Volleyball: Polish club Dabrowa beats Pitt in exhibition game

Pitt women’s volleyball lost to Polish professional club Dabrowa on Tuesday night at Fitzgerald Fieldhouse, three sets to one. The Panthers looked to improve on their average start to the season, as they went 2-2 at the Mizzou Tiger Classic last weekend. 

But Dabrowa had other ideas. The Polish club took care of the Panthers in rather convincing fashion, taking three out of four sets and sending Pitt fans home unhappy. Dabrowa plays in pool D of the Women’s Championship League in Poland and has made other stops on its U.S. tour, including a match against Penn State in Happy Valley, which the Nittany Lions won. 

The Panthers struggled early in the match to overcome the Polish side’s size, power and wit. An unfortunate service error led coach Dan Fisher to call a timeout. The Panthers fought back behind hits by Jessica Wynn, but eventually fell short to lose the first set 25-22. 

The second set was more of the same as the Panthers failed to gain much of a rhythm, losing 25-10.

The third set became a bright spot for the Panthers after a convincing opening lead excited both the crowd and the bench. Behind key kills from freshman KeKe Irby and Wynn, Pitt held on to take the set, 25-20. 

The fourth set was back and forth, with neither team allowing the other to earn an advantage. Dabrowa looked like the more experienced team in the end, winning the fourth set 25-20 and taking the match three sets to one.

While this match was only an exhibition, it was also the team’s home opener and served as an excellent test for the Panthers before they play in the UConn Tournament this weekend in Storrs, Conn. Even though the Panthers looked overmatched at some points, Fisher looked to the positives.

“We did a nice job turning things around in the third and fourth set [and] got to see a couple different players get more playing time,” Fisher said. “We’re still trying to find our best lineup.”

The Panthers’ inconsistency has been their greatest weakness early this season. Last night Pitt’s first two sets consisted over very low hitting percentages, whereas, in the third and fourth sets, the team’s the numbers greatly increased. 

Defense was also a problem for the Panthers, as they failed to block as many shots as they had in previous efforts at the Mizzou Tiger Classic last weekend.

“It was awesome to take a set off them,” said Wynn. “But we still need to work on our defense.”

Wynn continued her strong play from last weekend’s tournament with 12 kills in the Panthers’ losing effort. 

This international test served as a humbling experience for the Panthers as they enter their weekend tournament. 

“I think we learned how to play against a higher offense,” said sophomore Jessica Boddy. “I think we’re ready. This made us tougher.”