Panthers win tournament

After falling to Dayton in the final game of last weekend’s Pittsburgh Invitational, the… After falling to Dayton in the final game of last weekend’s Pittsburgh Invitational, the Pitt women’s volleyball team bounced back by winning the Pittsburgh Classic.

The Panthers (9-3) won all nine matches they played, sweeping Toledo, Northeastern and Texas Christian University. Outside hitter Wendy Hatlestad led the charge, registering 58 kills and 31 digs and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Outside hitter Sarah Rollman and middle hitter Megan Miller were also named to the All-Tournament team.

Pitt was dealt another blow, however, losing middle hitter Madelyn Egan for the season to a knee injury.

Pitt 3, Toledo 0

The Panthers picked up wins in the first two games, both by scores of 30-20, before holding off the Rockets in the final game, 30-28. Hatlestad lead Pitt with a match-high 19 kills and 14 digs for a double-double, and contributed three blocks.

Miller added 12 kills while hitting .480 and libero Megan McGrane added 14 digs. McGrane came into the match leading the nation in digs.

Corrie Magnus led the Rockets with 11 kills, three blocks and a .348 hitting percentage. Carrie McCaw had 32 assists.

Pitt 3, Northeastern 0

In its second match, Pitt sprinted out to a 30-17 first-game win on the way to a 3-0 victory over the Northeastern Huskies.

The Panthers, powered by 20 kills from Hatlestad and 16 kills from Miller, capitalized on 25 Northeastern errors to drop the Huskies. Rollman added 14 kills for Pitt.

“They’re [Hatlestad, Miller, and Rollman] our big three,” head coach Chris Beerman said after the match. “We’re going to rely on them more due to the injuries [to Egan and Gini Ullery].”

After cruising to a relatively easy first-game victory, Pitt faced a more resilient Northeastern team in games two and three. The Huskies, led by 12 kills and three blocks from Larissa Adomar for the match, lost game two 30-24 in a hard-fought battle featuring Northeastern’s lone ace of the match, by Kristin Ursillo.

In game three, the Huskies, aided by 10 kills and 10 digs from Jana Kubalova for the match, twice opened up leads of four points or more. However, the Panthers, on the strength of nine kills by Hatlestad, fought back to win the game 32-30 and sweep the match.

“The other team is always going to put up a fight,” Beerman said. “Northeastern is a good team, so I knew they were going to battle.”

McGrane chipped in 13 digs for Pitt while setter Lindsey Macke added 49 assists. Middle hitter April Puzauskas contributed a career-best five blocks in making just her second start of the season for the Panthers.

Pitt 3, TCU 0

Hatlestad picked up 19 kills and 11 digs while hitting .372, helping the Panthers defeat the Horned Frogs 30-24, 30-24 and 30-23.

Rollman added 12 kills, six digs and four blocks, while Miller chipped in with 10 kills and hit .391. Both players were named to the All-Tournament team, with Rollman posting 35 kills, 22 digs and 10 blocks for the tournament, and Miller adding 38 kills and racking up a .442 hitting percentage in the three matches.

Anna Vaughn led TCU with 12 kills and a .688 hitting percentage for the match, and was the Horned Frogs’ representative on the All-Tournament Team.

The Panthers begin conference play this weekend, traveling to Providence on Friday and Boston College on Saturday.

Sports editor Joe Marchilena contributed to this story.