The Pitt women’s volleyball team used a different approach in Illinois this weekend, but the… The Pitt women’s volleyball team used a different approach in Illinois this weekend, but the end result was the same as usual.

“We tried to change things up a bit,” Pitt head volleyball coach Chris Beerman commented. “We were trying to get a different vibe on the court, but it just didn’t work.”

The Panthers (10-5 overall) went 1-1 in matches against Indiana State and Illinois, and will now prepare for their first Big East match of the season.

Pitt 3, Indiana State 1

Lindsay Macke, Pitt’s senior setter, finished with a match-high 57 assists and 11 digs for a double-double on her first start of the season. Two other Panthers racked up stats to earn double-doubles as well.

Freshman outside-hitter Diana Andreyko had 14 kills and 10 digs in the contest. She also recorded three blocks in the match.

Her teammate Gini Ullery had 16 kills and 13 digs against the Sycamores. Like Andreyko, Ullery managed three blocks in the match.

Junior Ashley White put on a great performance to help lead the Panthers to victory. White had her best match of the season, finishing with nine kills and four assists. She also finished with a career-best 14 digs.

Senior Megan Miller collected a match-high 21 kills, while teammate Jessica McDonald had a team-best six blocks.

Megan McGrane, junior libero, also had a noteworthy performance as she had at least 20 digs for the eighth consecutive match. McGrane used a match-high 23 digs in four games to contribute to the Panthers’ ninth win of the season.

The game between the Panthers and the Sycamores was held at a neutral site, Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. The game was held at this location because the Sycamores played Illinois State on Friday and the Panthers were scheduled to play there Sunday.

Illinois 3, Pitt 1

In a loss to the Redbirds Sunday afternoon, Miller led Pitt with 12 kills, six blocks and three digs. Ullery finished the weekend with a double-double in each match, contributing 12 kills and 11 digs against Illinois State.

Pitt fell in four games to Illinois, winning only the second game of the four-game match. The Panthers were only able to hit .100 as a team, while the Redbirds dominated with a .263 hitting average for the match.

McGrane, for her ninth consecutive match, racked up more than 20 digs and finished the match with 22.

“We’ve been up and down in pre-conference play,” Beerman said. “We just have to take the bad and make it good as we prepare for our conference schedule.”

The Panthers’ Big East play will open this weekend at St. John’s on Friday. They will then travel to Manhattan on Saturday before returning to Pitt to take on Robert Morris on Oct. 12.