Pitt downed by Dons in Delaware invitational

Pitt’s volleyball squad opened up its 2005 season by traveling to Newark, N.J., for the annual… Pitt’s volleyball squad opened up its 2005 season by traveling to Newark, N.J., for the annual Delaware Invitational over the weekend. Unforced errors and tough competition merged with a few too many overtime matches for a 2-1 weekend and second-place finish for the tournament.

Pitt 3, Delaware 0

The first set was the hardest to come by for the Panthers, who faced a three-point deficit against the Blue Hens serving for match point. A late rally, capped off by an ace from junior setter Azadeh Boroumand, gave the Panthers a 37-35 opening win, one which Pitt used as a springboard to a three-game sweep of the host team.

A back-and-forth battle where no team spread led by more than three points, Pitt took a 12-11 lead in game one behind senior outside hitter Gini Ullery’s back-to-back kills, only to see Delaware score nine of the next fifteen points for a 20-18 advantage. Pitt rallied for a 24-22 lead behind Boroumand, who finished with a match-high 46 assists, but Delaware came right back to take a 29-26 lead, setting the stage for Pitt’s rally.

A 30-16 route in game two set up another seesaw-ish affair in game three. After falling behind 6-3 early, Pitt took an 8-6 lead behind a 5-0 run sparked by two kills from sophomore Diana Andreyko. Delaware rallied to take a 19-17 lead, but Andreyko added to her match-high total of 17 kills by putting away seven more kills in a 9-1 run that put Pitt in control. Ullery also chipped in a double double with 13 kills and 10 digs while sophomore Ashley Creighton put up a career-best 10 to help Pitt improve to 11-1 against Delaware.

San Francisco 3, Pitt 0

Two more overtime games — making half of Pitt’s first six games overtime contests — coupled with an inept offense to doom the Panthers in the tournament’s second game as they fell to the eventual champion Dons, 30-20, 31-29 and 32-30.

Pitt’s offensive attack was held in check for most of the match as the Panthers were out hit, .252 to .124, in the three frames. Ullery added a .229 hitting percentage with nine kills and eight digs, but no other Panther had more than five kills.

Senior libero Megan McGrane had a team-high 14 digs, but Pitt couldn’t overcome poor hitting and errors. Even Andreyko, who led the offense once again, struggled on her way to a match-high 16 kills as her effort was tainted by 12 attack errors.

One bright spot for the Panthers was freshman Jessica Moses, who in her first action in a Pitt uniform, hit .300 and added four kills, all while compiling two blocks. Fellow freshman Stephanie Ross led the Panthers with three service aces, but it wasn’t enough to down the Dons.

“We’d like to have that game back,” head coach Chris Beerman said. “We were kind of our own worst enemy in that game. We didn’t hit well enough and the setting was a little erratic. But we have something to look forward to working on in practice now.”

Pitt 3, New Hampshire 0

Pitt rebounded from its loss to San Francisco by pummeling the Wildcats to clinch second place at the tournament.

The Panthers ripped through the first game, taking it in blowout fashion, 30-9, behind Ross’ four service aces. Pitt then coasted to 30-16 and 30-18 wins in the final two games for their second sweep of the weekend.

Ullery and Andreyko split 22 kills evenly between them for the match as the Panthers dominated in every facet of the match. McGrane added a match-high 14 digs to complement a rare kill earlier in the match. Both she and Andreyko were named to the All-Tournament Team following the match. Ullery received some distinction of her own on the weekend, moving into sixth-place all-time in school history for hit attempts with 3,149.

“All in all it was a good weekend to get started,” Beerman said. “We got a lot of freshmen in there and kind of got our feet wet. We’re real excited to be playing down in Florida this weekend.”

Pitt begins play in the Florida State Invitational Friday morning with a match against South Carolina.