No. 21 Cardinals Fall to No. 6 Pitt 3-1

Sunday, October 21

Pittsburgh, PA

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

16-5, 9-1

Pittsburgh

22-0, 10-0

Louisville

Pitt

Melanie McHenry hits the ball during the Cardinals game with Virginia Tech at Cardinal Arena on October 12.

October 21, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Louisville at Pitt Box Score Louisville Season Stats after Pitt

McHenry leads with 15 kills and three blocks

By: Nancy Worley

University of Louisville outside hitter Melanie McHenry had 15 kills, 14 digs, three blocks and an ace but it was not enough to take down No. 6 Pittsburgh in ACC volleyball action Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.

Pitt won 25-22, 26-24, 28-26, 25-20 before a school-record crowd of 2,152 to move its record to 10-0 in the ACC and remain unbeaten at 22-0 for the season. The Panthers were led by Stephanie Williams' 17 kills and five blocks. As a team, UP hit .188 with 14 blocks and eight aces. No. 21-ranked Louisville suffers its first loss in ACC play at 8-1. UofL got 16 kills and four blocks from Amanda Green and Piper Roe added nine kills and seven blocks. The match marked the return of leading hitter Jasmine Bennett, who came off the bench for six kills and five blocks after missing three weeks of ACC play with an abdominal injury.

In the first set, Louisville caught Pitt flat-footed and ran out to a 10-5 lead and forced a Panther timeout. UP had a 6-0 run to tie at 13 and then move their lead to 15-13. Down 21-19, the Cards called timeout and got within one at 21-20 on a Megan Sloan kill. Sloan scored again but the Panthers took advantage of a Cardinal serving error and then scored two more for the 25-22 win. UofL outhit Pitt .114 to .105.

In the second set, UofL fell behind 11-6 early but used a 4-0 run to tie at 13 and take the first lead at 15-14. Pitt burned its last timeout when UofL went up 18-16 but the Cards pushed to a 22-20 lead. Three straight points gave Pitt the lead back. A kill by Piper Roe and a block by Amanda Green gave the Cards set point at 24-23. Pitt tied at 24 and then scored on two straight UofL hitting errors for the 26-24 win for the Panthers.

In the third set, UofL pulled out to a 13-9 lead but a tenacious Pitt team tied at 13 and then took the lead at 15-14. The teams traded points until three straight Cardinal errors gave Pitt a 21-19 lead and UofL was forced to use its last timeout. The Cards regrouped and got a kill from Jasmine Bennett, a block from Amanda Green and a Pitt miscue to get to set point at 24-23. Pitt responded and had match point at 25-24. Emily Scott scored for the Cards and a Melanie McHenry kill gave the Cards another set point. A block by Piper Roe and Megan Sloan gave UofL the 28-26 win.

In the fourth set, UofL pulled out to a 13-4 lead and seemingly had the set in hand before Pitt used a 12-0 run to go up 21-18 and then finished off the Cards 25-20.

The Cards return home to Cardinal Arena Oct. 26 to face Boston College at 7 p.m. and Syracuse on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. as the conference slate continues.