No. 1 Ranked Cardinals Beat No. 3 Pitt To Claim ACC Title

Wednesday, November 24

Pittsburgh, PA

5:00 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

27-0,17-0ACC

Pittsburgh

26-3,15-3ACC

Louisville

Pittsburgh

No. 1 Ranked Cardinals Beat No. 3 Pitt To Claim ACC Title

November 24, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Cards stay unbeaten at 27-0 with Notre Dame on tap for Friday

By: Nancy Worley

PITTSBURGH – Claire Chaussee and Anna DeBeer combined for 31 kills to lead the No. 1-ranked University of Louisville to a 25-19, 25-19, 17-25, 25-21 win over No. 3 Pitt to clinch sole possession of the ACC Conference Championship Wednesday night in Fitzgerald Field House.

The Cardinals hit .312 with 11 blocks and six aces. Anna Stevenson added 12 kills and seven blocks. UofL stays unbeaten at 27-0 and 17-0 in the ACC. The match is Louisville's fifth win over a top ten opponent.

Pitt hit .250 with 10 blocks and three aces. The Panthers were led by Chinaza Ndee's 14 kills and five blocks. Pitt had its eight match streak snapped and moved to 0-5 against No. 1 ranked teams. Pitt is 26-3 and 15-3 in the ACC.

Set 1
After trailing early, the Cards tied at seven on a solo block by Anna Stevenson. Pitt regained the lead but a pair of consecutive aces by Aiko Jones gave the Cards the lead at 14-13. UofL spread the lead to three at 17-14 powered by a 3-0 run that triggered a timeout by Pitt. Louisville scored twice more on an ace by Anna DeBeer and a kill by Stevenson. Pitt used its final timeout of the set to try to chill DeBeer's serving that extended to five straight. The tactic worked as DeBeer missed the serve but the Cards scored immediately after with four straight kills by Claire Chaussee from the left side. UofL reached set point on a Pitt service error. Anna DeBeer parked a set from Tori Dilfer for the set winner. UofL hit .414 with three aces and two blocks. Pitt hit .300 with two blocks and no aces.

Set 2
After a 4-0 run early in the second set, Pitt took a 5-3 lead. UofL tied at six after a kill by Claire Chaussee. The teams traded points and the Cards took a two-point lead at 15-13 into the media timeout. The Cards went on a 4-0 scoring run powered by Cece Rush's aggressive serving that kept the Panthers out of system. After Pitt took its first timeout, the Cardinals took the lead to four at 19-15. An Ayden Bartlett ace and a solo block by Aiko Jones moved the Cards to 21-15 and Pitt decided to burn its final timeout. Coming out of the pause, Anna DeBeer made cut shot out of system to come within three of set point at 22-15. Louisville called time out at 23-19 as Pitt closed in down the stretch. A bomb from the hand of Aiko Jones and a Pitt hitting error gave the Ville 25-19 win. Louisville kept the hot hitting hand with a .400 while Pitt's cooled to .162 in the set which translated to a 2-0 set lead going into the break.

Set 3
Pitt dug in and took a 13-10 lead midway through the third set and held on to the margin, going into the media timeout leading 15-12. Pitt spread the lead to 20-16 and Busboom Kelly called timeout. The Panthers used a 6-0 run to get to set point at 24-16. A kill by Amaya Tillman stopped the run but a Cardinal serving error for the 25-17 win bringing the crowd of 3,052 back to life. UofL hit just .212 in the stanza with Pitt heating up to .452 to force a fourth set.

Set 4
The Cardinals jumped out early, going up 4-1 early but the Pitt ran off six straight to go up 7-4 and force a timeout by Louisville. The scoring run spread to nine before Stevenson scored on the slide. Behind Ayden Bartlett's scoring, Louisville came within two and Pitt decided to call timeout with the Panthers leading 14-12. A UP hitting error and a long rally that ended on a DeBeer kill and then an ace by Elena Scott gave the Cards the lead at 15-14. The teams traded points before two straight Panther errors gave the Cards a 20-18 lead. UofL led 22-20 when an Amaya Tillman block ignited the bench. A kill by Anna DeBeer gave UofL set point and a solo block by Stevenson was match point.

The Cardinals finish the regular season when they host Notre Dame on Senior Day at 5 p.m. at L&N Federal Credit Union.