That's More Like It

The players will admit they have some things to iron out – and not just in the post-match victory dance with the Pitt Band.

"We have some kinks we need to work out, because I'm not supposed to be dancing in the middle," said co-captain Bre Kelley said with a laugh.

"It'll get cleaner," Blaire Bayless jumped in to add. "Gotta figure out our moves a little bit better."

The Panthers finally got to dance for the first time this season, grabbing Win #1 in four sets over TCU at PPG Paints Arena. With eight players from last year's roster gone and seven new players in the mix, everything from the starting lineup to the dance card has changed. But Pitt looked more steady on its feet Sunday.

The Panthers hit .333 for the match after totaling un-Pitt-like hitting percentages of .111 against Nebraska and .186 against Florida. Head coach Dan Fisher's statistician told him Pitt hit .500 in transition, meaning the Panthers were sharp offensively to close out long rallies.

"We were much improved from last weekend in a lot of areas," Fisher said. "Our setting was better... we were able to be powerful more often."

Fisher brought Bayless to the press conference table after her best match so far – 14 kills on .448 hitting and just 1 error – as she finally provided some juice on the left side to pull attention from Olivia Babcock on the right (Babcock herself was as dominant as ever: 19 kills on .381 hitting).

"The more weapons we have in the front row, the better season we're going to have," Bayless said. "[My goal is] just continuing to streak good in the next couple of games and being the offensive weapon that the team needs me to be on the left."

Still, there are pieces of the lineup to figure out:

-- Who's the other outside hitter? French international Marina Pezelj was not at her best Sunday, so Dutch international Dagmar Mourits stepped in with 8 kills but also 4 errors. No spot is assured there yet.

-- Will someone claim the libero job? 17-year-old Izzy Masten got the start Sunday, but TCU pushed her serve-receive at times. So it was back to Florida State transfer Emery Dupes, who brought a more steady hand in the back row.

"It was good to see Emery do well, because truthfully neither one has been playing as well in-game as they have in practice," Fisher said. "So it was nice to see Emery play like we've seen her do in practice.

"We have a lot of good options for 'bro, but it's still up for grabs."

-- Are there moves to make at middle blocker? Sophomore Ryla Jones did not see action as freshman Abbey Emch pushed her way into the lineup alongside Kelley, bringing a spark to the front row. Fisher put Emch on the lineup sheet after being impressed by her week in practice, and he wasn't the only one.

"She's been wanting it," Kelley said. "She's been almost been pushing me out of my spot when we're doing drills and I'm like, 'not yet, girl.'"

Fisher still has time to tinker with his lineups. After the Arizona State match, Pitt gets another few days of home practices before hosting always-scrappy Pepperdine and non-conference cupcake Jacksonville. Then comes a trip to Fort Worth, Texas to get a crack at Kentucky, a Top-10 team that was only a couple points away from upsetting #1 Nebraska in Nashville on Sunday.

• And about that Arizona State match. It looks a lot tougher after the #12 Sun Devils upset #2 Penn State in four sets, the final by a score of 31-29.
  
  After PSU hit .519 in the opening set, Arizona State held them to hitting percentages of .061, .108 and .106 – pushing every Nittany Lion not named Kennedy Martin into swinging struggles.
  
  ASU right-side hitter Noemie Glover, part of the exodus from Oregon, balled out against Penn State. Glover grabbed 22 kills – including 10 in the final set – on .372 hitting and led the Sun Devils in blocks. Pitt's defense will be watching her closely, and you should too.
  
  While the Sunday service won't win any commendations (Penn State made 23 service errors to just 5 aces – Arizona State 17 errors to 4 aces), the Sun Devils just proved they can not only hang with the best of 'em, they can beat 'em too.

• Sympathy for TCU's Samara Coleman. In her first college match, she appeared just once as a serving sub in the 4th set, remaining in for the following few points. The Pitt band, assembled behind Coleman, greeted her with chants of "TRAITOR. TRAITOR. TRAITOR."
  
  If you didn't follow the saga, Samara was a touted Pitt recruit for this year's class. She arrived in January to enroll early. Photos from her dad showed her moving in to Pitt student housing. Then... silence. No photos of her at practice. Days later, she announced she was heading to TCU.
  
  Every indication I've heard was that Pitt did not medically clear Coleman to join the team. It seems to be the most plausible answer (and something that a university would not be able to announce, nor a family keen to talk about). None of this reeks of Coleman being a turncoat, and I really wish the Pitt Band had shown more tact – but... y'know... it's a college pep band. And I still love them dearly.

• The last time Pitt Volleyball played at PPG Paints Arena was in September 2019, in something of a dress rehearsal for PPG to host that season's national championship, and they drew a mere 932 fans to a match against Ohio State.
  
  So Sunday's overall attendance of 7,723 – even with many Penn State fans in the fold for the later match – shows the growth of volleyball fandom in Pittsburgh. Given the Chamber of Commerce weather outside on a holiday weekend, I doubt there were many walk-up ticket purchasers to spend hours cooped up in a hockey arena. But the fans who did attend were helpful in pushing Pitt to wins at the end of sets.
  
  "We're thankful for the good crowd support tonight," Fisher said. "It was nice to feel the home court advantage. It definitely helped us."