Friday, October 23
Pittsburgh, PA
7:00 p.m.
University of Louisville
at
Pittsburgh
No. 6 Louisville Heads to Showdown with No. 19 Pitt
October 22, 2020 | Women's Volleyball
Two long-time rivals will face each other twice this weekend
The No. 6 ranked Louisville Cardinal volleyball team heads to Pittsburgh to face rival No. 10-ranked Pitt this weekend. UofL plays Pitt Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. on Friday and then again on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 3:30 p.m.
The matches will mark the end of the fall portion of the schedule as regular season play will resume in the spring semester.
About the Panthers
After being swept by Syracuse during the first weekend, the Panthers are showing signs of life. Pitt swept Boston College the second weekend before hitting the road to South Bend. Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee accounted for nearly half of the Panthers' kill output as 10th-ranked Pitt handed No. 5 Notre Dame its first loss of the 2020 season with a 3-1 win on Sunday. After falling in five sets to the Fighting Irish Friday night, Pitt earned the rematch victory by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17. The win tied Pitt's second-highest ranked victory in program history, after defeating No. 4 Penn State in 2019. The Panthers had a season-best 19.0 team blocks in the upset.
Last Meeting with The Panthers
The two teams met twice last season. At Pitt, Amber Stivrins led with 10 kills, but her efforts were not enough as the Cards fell to No. 3 Pitt 25-21, 25-22, and 25-20.
In Louisville, in the regular season finale, the Cardinals hit .146 with 13 blocks. Amaya Tillman's career-high 13 blocks and 14 kills from Claire Chaussee was not enough firepower for UofL to down No. 2 Pitt UofL hit .116 with one ace and 16 blocks in the 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12 loss. Anna Stevenson added seven kills and Aiko Jones had 10. Tori Dilfer had a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs. Pitt hit .285 with 12 blocks and five aces and ran the table in the league at 18-0.
Louisville Stat National Rankings Roundup
Team
No. 3 in Blocks/Set 3.25
No. 4 in Kill/Sets 14.50
No. 6 in Hitting percentage .285
No. 5 in Opponent Hitting percentage .131
Individual
No. 2 in Blocks/Set Amaya Tillman 2.13
No. 3 in Hitting % Anna Stevenson .477
No. 6 in Blocks/Set Aiko Jones 1.44
Best Hitting Percentage, Most Blocks & Most Assists in a Single Match
Louisville's .474 hitting percentage against Boston College on Oct. 2 is the best of any Division I team this season in a three-set match, and the Cardinals' 19.0 team blocks against the Eagles on Oct. 3 is the most by any team in a four-set match (tied with Kentucky.)
Tillman No. 2 in the Nation as Individual
Louisville's Amaya Tillman averages 2.13 blocks per set which is No. 2 the nation.
Career Rankings Among Active DI Players
Aiko Jones is 19th on the Career Hitting Percentage Rankings with a career mark of .258. Anna Stevenson is ranked No. 25 in the same category with a .249.
Recruiting Class Ranked No. 17
The Cards' recruiting class for the Class of 2020 has been ranked No. 17 by PrepVolleyball.com. The Cardinals signed Ayden Bartlett, 5-8 DS/Libero, Leavenworth (Kansas); Anna DeBeer, 5-11 OH, Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky); Phekran "PK" Kong, 6-3 MB, Washington (Sioux Falls, South Dakota); Ceci Rush, 5-6 DS/Libero, Providence (Clarksville, Indiana); Brooke Smith, 6-2 OH, Leo (Indiana).
Aiko Jones Named ACC Player of the Week
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Jones shone in Louisville's sweep of No. 8 Syracuse. The Cardinal had double-digit kills in both contests, highlighted by a .500 hitting percentage on 11 kills in Friday's 3-0 win. Jones racked up 28 total kills on a .345 hitting percentage while adding nine blocks, six digs and two aces across the two matches.
About the Cardinals
The matches will mark the end of the fall portion of the schedule as regular season play will resume in the spring semester.
About the Panthers
After being swept by Syracuse during the first weekend, the Panthers are showing signs of life. Pitt swept Boston College the second weekend before hitting the road to South Bend. Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee accounted for nearly half of the Panthers' kill output as 10th-ranked Pitt handed No. 5 Notre Dame its first loss of the 2020 season with a 3-1 win on Sunday. After falling in five sets to the Fighting Irish Friday night, Pitt earned the rematch victory by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-17. The win tied Pitt's second-highest ranked victory in program history, after defeating No. 4 Penn State in 2019. The Panthers had a season-best 19.0 team blocks in the upset.
