Play after play, she rose above the net with grace and power. Play after play, the ball sliced… Play after play, she rose above the net with grace and power. Play after play, the ball sliced over to the other side. On occasion, these forceful, bullet-like hits knocked the opponent to the court.

Diana Andreyko complied an impressive 34 kills against Rutgers Sunday afternoon at the Fitzgerald Field House. After Saturday’s loss to Villanova in the Panthers’ (8-7 overall, 1-1 Big East) Big East opener, Pitt fought back to a win on Sunday.

“This is the Big East,” Andreyko said. “Our record wasn’t that good coming into today, but this is the time when we really have to step it up.”

Villanova 3, Pitt 0

Not since 1998 had the Wildcats defeated the Panthers. Villanova (11-3, 1-0) ended that seven-year streak Saturday by handing Pitt its first conference loss of the season at the Fitzgerald Field House.

The loss also marked the first time the Panthers were defeated in a conference opener in six years under head coach Chris Beerman.

“We were disappointed,” Beerman said about the loss, “We kind of thought we had things together. I think the coaching staff didn’t really know why [we lost] because we had such a great week at practice.”

Villanova only needed three games to beat the Panthers. The Wildcats controlled the tempo of the match throughout all three games, which ended in scores of 30-23, 30-25 and 30-21.

The first set was a close, back-and-forth battle to a 21-21 tie. But Villanova pulled away, scoring nine of the final 11 points to take the first game. The Panthers took an early lead in game two, but costly errors plagued them and allowed the Wildcats to steal the lead and that game as well.

The third set was just as ugly for Pitt. After the Panthers scored the first two points, Villanova scored 12 consecutive points, 11 of which were served by Megan Bye. The Wildcats never looked back, and went on to claim game three and the match.

Adrian Semrau led Villanova with 14 kills and three blocks. Kacy Sellers added seven kills, eight digs and a match-high six blocks.

Pitt was led by its outside hitters, senior Gini Ullery and Andreyko. The pair compiled 11 kills apiece. Senior libero Megan McGrane contributed defensively for the Panthers with a match-high 16 digs.

Pitt 3, Rutgers 2

Led by Andreyko, the Panthers came back from a 2-1 deficit to earn their first Big East conference win of the season Sunday afternoon.

In a five-game thriller, many Pitt players had season-high or career-high numbers, but Andreyko stole the show. Her 34 kills tied a Big East record, as well as tied the second-most in school history.

“It’s funny,” Beerman said of Andreyko’s performance, “she’s been struggling a little bit with her confidence, which happens your sophomore year. But today, wow, talk about stepping it up.”

Sunday proved that Andreyko is ready to step it up as a player and a leader. Tying a Big East record and setting a personal best helped Andreyko lead Pitt to its 800th all-time victory. She’s just a sophomore, but played with the poise of a senior.

“Today, I challenged her,” Beerman explained. “I told her she’s the best player on the court, so to go out there and show me that.”

Andreyko’s performance wasn’t the only shining moment for a Panther team that has been struggling. Freshman setter Nicole Taurence racked up 69 assists, the highest total by a Pitt player since Carrie Norris’ 79 in 2002. Seniors Ullery and Ashley White had 13 kills apiece. White topped her career-best by two.

McGrane, who was honored before the match for reaching 2,000 career digs, compiled another 20 for a match-high. Ullery added 15 digs of her own to earn a double-double.

“I know we have really strong individuals,” Andreyko said about her teammates, “it’s just a matter of playing together as a team. Today was a great feeling.”

The Panthers won the first game, 30-25. Rutgers claimed the next two by scores of 30-27 and 30-24, respectively, to pull ahead in the match 2-1.

Pitt took control of the match in the fourth set, winning by the largest spread of the day, 30-22. They never looked back and took the game by a score of 15-10 and the match 3-2.

“It’s all about confidence. You have to win matches to be confident. You can spin it any way you want, but you got to win,” Beerman said. “Now this team feels much better about itself. We’re in a much better frame heading down to our road trip this weekend.”

The Panthers will travel to Big East newcomer South Florida for their next match on Friday. This will be the first meeting between these two teams.