive efforts. Taurence used 52 assists to set up the strong offense. This was the second-consecutive match in which Taurence earned a match-high in assists.

Pitt 3, Georgetown 0

The Panthers earned their third victory in a row Sunday afternoon in Washington D.C. to give Beerman his 200th career victory.

“I’ve had a lot of fun coaching at Pitt,” Beerman said about reaching a personal milestone. “I got my 100th win here and I want my 300th win to be at Pitt.”

The Panthers only needed three games to sweep the Hoyas, winning by scores of 30-21, 30-26 and 30-19. Ullery led the Panthers in kills with 13. She also added nine digs. White and Andreyko finished in double figures for the second match in a row with 11 kills apiece.

McGrane had one of her strongest matches of the season, finishing with 26 digs in just three games. Taurence had yet another dominant showing on both offense and defense. She racked up 40 assists, six digs and two blocks in the match.

This win moved the Panthers’ all-time record against Georgetown to 34-9, with Pitt capturing victories the last four times the teams have met.

“We needed a dose of confidence,” Beerman said about the weekend’s victories. “Playing two solid back-to-back games gets us ready for the upcoming weekend.”

The Panthers have a home stretch waiting for them this weekend. Pitt will host Syracuse Saturday and Marquette Sunday at the Fitzgerald Field House. Both matches are set to start at 2 p.m.

Syracuse stands just above Pitt in the Big East with a 3-1 conference record, while Marquette is directly under the Panthers, holding a 2-2 record in the Big East.