Louisville Overthrows Pitt as ACC Leaders

MATCH STATS

Louisville defeats Pitt, 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12)
Louisville improves to 16-6; Pitt drops to 16-6
Louisville, Kentucky
Attendance: 889
Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Panthers were defeated in 5 on Friday night and Louisville took over as the ACC leader. Senior outside hitter, Tess Clark, led the Cardinals to victory.

Pitt hit .155 on the night, with a .370 hitting percentage in the fourth set, as Louisville earned a .190 clip hitting at least .400 in the third and fifth sets. The Cardinals out blocked the Panthers 12-10.

Pitt setter Kamalani Akeo totaled 34 assists and 13 digs for a double-double. On the other side of the net, Wilma Rivera just missed a double-double of her own with 53 assists and nine digs.

Four Pitt player posted double-figure kills led by Kayla Lund with a double-double on 12 kills (.207) and 10 digs. Mika Markovic put up 11 kills and four block assists. Mariah Bell and Stephanie Williams with 10 kills on .296 and .273 clips, respectively.

Louisville’s offense was led by Tess Clark, who tied her career best at 19 kills on a .342 hitting percentage. Melanie McHenry notched 13 kills and 12 digs for a double-double and Amanda Green had only three errors on 25 swings for a .320 clip.

Both teams will continue with ACC Play as Pitt takes on Notre Dame and Louisville travels to Wake Forest.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy of Louisville Athletics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Pittsburgh volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Louisville Friday, Oct. 27, at Cardinal Arena in Louisville, Ky.

The Panthers are now 16-6 on the season and 9-2 in ACC play, while Louisville also holds a 16-6 overall mark and is 10-2 in conference action.

“Louisville is a very good team and they pushed us,” said head coach Dan Fisher. “We weren’t playing very well and still found a way to get to a fifth set. We got a lift off the bench from Mariah [Bell] and I thought Kayla [Lund] did a nice job but we were searching for offensive answers all night and were going to have to improve in that on Sunday.”

Despite dropping the opening set 25-23, Pitt bounced back to win the second frame easily, 25-15. Tied 1-1, The Panthers forced a fifth set after losing the third 25-18, but winning the fourth 25-19. Pitt fell in the final set 15-12.

The Panthers won the serving game 8-2, with half of those coming from redshirt sophomore Angela Seman, but struggled to find consistency in their offense despite having four players tally double-digit kills.

Freshman Kayla Lund led the way with 12 kills, while sophomore Nika Markovic added 11. Both senior Mariah Belland redshirt sophomore Stephanie Williams each posted 10.

Two Panthers finished with double-doubles, including Lund who had 10 digs and junior setter Kamalani Akeo. Akeo concluded the match with 53 assists and 13 digs.

Pitt tallied 10 team blocks on the night, with five block assists coming from sophomore Layne Van Buskirk.

Set One: Louisville 25, Pitt 23

In a close opening set, the Panthers fell to Louisville 25-23.

After trailing early in the set, Pitt used a six-point run, which included multiple Cardinal errors and back-to-back kills by Williams and Markovic, to catch Louisville and take a 14-10 lead.

The Panthers remained out in front for just a short period as the Cardinals outscored Pitt 7-2 over the next nine points to regain the lead, 17-15, and force the Panthers to call their first timeout.

Pitt battled following the break and found themselves back out in front 21-19, but another swing in momentum in favor of Louisville gave the Cardinals the first set win.

Set Two: Pitt 25, Louisville 15

The Panthers bounced back in the second set to take down Louisville 22-15, behind a 12-kill performance. Pitt hit .237 in the frame, while holding the Cardinals to a .050 clip.

After a close start to the set, the Panthers found a rhythm that put them up 15-11. Pitt continued to force Louisville’s hand as the Panthers posted two aces, calling for a Cardinals timeout.

Pitt led 18-12 at the break, but used a timeout of its own after Louisville posted back-to-back points. Out of the timeout, a kill by Lund and four attacking errors by the Cardinals gave the Panthers a 23-14 advantage.

After earning set point on a serving error by Louisville, Bell closed out the frame for Pitt with a final kill.

Set Three: Louisville 25, Pitt 18

The Cardinals took a 2-1 lead in the match after defeating the Panthers 25-18 in the third set.

The two teams battled through the opening points of the frame, but following the media timeout, Louisville took advantage of multiple Pitt errors to control the score.

From the break, the Cardinals outscored the Panthers 11-3 to take the set.

Set Four: Pitt 25, Louisville 19

A 25-19 win in the fourth set for the Panthers tied the match at two sets apiece, forcing a fifth set between the two teams.

Louisville errors gave Pitt an early 12-9 lead in the set, forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout. However, that didn’t stop Louisville from finding a way back as Pitt used a break of its own after the Cards pulled within one, 16-15.

Out of the timeout, the Panthers went on a four-point run to extend its lead to five points and finished off the set with four kills and an ace by Seman.

Set Five: Louisville 15, Pitt 12

Pitt fell to Louisville in the fifth set, in a tough-fought battle 15-12.

The Panthers found a 5-2 lead at the start of the set, forcing a Cardinals timeout, but following the break, Louisville outscored the Panthers 11-2 to move out in front 13-7.

Pitt used both of its timeouts through the run, but found three straight points to pull back within three, 13-10. The next point gave the Cardinals match point.

Louisville won the match two points later on a final kill.

Up Next

Pitt closes out the weekend at Notre Dame with a 1 p.m. match-up Sunday, Oct. 29.

Courtesy of Pitt Athletics