Pitt-PSU observations

[RightSaidTed]

Just got back from the game. What an incredible night and dominant performance from the team. Here are some quick thoughts:
- Torrey Stafford was the best player on the court. Unstoppable and Fairbanks was smart enough to keep feeding her.
- Pitt’s serve game was far superior to PSU’s. We got a ton of easy points from lots of different servers and Penn State didn’t get a single service run until the third set when the match was basically over.
- Emmy Klika had a fantastic game. If she can play at this level it will be a real difference maker for this team. The defense as a whole was spectacular.
- Fairbanks was in total control. Incredible decision-making and execution all night.
- I know it’s early and there will likely be bumps in the road, but it’s hard to watch that game and not come away thinking this team is a national title contender.
Hard to believe, but I am even more excited for this season than I was before. H2P!!

 

[121rum]

I think PSU got rattled by the crowd, Pitt having big game experience will be so huge for not getting overwhelmed in big games like that

 

[Franb]

Just got back from the game. What an incredible night and dominant performance from the team. Here are some quick thoughts:
- Torrey Stafford was the best player on the court. Unstoppable and Fairbanks was smart enough to keep feeding her.
- Pitt’s serve game was far superior to PSU’s. We got a ton of easy points from lots of different servers and Penn State didn’t get a single service run until the third set when the match was basically over.
- Emmy Klika had a fantastic game. If she can play at this level it will be a real difference maker for this team. The defense as a whole was spectacular.
- Fairbanks was in total control. Incredible decision-making and execution all night.
- I know it’s early and there will likely be bumps in the road, but it’s hard to watch that game and not come away thinking this team is a national title contender.
Hard to believe, but I am even more excited for this season than I was before. H2P!!

The only negative I saw was Babcock's serve - I'm a novice fan, but don't remember her getting more than 1 point on her serve, if that. Not that it mattered.

 

[veryrustyred]

Flew in from CT for the game.
What a great event; I'll use the word spectacle to describe it. Over 10,000, electric atmosphere, and REALLY loud, especially when PSU was seving.
The team collectively came up big. As stated above, Stafford was the best offensive player on the court; can't wait to see her hitting %. I don't think she missed in the 2nd and third sets. And defensively, Klicka was outstanding. Has she come along way. In the recent Fisher interview, he said words to the effect that there are not any better at her pisition She validated that night.
This was also the best serving game I've seen from Pitt. Perhaps that has something to do with PSUs surprsingly poor serve-receive game.
One additional observation - its not easy to keep up the intensity and very high level of play for 3 straight sets. The team did so tonight. Well done.

 

[Black Panther]

I think PSU got rattled by the crowd, Pitt having big game experience will be so huge for not getting overwhelmed in big games like that

It was basically a volleyball clinic for most of the game for Pitt.Had a few more service errors than you would like but no game is perfect.

 

[RightSaidTed]

The only negative I saw was Babcock's serve - I'm a novice fan, but don't remember her getting more than 1 point on her serve, if that. Not that it mattered.

Her serve is very streaky. When she gets on a roll it’s a huge weapon. Tonight wasn’t that night. I think Fisher even subbed in Griffin to serve for her at one point in the third. But the rest of the team served great and more than made up for it.

 

[Franb]

Her serve is very streaky. When she gets on a roll it’s a huge weapon. Tonight wasn’t that night. I think Fisher even subbed in Griffin to serve for her at one point in the third. But the rest of the team served great and more than made up for it.

I'm not familiar enough about rotations, but it did seem that Babcock did not serve for a long time in the 3rd, and I assumed she had been passed over.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

can't wait to see her hitting %.

I want to see what the middles ended up, because they dominated Penn State.

Of course it is now 2-1/2 hours after the match is over, and the lead story on the Pitt web site is, ah, the lacrosse fall schedule. There is still no story on the game, and there is still no link to the box score.

It should also be noted that the game tracker with the live stats got "stuck" in the second set. And it still shows that the game is in the second set at this very moment.

On the night of a huge win, all of that seems rather incompetent.

 

[mike412]

I just finished watching the full match for the second time on video. (It’s amazing that it takes less than 37 minutes to show 100% of the action.)

Pitt was dominant from the first point on. The Pitt blocking totally took away PSU’s outside hitters for most of the match. Fairbanks had PSU totally confused; when they did manage to setup a double block on the outside, the Pitt hitters either went inside of it or hit the top of the hands of the blockers.

Pitt kept PSU from ever getting into any rhythm. They only lead twice in the match — both by one point in the second set — and I think their longest scoring run was either 3 or 4 points late in the third set when the match was pretty much over.

PSU was focused on stopping Babcock, and Stafford killed them. Our middles got a few points but that is one part of our game that can improve significantly during the rest of the season. Ryla Jones looks like a player.

Klika was a revelation. This was by far the best I have seen her play. Not only did she make the digs, but she almost always was in the right position. That wasn’t always true last season. Let’s hope it continues.

Fairbanks was Fairbanks. The best setter in college volleyball.

Great gameplan and great preparation by the coaching staff.

I wish Paul Sunderland had been calling the match, but the announcers were good.

 

[Thee Jackie Treehorn]

Klika was a revelation. This was by far the best I have seen her play. Not only did she make the digs, but she almost always was in the right position. That wasn’t always true last season. Let’s hope it continues.

Yes! I texted a buddy after the game saying the same thing. Klika was spectacular in that match.