Last Meeting with The Panthers
The two teams met twice last season. At Pitt, Amber Stivrins led with 10 kills, but her efforts were not enough as the Cards fell to No. 3 Pitt 25-21, 25-22, and 25-20.
In Louisville, in the regular season finale, the Cardinals hit .146 with 13 blocks. Amaya Tillman's career-high 13 blocks and 14 kills from Claire Chaussee was not enough firepower for UofL to down No. 2 Pitt UofL hit .116 with one ace and 16 blocks in the 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12 loss. Anna Stevenson added seven kills and Aiko Jones had 10. Tori Dilfer had a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs. Pitt hit .285 with 12 blocks and five aces and ran the table in the league at 18-0.
Louisville Stat National Rankings Roundup
Team
No. 3 in Blocks/Set 3.25
No. 4 in Kill/Sets 14.50
No. 6 in Hitting percentage .285
No. 5 in Opponent Hitting percentage .131
Individual
No. 2 in Blocks/Set Amaya Tillman 2.13
No. 3 in Hitting % Anna Stevenson .477
No. 6 in Blocks/Set Aiko Jones 1.44
Best Hitting Percentage, Most Blocks & Most Assists in a Single Match
Louisville's .474 hitting percentage against Boston College on Oct. 2 is the best of any Division I team this season in a three-set match, and the Cardinals' 19.0 team blocks against the Eagles on Oct. 3 is the most by any team in a four-set match (tied with Kentucky.)
Tillman No. 2 in the Nation as Individual
Louisville's Amaya Tillman averages 2.13 blocks per set which is No. 2 the nation.
Career Rankings Among Active DI Players
Aiko Jones is 19th on the Career Hitting Percentage Rankings with a career mark of .258. Anna Stevenson is ranked No. 25 in the same category with a .249.
Recruiting Class Ranked No. 17
The Cards' recruiting class for the Class of 2020 has been ranked No. 17 by PrepVolleyball.com. The Cardinals signed Ayden Bartlett, 5-8 DS/Libero, Leavenworth (Kansas); Anna DeBeer, 5-11 OH, Assumption (Louisville, Kentucky); Phekran "PK" Kong, 6-3 MB, Washington (Sioux Falls, South Dakota); Ceci Rush, 5-6 DS/Libero, Providence (Clarksville, Indiana); Brooke Smith, 6-2 OH, Leo (Indiana).
Aiko Jones Named ACC Player of the Week
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Jones shone in Louisville's sweep of No. 8 Syracuse. The Cardinal had double-digit kills in both contests, highlighted by a .500 hitting percentage on 11 kills in Friday's 3-0 win. Jones racked up 28 total kills on a .345 hitting percentage while adding nine blocks, six digs and two aces across the two matches.
About the Cardinals
- The Cardinals are 14-12 versus Pitt and have been in both the Big East and the ACC with the Panthers. Coach Dani Busboom Kelly is 1-3 versus Pitt.
- The Cardinals is third in the nation in blocks per set (3.25), No. 5 in opponent hitting percentage (.131) and is No. 6 in Hitting Percentage (.385) and No. 4 in Kills Per Set (14.5). Individually Amaya Tillman is No. 3 in Division 1 in blocks/set at 2.13.
- The Cardinals made their first appearance in the 2019 NCAA Elite Eight after beating No. 2 ranked Texas, an upset was called the biggest in NCAA Volleyball Tournament history.
- They made their fifth appearance in the Sweet Sixteen after upsetting Western Kentucky. Louisville has won 15 first round matches in their 28 years of NCAA play. The Hilltoppers ended their Cinderella season with a 30-2 mark, with both losses coming at the hands of the Cardinals. UofL has an overall mark of 19-28 including one stretch of 16 straight appearances from 1998-2013.
- UofL was chosen No. 2 in the Preseason ACC Poll just behind Pitt. The Cards are currently ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Top 15 poll. It is the highest ranking since they were 7th the week of 12/5/2005.
- The Cards placed AVCA All-East Region selection, Aiko Jones, on 1st Team All-ACC, Anna Stevenson was 2nd Team and Amber Stivrins and Amaya Tillman were on the All-Freshmen squad. Aiko Jones, Anna Stevenson and Tori Dilfer were named to the Preseason All-ACC team.
- The Cards have five true freshmen who make up a recruiting class that was nationally ranked.
Players Mentioned
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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