We all want something more in life — money, clothes, confidence. Pitt volleyball is in the same boat as the rest of us — they want more of something. More specifically, they want two more wins in the NCAA Tournament.
Earning three consecutive Final Four bids is nothing to scoff at, and it is something the Panthers should and do take pride in, especially since they are the only program in the country to appear in the last three Final Fours. But losing in the national semifinal for three straight years is draining.
“Not being able to get past [the Final Four] is frustrating,” senior libero Emmy Klika said. “There’s a lot of motivation this year to make it to the National Championship and win that game.”
In 2022 and 2023, during Texas’ back-to-back National Championship run, the Longhorns had veteran pin hitters — outside and right side hitters that can control the game offensively with their sheer volume of sets — with experience carrying them to their national titles.
“Usually the team that wins the [National Championship] or makes it past the Final Four will have a pin hitter that really goes off,” head coach Dan Fisher said. “In the three years that we have been [in the Final Four], the highest hitting percentage by a pin hitter is something like .150.”
Fisher’s estimate wasn’t far off. The Panthers’ best hitting percentage in the three national semifinals didn’t even eclipse .200, which is still woeful compared to the .279 hitting percentage the Panthers’ pin hitters had during the entire 2023 season.
Redshirt senior outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez earned Pitt its best pin hitter hitting percentage in the 2023 Final Four with a .182, whereas the Panthers’ pin hitters nabbed a combined .125 hitting percentage in their three semifinal appearances. It’s a percentage that won’t get it done on the biggest of stages.
But something is different with the Panthers’ pin hitters this season compared to past seasons — consistency.
“We have been in three Final Fours with largely rotating pin hitters,” Fisher said. “This year, we are excited to return a core of outside hitters and right side hitters that have experience in big moments.”
Pitt doesn’t only have sophomores Torrey Stafford, Olivia Babcock and sixth-year Vazquez Gomez returning with Final Four experience — senior setters Rachel Fairbanks and Klika both appeared in all three of the Panthers’ national semifinal games. The two senior leaders know exactly what to expect in the Final Four and continue to train themselves and their teammates in the gym daily on managing the expectations of the national semifinals.
“Learning how to play under pressure, we prepare like that every day in the gym,” Klika said. “Pressure from the coaches, pressure on each girl to win. Embracing it day in and day out helps us prepare for those big moments.”
The only two starters without Final Four experience play as middle blockers. Redshirt junior Bre Kelley has two Sweet Sixteen appearances but nothing more, and the other starting middle blocker is projected as either first-year Ryla Jones or Bianca Garibaldi, both of whom are yet to play in a regular-season collegiate volleyball match.
Despite the lack of experience, the middle blockers understand that with Pitt’s never-quit mentality in practice, they have what it takes to show up at the highest level.
“Even when the workouts are hard and we are tired, we always keep going at it and we just have a really good time doing it,” Jones said. “I feel like the love and the passion that everybody has for this sport and the passion that everyone has to come in and get more work done is what is really going to set us apart.”
The type of culture the team cultivates isn’t something that happens immediately for coaches, especially for a program that hadn’t earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in the nine years before taking the job. It’s something that Fisher and his staff had to work tirelessly at earning.
“[When I got here] I was just trying to make playoffs and not get fired,” Fisher said. “With that said, there has been steps [to get here]. I am proud of the consistency of our success the last four years.”
The Panthers’ recent success brought teams circling the Panthers on their schedule, but it’s an issue that Fisher doesn’t mind dealing with.
“Certainly it’s more fun to be an underdog, but I am proud to have a target on our back,” Fisher said. “That we’ve worked so hard, and these players have worked so hard, that we have that curse.”
Despite the Panthers being heavily favored to win most of their games, they still don’t take any team for granted, whether it’s a home game against Syracuse or a game at Louisville.
“We never go into a game overly confident, it’s never a gimme,” Klika said. “Every game is a battle at this level.”
Pitt’s first step in its 2024 journey is no easy win. Fans and players alike hope to see the Panthers win the regular season opener for the first time since 2021. The Panthers have a battle in Eugene, Oregon against No. 10 Oregon tonight at 10:30 p.m. airing on the Big Ten Network.
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