No. 1 Pitt, No. 3 Penn State feels like final-four matchup

The two top teams will meet Wednesday at the Petersen Events Center at 7 p.m.

For a long time, a meeting between the women’s volleyball teams from Pitt and Penn State was a fairly ho-hum affair. Sure, there was the whole Pitt-Penn State geographic rivalry thing, but, beyond that, there wasn’t much buzz.

Between 1987 and 2017, in fact, Penn State won all 16 matchups with the Panthers.

But a lot has changed. Pitt, by several measures, has surpassed Penn State as Pennsylvania’s premier volleyball team. The Panthers have won two of the past three meetings — including in the 2021 NCAA Tournament — and have been to the national semifinals each of the past three seasons.

Penn State, while still a perennial top-25 team and NCAA participant, isn’t quite the juggernaut it was under legendary coach Russ Rose.

But the Nittany Lions appear to be on their way back to that level.

Pitt and Penn State enter Wednesday’s 7 p.m. match ranked Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Both are undefeated: Pitt is 6-0, Penn State 8-0.

The match will be staged at Petersen Events Center. Pitt officials are expecting a near-sellout or, at the very least, expecting attendance to eclipse the 2023 regular-season match with ACC rival Louisville, which drew 8,865.

As of noon Monday, a little more than 6,000 tickets had been sold.

“It’s the best part about sports, competing like this and having a team that is 2 1/2 hours away from us, both being nationally recognized. It’ really special,” said Penn State coach Katie Schumacher- Cawley, who played on Penn State’s first national title team (1999) and was an assistant under Rose. Schumacher-Cawley is in her third season after succeeding Rose. “I think it will be a phenomenal experience for our players to be a part of.”

Schumacher-Cawley and Pitt coach Dan Fisher aren’t blind to the way the balance of power between the two programs has shifted. But unlike the schools’ contentious football counterpart, the Pitt-Penn State volleyball rivalry is characterized more by mutual respect.

The programs regularly play each other during the offseason, and Fisher has expressed gratitude about the way Rose treated him over the years.

“He was so generous with me and so complementary,” said Fisher, who, in his 12th season, entered the season with more wins (169) than any Division I coach since 2018. “But I’ve been here long enough to know what it means to Pitt fans to beat Penn State and to be above them in the rankings.”

Schumacher-Cawley’s task was an unenviable one, replacing a coach who had won seven national titles. But now, she appears to be putting her own stamp on the program.

“Obviously, I’ll never be like coach Rose and all of that,” she said, “but I definitely feel like I’ve settled in a little bit. … I do feel like it’s my program, but for me, it’s more the alums’ program, and I feel a great deal of responsibility to uphold what we had here.”

The Nittany Lions are led by 6-foot-1 grad outside hitter Jess Mruzik, who is averaging 4.17 kills and 2.04 digs per set. Grad student Camryn Hannah (6-2), whom Fisher knows well from her time at Clemson, averages 3.40 kills per set, and fifth-year senior Taylor Trammell (6-2) chips in 2.17 kills and 1.08 blocks per set.

Pitt’s top players are a pair of sophomores: 6-2 outside hitter Torrey Stafford (4.54 kills per set) and 6-4 right side Olivia Babcock (4.08 kills). Grad student Valeria Vazquez Gomez contributes 2.72 kills per set, and all three players hit at a clip of .287 or better.

Though a national champ won’t be crowned for another two months, Fisher acknowledged the excitement surrounding the matchup.

“This kind of feels like a final four in terms of media attention,” Fisher said. “We’re grateful, knowing where we were a few years back. I like our team. I like the way we’re playing, and I think we’re the best we’ve ever been.”