Volleyball: Team drops two of three games over weekend

The women’s volleyball squad hosted the Pitt Panther Invitational this weekend, bookending a win over Rutgers with losses to Cornell and Morehead State.

Despite the losing record, Delaney Clesen and Mechael Guess earned individual acclaim, being named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts.

The tournament marked head coach Dan Fisher’s home debut with the Panthers, though the results left little room for celebration.

Cornell defeats Pitt 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 14-25, 25-23, 15-11)

The invitational kicked off Friday morning, when the Panthers took on Cornell. After taking the first set 25-15, Pitt squandered a late lead in the second set, with Cornell winning 25-22. And despite its convincing capture of the third set by a score of 25-14, Pitt went on to lose the final two sets and the match.

Fisher was not pleased with the performance, saying, “It was a bad loss. We hadn’t really had a bad loss yet, but that one was. We were flat.”

Junior Jessica Wynn echoed those statements, remarking that the Panthers “played beneath their level.” 

Junior Kate Yeazel paced the team with 20 kills, while Lindsey Zitzke, also a junior, led the Panthers with 25 assists. Delaney Clesen chipped in with 15 digs added to the effort.

Pitt defeats Rutgers 3-1 (26-28, 25-17, 25-15, 25-11)

The evening doubleheader was a matchup of former Big East foes, as Pitt faced off against Rutgers.

The Panthers, edged out in an extremely close first set, lost early, 28-26. Things looked dim for Pitt in the beginning of the second set, as it fell to an early 14-9 deficit. But the Panthers stormed ahead, ending the set on a 10-0 run. Sparked from the late rally, the momentum carried the Panthers, who won the next two sets and the match.

“During that second set, we finally stepped up,” said Wynn, who wrapped up a memorable night with a season-high 18 kills and career-best 23 digs. “Rutgers was fighting back. We needed to put them in their place.”

Fisher was pleased with Wynn’s performance, saying, “I think she was motivated. She didn’t have her best game [against Cornell], but she had one of her best games tonight [against Rutgers].”

When asked about the adjustments Fisher made following the Cornell loss, Fisher said, “We didn’t make many adjustments, we just wanted to do some things better. Some of the mistakes were tactical, but mainly, we just wanted to play better.”

Morehead State defeats Pitt 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 15-13)

The final match for the Panthers at their home invitational was a tough one, in similar fashion to their match against Cornell the previous morning. The result was the same, too, as Pitt lost an earlier lead and fell to the Morehead State Eagles.

The match was back-and-forth throughout, but the Panthers couldn’t hold on to a 2-1 set lead. Pitt ended up losing the fourth set despite taking a 19-17 lead. Likewise in the fifth, the Panthers jumped out to a 5-2 lead before losing the deciding set 15-13.

After yet another close match, Fisher found some positives about the team’s propensity to play close games.

“We’ve lost some close matches, but we’ve won some too,” he said. “Any time you’re competitive in a match, that’s a good thing.”

The Panthers received a boost when senior Monica Wignot, who hadn’t played since August because of an injury she incurred before the invitational, notched seven kills, an ace and six blocks while easing back into competition.

“It was nice to be back. It was so frustrating being sidelined, so I’m just glad to finally be back,” Wignot said.

Despite the loss, Wignot’s team lauded her return. 

“Monica is a stabilizer on the court, and she’s a team leader,” Wynn said. “It was great to have her back.”

Fisher followed suit in praising Wignot, saying that she provides “depth and physicality.”

Wignot and the Panthers make their ACC debut next match, a Friday face-off with Clemson at 4 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House.