VB: Panthers #3 in Coaches Poll on 9/2
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Number five Stanford just beat number six Wisconsin at Wisconsin in four sets.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
I didn't get to watch Pitt this weekend but I did watch a lot of other games. Impressions...
Wisconsin struggles to pass the ball. Was pretty wild to see but after that showcase you have to wonder if they're not down.
Texas is really good despite the loss to Minnesota. Madie Skinner is the best player in the country. On that note, Minnesota kind of had things fall together for them due to Texas making a lot of mistakes. They really didn't look that great outside of a couple of sets all weekend.
Stanford is so good defensively. They cover really well. Top of the ACC is mostly really good (not you Georgia Tech). Won't keep the SEC from getting eight teams in the tournament despite their OOC losses but the top of the ACC is on par with the B1G now. One score that got ignored over the weekend was FSU beating Georgia. Both are top 25.
Penn State beat Tennessee but I'm not convinced that was any sort of great win. We'll see tonight when they play Louisville.
Wisconsin struggles to pass the ball. Was pretty wild to see but after that showcase you have to wonder if they're not down.
Texas is really good despite the loss to Minnesota. Madie Skinner is the best player in the country. On that note, Minnesota kind of had things fall together for them due to Texas making a lot of mistakes. They really didn't look that great outside of a couple of sets all weekend.
Stanford is so good defensively. They cover really well. Top of the ACC is mostly really good (not you Georgia Tech). Won't keep the SEC from getting eight teams in the tournament despite their OOC losses but the top of the ACC is on par with the B1G now. One score that got ignored over the weekend was FSU beating Georgia. Both are top 25.
Penn State beat Tennessee but I'm not convinced that was any sort of great win. We'll see tonight when they play Louisville.
texas seems to have a whole other gear when it's tournament time.
Two of the players from Sunday's matches that stood out to me:
Minnesota senior setter Melani Shaffmaster, 44 assists, to go with 17 digs, against Texas.
Stanford's OH Elia Rubin, who against Wisconsin, notched her second straight double-double, finishing with a match-highs of 20 kills on .349 hitting and 15 digs. The junior also tallied three aces and an assist.
Minnesota senior setter Melani Shaffmaster, 44 assists, to go with 17 digs, against Texas.
Stanford's OH Elia Rubin, who against Wisconsin, notched her second straight double-double, finishing with a match-highs of 20 kills on .349 hitting and 15 digs. The junior also tallied three aces and an assist.
Well....a very good night just got better.....SMU 3 sets to 0 against Nebraska.
Either going to be us or Stanford at the top of the polls on Monday! Probably will have a split of top votes between Pitt/stanford/Texas maybe PSU but I bet we come out on top
I agree.....and the Pitt - Penn State match in 2 weeks is going to be a 'must see' event.....fingers crossed both remain undefeated.
with Pitt, Stanford, Louisville, SMU, Ga Tech, FSU the ACC is looking very strong.
Miami is solid too. Should be a definitive 7 bid league this year, with a couple of bubble teams like Duke/UNC having a long shot if they get some big conference wins
Good AM to what I'll refer to as the Pitt Volleyball thread group. I posted for the first time last season...and given expectations for this season want to introduce myself. I graduated in 1971. As Mike412 certain knows, '67-'71 were very lean years for Pitt athletics. Most notably football (think Dave Hart/1-9 in 1967), basketball (Bob Timmons last years), and mens soccer (Leo Bemis). Yikes. Those teams, to put it diplomatically, were not very good. I came to Pitt from a NYS high school and played on and supported teams that regularly fielded championship teams. Coming to Pitt in '67 was a bit traumatic in terms of athletic success. But I recall that the lack of success created an underdog mentality and tremendous loyalty, at least among my circle of friends. After Pitt, I went to Cornell (hence 'Rusty Red') and received an MS. I sort of adopted the Mens Lacrosse team, who were National Champions for two years when I was there, and it's been a great ride following them since. So, aside from 67-71, winning was the norm.
'Not sure how, but I became aware of and interested in Pitt Women's Volleyball in 2017 and have been an ardent fan since. I flew in to Pittsburgh and made it back to Fitzgerald for the first time for the great reverse sweep vs. Louisville. It was electric. If someone had told me in 1971 that Fitzgerald would still exist in 2024, no less reflect a spruced up credible appearance I would not have believed it. Also, I had never seen an SRO crowd there before.
A few thoughts about this year's team:
-IMO (in my opinion) on paper, the team should be better than last year. The elite freshmen have a year of experience behind them and the upperclass players are healthy. The potential Achilles heel could be at MB. It's the one position where there will probably be a drop off. Last season Nwokolo and Monks were both experienced 5 year players who complimented one another, and Monks wound up fitting in like a glove. This season, Kelley is still relatively young in her development and is coming off a serious injury. Last night, Jones looked to have a ton of upside potential, but is at the very beginning of her development as a D1 player on an elite team. Looked like she was in the mix defensively last night (vs. Buffalo), but her timing was way off on a few attempted kills on what looked like good sets. Athletically, in the time Garibaldi was on the court, she looked (innately) like the most athletic of the 4 MBs. But as 6'1" freshmen playing against high end D1 teams, her lack of height has to be very much of a liability. Regardless, more than at any other position, Kelley and Jones need to avoid health challenges. Otherwise, Coach Fisher may have to look to Garibaldi and Virlan to contribute in some shape or form.
