Coach Megan Hodge Easy has the team’s attention! Photo by Ethan Kasales.
Pitt — Penn State’s 6th ranked opponent this season — is #5 in the country for a reason. It showed Wednesday night as Penn State fell to the Panthers 3-1 (23-25, 17-25, 25-23, 17-25).
For Pitt, it all starts with 6-4 Jr. RS hitter Olivia Babcock, the 2024 AVCA National Player of the Year, who led the Panthers with 20 points (16 kills, 13 digs and 3 service aces), but she was followed closely by 6-2 Fr. OH Dagmar Mourits who totaled 16.5 points (13 kills and 5 blocks), and 6-2 So. MB Ryla Jones with 14 points (9 kills and 9 blocks). Pitt’s 6-0 Redshirt Sr. setter Brooke Mosher led the Panthers with 39 assists.
Despite losing in four sets — two of which weren’t particularly close — there were a number of bright spots for Penn State. The blocking looked much improved — particularly in Set 1 — as 6-5 Sr. MB Maggie Mendelson racked up 8 blocks for the match, and 6-6 Jr. RS Kennedy Martin totaled 4. Martin tied with Babcock for match-high with 16 kills, and was second in points with 19. 6-4 So. OH Emmi Sellman totaled 12 points (11 kills). And 6-4 Fr. OH Alexis Ewing had 6 kills on .333 hitting. Sr. libero Gillian Grimes recorded 13 digs.
But errors once again plagued the Nittany Lions, as they totaled 37 total errors for the match (26 attack errors, 9 service errors, and 2 blocking errors) compared to 30 total errors for Pitt. The Panthers hitt .299 for the match compared to .169 for Penn State.
Post-Match Press Conference
Coach Schumacher-Cawley, Emmi Sellman, and Gillian Grimes spoke with the media after the match.
Opening Statement by Coach Schumacher-Cawley
I always want to thank the wRECking Crew, the band, and the student athletes. I thought it was a great atmosphere tonight. And that’s a very good Pitt team. There’s a reason why they’re #5 right now.
Question: Going into the fourth set, all the girls looked really strong. What is some of the advice that you gave to them before that set?
Schumacher-Cawley: To compete. Yes, to just compete. And do their job. When we serve and pass aggressive, I think we’re pretty good. And you know, we have the arms that can score, but unfortunately, we made too many errors. I think we need to get better and be more focused in practice during the week. And continue to use these matches to prepare for the Big Ten.
Question: Penn State had 10 blocks as a team. Maggie [Mendelson] had [8 total blocks]. What did you see from her?
Schumacher-Cawley: Maggie was super aggressive at the net tonight. She found a way to score points when we weren’t in the middle. Maggie works hard, and I thought she saw the game well tonight and had some great blocks.
Question: Gillian, this isn’t the first time we’ve played Pitt. What was different about them this year compared to last year where you played them?
Gillian Grimes: I thought their spin servers were definitely on. We’ll be back. Babcock had a good night, but towards the end, it was all on our side. At the end of day, we needed to compete, and we fell short.
Question: Coach, what did you like from your team in the third set?
Schumacher-Cawley: I like that they got better at their skills and that they believed they can win. It’s hard to win and being able to be focused for longer rallies and not having three or four errors in a row is tough. I think they’re fixable errors, and we need to continue to keep working and keep working as a team.
Question: Coach, you guys have two matches coming up this weekend. Pretty quick turnaround. What are some things you guys going to focus on heading into the weekend?
Schumacher-Cawley: Tomorrow we’ll be back in the gym. We’ll do some film work. We’ll practice a little bit tomorrow. I think it’s just getting focused and seeing some of the things that I know we’re better at that we didn’t do tonight. And it’s a quick turnaround, and it’s great to be playing at home. So we need to take advantage of that and play Friday, Sunday, and then then it’s on to Big Ten season. So it’s using what we have left to be prepared for conference play.
Question: What did you see from Addie [Lyon] and Alexis [Ewing], them both playing in a ranked matchup, having a bigger role, and with much more preparation.
Shumacher-Cawley: I’m not surprised at what they did. Lexi’s getting better, every practice, and Addie knows what she’s doing. It’s no surprise that they’re doing positive things. Obviously, collectively, we have to be better.
Question: Katie, what do you like about this rivalry?
Schumacher-Cawley: It’s amazing to have two schools in the state of Pennsylvania that are ranked and have been to final fours and have won. It’s great to compete with an in-state school. It doesn’t get any better than that.
Question: Emmi, what were some of the biggest challenges that Pitt presented for you guys tonight?
Emmi Sellman: I think their offense was on all night. We just weren’t making enough defensive efforts. I think their serving, like Gill said, was on as well, and I think we’ve just got to do a better job of taking care of the ball.