Despite all the excitement generated by Wednesday night’s matchup between the Pitt and Penn State women’s volleyball teams, both coaches acknowledged that it’s only September. A national champion won’t be crowned until mid-December.

Still, the Panthers (ranked No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll for the second straight week) and Nittany Lions (ranked No. 3) saw this as a good opportunity to gauge where they stood.

“I think they’re (Pitt) a really aggressive offensive team,” Penn State coach Katie Schumacher-Cawley said in the days leading up to the game. “They’re well-coached. They always have a great game plan and their players know what’s going on.”

Pitt coach Dan Fisher said, “I knew Penn State was going to be very good. Especially after our spring game with them. They definitely deserve their high ranking.”

So where do they stand now after their non-conference game in front of 11,800 raucous fans at the Petersen Events Center?

The Panthers appear to be right on their list after beating the Nittany Lions in three straight games, 25-15, 25-19, 25-18. Pitt moved to 7-0 and Penn State suffered its first loss of the season to move to 8-1.

The attendance was a record for Pitt volleyball teams, easily surpassing last season’s record (8,865) against Louisville.

The game couldn’t have started better for Pitt or worse for Penn State, depending on the point of view. After two straight fouls by the Nittany Lions, an ace by Valeria Vazquez Gomez and a kill by Olivia Babcock, Pitt led 4-0 and was never threatened.

The Nittany Lions never scored back-to-back points until Pitt led 14-6. The Panthers committed only two attack errors in the set and hit .429.

Penn State calmed down in the second set, even taking its first lead of the match at 8-7. But Pitt scored seven of the next 10 points — led by three kills and a pair of blocks from Babcock — to create breathing room.

The Nittany Lions twice came within one point — 17-16 and 18-17 — but Pitt rallied, getting two kills from Torrey Stafford and an ace from Rachel Fairbanks in the closing minutes to secure the win.

Pitt completed the sweep by going on 5-0 and 6-0 runs in the third set to build a big lead and cap off a convincing performance against its in-state nemesis. Penn State kept things interesting, going on a 6-0 run after falling behind 18-8 before Pitt regained its footing thanks to three straight kills from Stafford.