Volleyball falls out of NCAA tournament in first round

Friday evening the Panther women’s volleyball season came to end. Pitt dropped a three-game… Friday evening the Panther women’s volleyball season came to end. Pitt dropped a three-game match to No. 25 Ohio in the first round of the NCAA Championships to finish its season with a 21-11 record.

After the Bobcats (29-2) took an early 8-4 lead in the first game against Pitt, seniors Megan Miller and Jessica McDonald, in what would be their final match, took control of the game and sent the Panthers on an 11-4 run. This pushed the score to 15-12 and forced Ohio to take a timeout as they tried to change the pace of the game.

The Bobcats succeeded in their attempt, and following the timeout, they stole the Panthers’ momentum, going on a 13-3 run of their own to regain the lead at 25-18. Both teams racked up a few more points before Ohio claimed the first game with a score of 30-22.

Pitt continued to fight hard throughout the second game as well, trying to hold off a Bobcat team that had only recorded two losses all season. McDonald continued to perform well, putting away all six of her attempts in game two for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage during the second set. Miller, playing on a torn anterior cruciate ligament, also would not let up and added three more kills to the seven she had had in game one, as well as contributing six digs in the game.

Once again, Ohio took an early lead in game two, scoring five of the first seven points. Pitt, refusing to lose without a fight, was able to tie the game twice at 22-22 and 25-25, but would fall short as the Bobcats claimed the second game 30-26 and took a 2-0 lead in the match.

Pitt was now one loss away from ending its season.

In game three, the Panthers scored the first point before Ohio quickly obtained the lead and never looked back. The Bobcats finished off the game and the match with a commanding score of 30-12.

Ohio hit a powerful .458 average in the three-game match, racking up 60 kills in 107 attempts, a season high for the Bobcats. Julia Winkfield and Melissa Giffin each finished with 14 kills for Ohio.

Miller finished the match with 12 kills for a .647 hitting percentage, while McDonald had eight kills and a .727 average.

Despite Pitt’s loss, two Panthers ended the season with record-setting numbers. Junior Gini Ullery finished this year with 549 kills, which is second most in a single season by a Pitt player. Megan McGrane set a school and Big-East season record with 713 digs and now has 1,807 for her career with another year of eligibility left.

The Panthers now hold a 3-11 record in NCAA Championships Tournament competition.