Pitt’s transition from losing Rachel Fairbanks — arguably the best setter in the NCAA last season — Emmy Klika, Valeria Vazquez Gomez and Torrey Stafford — a First-Team All American — was never going to go smoothly.
That reality reared its ugly head this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska. Pitt lost its first game of the season against Nebraska 3-1 (25-22, 25-11, 20-25, 25-23), then on Sunday, lost to Florida 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 15-25, 26-24, 15-13). The two losses Pitt sustained over the weekend match the number of losses it had during the entire 2024 season.
In 2024, it took Pitt 65 sets to lose six sets — this season, it took them just nine sets. And Pitt’s 25-11 second-set loss against Nebraska was the first time Pitt lost by double-digits in a set since the 2022 Final Four. And in the second set against Florida, Pitt lost by double-digits again — 25-15.
Failure to close out sets
Pitt was very close to heading back on a flight to Pittsburgh with a 2-0 record rather than a 0-2 record. The team put itself in a position to win multiple close sets.
- In the first set against Nebraska, Pitt led 21-18, and then, Nebraska went on a 7-1 run and won 25-22.
- In the fourth set against Nebraska, Pitt was knotted up with Nebraska 23-23, and then lost 25-23.
- In the fourth set against Florida, Pitt had a match point and led 24-23, and then Florida went on a 3-0 run to push the match to a fifth set.
- In the fifth set against Florida, Pitt had a 13-12 lead, and then, Florida went on a 3-0 run to win the match.
The Panthers are right there, but in those final moments of a set, they are just unable to close it out. It’s a recurring theme from Pitt’s loss to Louisville in the Final Four last year. The Panthers were in control of multiple sets leading _-_ in the second and _-_ in the third set but didn’t have the clutch gene to close either out.
Pitt needs to find a closer, and not just one closer — multiple closers. Junior opposite hitter Olivia Babcock is certainly one option, but she needs someone else to help her out.
In need of a second option
This past weekend felt like the entire offense was reliant on Babcock’s right arm. And it makes sense — why wouldn’t you continually set a future Olympian and last season’s National Player of the Year? But it gets to a point where the offense becomes stagnant with its predictability, and that’s what it felt like this weekend.
Babcock had half of the team’s 42 kills against Nebraska. Against Florida, the same nearly held — she had 46.3% of Pitt’s kills. In the two games combined, Babcock had 126 swings. That’s not a sustainable workload for an entire season, even though it is probably possible for her.
For Pitt to reach its championship aspirations, it needs to have one of the four outside hitters on Pitt’s roster to become a deadly section option like Stafford was last season. First-year Dagmar Mourits and junior Blaire Bayless best fit the bill, as they started both games for the Panthers.
But even first-year Marina Pezelj could become that later in the season. She was on the French Senior National Team’s roster this summer at the Volleyball Nations League for a week, so she has what it takes.
It’s going to take Pitt a while to figure it all out — it lost four valuable pieces in key areas. But — good news for Pitt — the season is not won or lost in August.
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