-One last observation. Again, IMO, last season Pitt's service game was above average, at best. My benchmark however, is how Texas served vs. Nebraska in the national championship game and how Nebraska served against Pitt in the semis. They served at another level. Given final four/national championship expectations, serving at that level needs to be the team's benchmark.
-Looking forward to what will be a very demanding conference schedule - Stanford, Louisville...as well as (it would appear) SMU, GT, and FSU are opponents where nothing can be taken for granted. Especially on the road.
H2P
PS - Question: My wife and I are flying in for the game vs. Penn State on the 12th. I've never been to the Pete before. In order to get a General Admission seat of choice, how early do we need to arrive?
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Louisville didn't play well. Setting was horrible. Not to take anything away from Penn State but any team at that level is going to dominate when you get fed so many free balls. That said, Penn State's setting looked much better. They're still look pretty one dimensional offensively but they really didn't need to force the issue much last night.
Re : Penn State at the Pete
First the match is September 18th
If last year is any indication, expect a really big crowd. The Louisville regular season match at the Pete may have been the biggest crowd the Pete had in any sport last year .
With the Victory Heights construction , the walkways leading to the Pete are constricted- so large crowds and can lead to congested lines getting into the building.
I’d plan to get there early- weekday traffic and a large crowd will add time just to get to the building.
I want to be parked by 6 to allow plenty of time to get into the building and grab seats.
Last year vs Louisville at The Pete I showed up about 75-80 minutes before the match started (they open the doors an hour prior) and there were at least several hundred people lined up waiting. I grabbed a beer and some food before claiming a seat and was down in the middle of the lower bowl.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Decent seats weren't impossible. It was a great crowd. Very loud. Helped that a lot of local HS/club players could attend since it was on a Saturday.
My daughter and I went to a match against PSU a few years ago at The Pete.
There was a very large contingent of Nitters there and I would expect the same again. This fact will impact seating availability.
H2P!
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Probably but you're not going to get the young crowd. Not many HS games on a Wednesday night but it won't be easy for as many kids to get down there for the game. That's all.
If it was on a non-football Saturday I think they would easily have enough people to have to open the upper level. Maybe even on a Friday. But a Wednesday will surely hold down the crowd at least a little.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Tough to do in the fall. Lots of stars need to align.
Nice analysis. I only disagree with 1 point where you said more than any other position, Pitt needs to avoud injury at MB. I would say setter. Fairbanks is so good, and if she gets injured, Pitt will be in a lot of trouble. She makes the Pitt engine run. The other setter who played against Buffalo is a huge dropoff. Have fun at the match vs the nitters-wish that one was on a weekend.
H2P
H2P
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Losing anyone hurts when you have solid rotations with good chemistry. I would agree that losing Fairbanks would be bad. I think the drop off you're seeing is just because she's top three in the NCAA at that position.
I have only watched Nisa against Buffalo, but she lacks the quickness to turn a marginal pass into a great set. Fairbanks does that like it is second nature. With Haiti, you could see a bit of a drop off but not like with Nisa. Hopefully, more in game reps for Nisa, we will see this improve.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Won't argue any of that other than to point out that Fairbanks runs a really fast offense. It's part of what makes her so good when she's on. When she's off, it's noticeable. Young setters also are not used to that kind of pace.
One thing I'm learning is that quality setters are a very rare breed. You just don't see a ton of talented girls that can set quickly with a ton of precision and have good soft hands. It's a beautiful thing to watch when you see one.
Just to continue with a couple more thoughts.....I think Buzlutepe is going to be an adequate fill in for Fairbanks as the season progresses. Let's remember....she only joined the team about 2 months ago. In her junior year at A&M she did not have best in the conference numbers but Texas A&M was a very average team....(Buzlutepe....631 assists, 148 digs, 19 aces in 100 sets (Fairbanks...933, 190, 22 in 102 sets). So yes....she's not a Rachel Fairbanks talent (who is) but I think she'll do well. As we all know....Fisher has an excellent track record for improving the play of the talent he brings in from the transfer portal.
Incidentally....I don't know if everyone noticed but Dinn....our freshman setter....was on crutches for the Buffalo game and Tautua'a looks like she is out for the year. At this very early point in the season it is setter that is looking thin.
Noticed the same re : Dinn. Per a poster on Volleytalk - Tautua’a is out for the season.
Needless to say - keeping Fairbanks healthy is paramount.
Rubin was on the same HS team as Stafford but a year ahead . The Stanford coaches told Stafford’s coach that they would love to have both but wouldn’t be recruiting an OH in Stafford’s class because of scholarship numbers. It’s very difficult for them to get walk-ons because it costs $75,000 to $100,000 per year to go there.
I remember when my cousin was a TE on the FB team there that his parents were complaining that it cost over $50,000 for his 4 years there. Of course, back in the Stone Age when I went to Pitt my tuition was $375 per semester. I had 24 Advanced Placement credits from high school, which chopped $600 off of that over my 4 years. Times have sure changed.
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pittdan77
Athletic Director
pittdan77
Athletic Director
Just watched Texas get reverse swept, AT HOME (?!), by Miami. But yeah, the ACC isn’t that deep.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
GaTech over BYU in five. Another ranked win for the ACC.
Wisconsin was facing match point last night but managed to squeak out a win against Baylor in five. 2-3 now.
Wisconsin was facing match point last night but managed to squeak out a win against Baylor in five. 2-3 now.
pittdan77
Athletic Director
When they beat Georgia you thought, okay, maybe FSU is decent. Don't know what happened but Auburn had 17 blocks which is a lot.
