VB: @ Clemson - 09/27/24 Match Info
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Reporting live from this tiny Clemson gym - very much not Pitt’s best set in the first but they know how to pull it together when it matters. Serve receive needs to get better. Looking much better here though to start the second
Going to take a lazy pitt team or an exceptional performance for any team to win a set. Its going to come down to Nebraska.
So just when Helene blows through and Clemson thinks the bad weather is over....here comes Pitt with Babcock and Stafford....aka....Thunder and Lightning! Numbers..
- Babcock....hitting % .406....20 points
- Stafford...hitting % .500....13.5 points
- Pitt finishes the night scoring 55 points.....Babcock & Stafford accounting for over 60% of the point total
- And again....another 9 point average margin of victory/set.....Pitt 25 - Clemson 16.
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Babcock had 2 errors in 32 attempts and Stafford had 1 error in 18 attempts.
That's pretty darn good.
A few observations:
*I couldn't believe how close the Clemson fans standing on the playing floor on one end were to the player serving. Needless to say, Pitt served on that end two of the three games. There were a few instances, where individuals walking on that end were literally in contact with the serving player or had to take a step back to avoid contact. Perhaps this is hyperbole, but I think this is looking for trouble (e.g., a nutcase fan, an accident, or just the proximity of abuse being shouted from a foot or away). Am I an outlier on this one???
-Coach Fisher changed his serving rotation from VVG leading off to Fairbanks. I don't know if it's causal or coincidence, but I thought this was Fairbanks' best serving night of her career.
-Stafford - another unbelievably exceptional...and consistent hitting night
-Tough night for VVG. Quiet night for Jones.
-Fairbanks, Klicka, Babcock, and Kelley - all played so well, it's easy to almost take their very high level of play for granted.
*I couldn't believe how close the Clemson fans standing on the playing floor on one end were to the player serving. Needless to say, Pitt served on that end two of the three games. There were a few instances, where individuals walking on that end were literally in contact with the serving player or had to take a step back to avoid contact. Perhaps this is hyperbole, but I think this is looking for trouble (e.g., a nutcase fan, an accident, or just the proximity of abuse being shouted from a foot or away). Am I an outlier on this one???
-Coach Fisher changed his serving rotation from VVG leading off to Fairbanks. I don't know if it's causal or coincidence, but I thought this was Fairbanks' best serving night of her career.
-Stafford - another unbelievably exceptional...and consistent hitting night
-Tough night for VVG. Quiet night for Jones.
-Fairbanks, Klicka, Babcock, and Kelley - all played so well, it's easy to almost take their very high level of play for granted.
-Completely agree. It was even more shocking in person how close the students were to the service line - when Liv went back to serve they were basically screaming right in her ear and I don’t know if she was even able to get her full distance back that she would normally start her toss from. Any of the dads in the club scene on here know the rules on how much room a court requires behind the service line? Huge props to Liv for still managing 3 aces despite that.
-Serve receive was bad in set 1 from both VVG and Stafford but got so much better in sets 2 & 3. That was the difference between a close set and dominant wins
-I met Emmy Klika’s dad who’s in SC to watch Emmy play at Clemson and watch his other daughter Laney play at Wofford. Really nice guy, talked about how much work Emmy has put in this year and how much the girls love the coaching staff. It was funny because the announcer called her “Emily Klika” and he yelled out “nobody calls her that!” Emmy played another great game, her coverage and passing has really improved this year and she’s definitely in the elite tier of Liberos this year.
-Agree on tough night for VVG, glad Fish got Bayless some time in the last set and you can clearly see her potential. Her back row play is still really shaky though, needs to improve before next year or we’ll need to use a DS for her.
-On to GT, who just got swept by SMU, but Pitt can’t take them lightly. Still a tough team and that’s an intense environment too. Hail to Pitt!
Quick comment on this - so Pitt’s first rotation is always with Fairbanks in the back right serving position. So when Pitt serves first, Fairbanks starts with the serve. When the opponent serves first, once Pitt wins the point they rotate to second rotation where VVG is serving. So that’s why sometimes Fairbanks serves first and sometimes VVG serves first, it depends on whether Pitt or the opponent had first serve
VVG is inconsistent and part of it is bc she's in front row with Fairbanks, so the opponent knows she's going to get sets. And she seems to not change up her hits as much as Stafford. She hits right into the block. But I thought Bayless did a better job hitting and blocking. Her vertical seems to be better. VVG is better at serve receive than Bayless, but she does seem to hit rough patches there too. I'm not sure of the rules, can 2 liberos be on the court at the same time?
Also, 2 teams in a row have started using tips to get points. I guess the back row player behind the block might need to take a step forward if more teams start to utilize that strategy.
Having said that, I love watching this team play! H2P!
You can’t have two liberos on the court but you can use a separate defensive specialist as a substitute in the back row. Nebraska does that for both Krause and Beason, that’s why their back row passing is always so good. The problem for Pitt is that would be Dillyn Griffin, who Fish prefers to save as a serve specialist for late in sets.
You can find the NCAA rule book on line. From the book (in fact, the first rule in the book):
1.1.1 Playing Surface
The court and a free zone area at least 2 meters (6 feet, 6 inches) adjacent to
and surrounding the court must be flat, smooth and free of obstructions, other
than net supports. The free zone may include playing area that is even with or
not more than approximately 1.25 centimeters (½ inch) lower than the primary
surface. For facilities constructed after 2016, a free zone of 3 meters (9 feet, 10
inches) is required.
1.1.1.1 The recommended free zone area is 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) outside
the sidelines and 4.5 meters (14 feet, 9 inches) beyond the end lines.
So basically, in an old arena the free zone behind the end line only needs to be 2 meters, for a new facility it would be 3 meters minimum.
1. Go to the ESPN app on whatever device you use to stream content.
2. Scroll down and then click on the ACC Conference icon.
3. Scroll down to "On Demand".
4. Scroll to the right. Select #1 Pitt vs Clemson icon and you'll be able to watch a replay of the match.
I watch accnx games on my roku.And without internet last night I was out.I watched the replay today.Clemson and their fans tried hard but they no match for the Panthers.Thank you for the help none the less.
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