It’s always fun to beat the defending National Champions — it’s even more fun to beat the defending National Champions who are a rival on their home floor. And that’s exactly what Pitt volleyball did to Penn State in Happy Valley on Wednesday as it beat the Nittany Lions in four sets — 25-23, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-17.
“It’s Pitt-Penn State — it’s always a rivalry,” head coach Dan Fisher said after the match.
Give them their flowers
First-year outside hitter Dagmar Mourits has only improved as the season has gone on. That improvement was seen in full force against Penn State. Through two sets, she didn’t commit a single error and earned nine kills for Pitt. The Dutch outside hitter finished the game with 13 kills, three errors and a .333 hitting percentage.
Graduate student setter Brooke Mosher has continually set the Panthers to efficient games as well. Pitt hit .299 against the Nittany Lions, and the Illinois transfer finished her night with 39 assists and seven digs.
Junior opposite hitter Olivia Babcock had her third double-double of the season tonight. She had a .205 hitting percentage, led the Panthers in kills with 16 and tied her career-high of 13 digs.
Great call, coach
Whatever Fisher said to his team when he called a timeout in the first set, when his team trailed 23-22, worked. After his timeout, Pitt went on a 3-0 run to take the first set 25-23.
“It matters how well you play after 20,” Fisher said. “We want to be a team that feels like the bigger the stage, the better we get. And I think we have been doing that lately.”
All the momentum in the world was on Penn State’s side after it went on a 3-0 run to take its first lead since it led 15-14 in the set. But back-to-back kills — first by Ryla Jones, then Mourits — shut the road crowd up. After Pitt earned a block to win the set, Rec Hall became silent after watching Pitt steal the set from their Nittany Lions.
What about the other side?
Penn State, the defending National Champions, is now 4-4 on the season. Penn State has a lot of figuring out to do before it starts conference play in nine days. The Big Ten is one of the hardest conferences in college volleyball, and Penn State could struggle a lot. But it gets two games against mid-major programs before conference play, which will most likely help the struggling Nittany Lions to find their identity.
What’s next for the Panthers
Pitt gets a week off before it starts conference play. The Panthers don’t get an easy start for conference play either — they face SMU in Dallas on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 8 p.m. Pitt’s only loss in the regular season in 2024 was against SMU in Dallas. The Mustangs are currently ranked No. 10 in the AVCA Coaches Poll and are 6-2 on the season.
Pitt has won its last eight matches and will look to make it nine in its next match against SMU, where the Panthers will seek to avenge their loss from 2024.
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