Pitt volleyball’s title hopes swept away

Pitt volleyball came up one match short of reclaiming the Big East title. With a victory over… Pitt volleyball came up one match short of reclaiming the Big East title. With a victory over Syracuse Saturday afternoon, the Panthers moved to the championship game, where they would face the No. 1 seed, Notre Dame. Unlike Saturday, Pitt struggled to find its rhythm and watched a second consecutive title slip from its hands in a three-game loss to the Irish in the Big East Tournament finals at the Fitzgerald Field House.

Pitt 3, Syracuse 0

In a victory over the Orange, Pitt used power and momentum to move itself to the championship match against Notre Dame Sunday afternoon.

Gini Ullery capitalized on a set from Lindsey Macke with a forceful kill to earn the Panthers their first point of the game and the match.

The strength of Ullery’s first kill was only a small sign of what was to follow from the No. 2-seeded Panthers.

Pitt (20-8 overall, 8-3 Big East) rolled over the Orange in three games with scores of 30-25, 30-22 and 30-19 to capture head coach Chris Beerman’s 100th victory. Numerous times during the match, No. 3-seeded Syracuse (25-6, 8-2) called timeouts in an attempt to steal Pitt’s momentum.

“We were in control the entire time,” Megan Miller said following the match. “It was really just a feeling of having complete faith in one another.”

Having Miller back off a four-game injury provided a boost for the team. Miller, who was named Big East Player of the Year, finished the match with 13 kills and a season-best .650 hitting percentage.

This victory, though, was a team performance. Each player made key plays that helped to keep Pitt rolling throughout the match.

Ullery, in game one, used her head instead of her power to fool the Orange. Rather than attacking with a forceful kill, Ullery gently tipped the ball over the net, just out of reach of the Syracuse defenders to move the score to 28-25 Pitt. Ullery finished with 14 kills and seven digs.

Libero Megan McGrane added her own spark, digging bullet after bullet as the Orange sent the ball careening across the court. Diving across the floor, and laying out to shove her hand between the ball and the court, McGrane earned a team-high 27 digs for the day.

“All week at practice, we focused on working as a team,” McGrane said. “We wanted to come out and play aggressive here at home.”

With the Pitt band, cheerleaders and Panther fans in attendance, freshman Diana Andreyko, who was named Big East Rookie of the Year, provided a spectacular performance with her hitting strength.

On many occasions during the match, Andreyko used perfectly placed sets from Macke and Azadeh Boroumand to drill the ball onto the Syracuse side of the court. Andreyko’s power was often too much for the Orange. Andreyko finished with a match-high 15 kills, six digs and two blocks for the match. Macke, Panther setter, earned 25 assists and seven blocks.

“We’re trying to get roles for everybody, and the whole team contributed to this victory,” Beerman said.

Notre Dame 3, Pitt 0

After dropping their first game to Boston College on Saturday afternoon, the Fighting Irish captured three straight games to move into the championship match Sunday against Pitt. Notre Dame (17-8, 10-1) continued with its momentum from the previous day and defeated Pitt in three decisive games.

In the final play of the match, Ullery fell as she went to attack the ball. The whole Fitzgerald Field House fell silent as Ullery knelt on the court.

This was how the Panthers Big East title run ended: three loses, 30-23, 30-26 and 30-26.

Throughout the match, Pitt struggled to pull everything together and play as they had the day before. Service errors, balls hit out-of-bounds, balls hit into the net and mental errors where all big factors in the loss.

Andreyko and Ullery provided a lot of power for the Panthers as they tried to fight off a hungry Notre Dame team. In game two, Andreyko used a high set from Macke to drill the ball to the opposite side of the court and move the score to 9-9. Andreyko finished the match with 15 kills, 20 digs and two blocks. Ullery added 14 kills and six digs in the match.

Pitt is still eligible for a trip to the NCAA tournament. With victories at the Louisville Tournament, Nov. 26-27, the Panthers can still claim an at-large bid.