Friday, October 21
Charlottesville, VA
7:00 p.m.
University of Louisville
at
Virginia
Photo by: Adam Creech | Louisville Athletics
No. 2 Louisville Volleyball Heads to Virginia Before Top Ten Showdown with No. 8 Pitt
October 20, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
Sunday's Pitt match will be televised on ESPNU
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --The No. 2-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team takes its 8-0 conference record on the road as ACC play continues at Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and at No. 8-ranked Pittsburgh on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Pitt match will be televised on ESPNU.Â
About the Cards
Louisville extended its unbeaten streak in ACC play to 37 straight matches and moved to 17-1 overall and 8-0 in ACC play with two four-set wins against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest this past weekend. Claire Chaussee notched her 1,000th career kill on Sunday with 15 kills against Wake Forest. Chaussee also had 18 kills on Friday against Virginia Tech. Aiko Jones had two double-digit kill matches with 11 kills (.333) against Virginia Tech and 20 kills (.385) against Wake Forest. Amaya Tillman had a career-high 14 kills and career-high four aces against Wake Forest and 11 kills and seven blocks against Virginia Tech. Libero Elena Scott recorded 33 digs, 12 assists, and two aces on the weekend while Raquel Lazaro had 97 assists, five aces, 16 digs, and eight blocks.Â
About the CavaliersÂ
Virginia won a tight five-setter against FSU 21-25, 30-28, 11-25, 25-22, and 15-22 last Friday but fell to Miami 25-22, 29-31, 12-25, and 7-25 on Sunday afternoon to move to 9-10 on the season and 1-7 in the ACC. The Cavaliers were led by 6-3 outside hitter Grace Turner who notched 15 kills against FSU and 16 against Miami. On the season, Turner leads the team with 263 kills. In the five-setter against FSU, sophomore Abby Tadder recorded 18 kills hitting .517, two aces, and four blocks. The 6-2 middle blocker leads the team in blocks with 81 and is 10th in the ACC in hitting percentage, hitting .347 on the season.
About the Panthers
No. 8 Pittsburgh is the only other team undefeated in ACC play. The Panthers are 8-0 in the ACC and 18-2 on the season. Pitt had a double-sweep weekend against Miami 25-22, 25-18, and 25-22 on Friday and FSU 25-19, 25-18, and 25-22 on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers were led by Courtney Buzzerio who recorded 12 kills hitting .370 on Friday against Miami and 16 kills hitting .444 against FSU. Buzzerio is 8th in the ACC in kills with 3.59 kills per set and has recorded 255 kills this season. Serena Gray, a 6-2 middle blocker, finished the weekend with 11 kills and 12 blocks. Gray is ranked 2nd in the ACC in hitting percentage (.405) and 7th in blocks with 1.15 blocks per set and 78 total.Â
Chaussee Joins 1,000 Kill ClubÂ
Claire Chaussee joined the 1,000 Career Kill Club after her first kill in the match against Wake Forest.Â
ACC Winning Streak
Louisville has the nation's second-longest winning streak against conference opponents. The Cardinals have won 37 consecutive league matches. The last team to beat Louisville was Pitt on Oct. 23, 2020. WKU has the longest streak in the nation at 51 straight in CUSA.
Mbonu to the Rescue
Nena Mbonu stepped in for the injured Anna DeBeer and got her first two starts of the season against Miami and Florida State. She hit .636 with 8 kills against the Hurricanes and hit .563 with 10 kills against FSU. She is currently hitting .277 with 77 kills and 11 blocks.
Deuce Games
In 2022, UofL has had 9 sets go "overtime" with a 7-2 mark in deuce games. In 2021, UofL had 11 deuce sets with an 8-3 mark in deuce games.
Conference Openers
UofL is 6-3 in ACC Opening matches.
UofL was 1-0 in AAC Opening matches.
UofL was 8-0 in Big East Opening matches.
UofL was 9-1 in Conference USA Opening matches.
Since 1995, UofL is 23-4 in conference openers.
Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.319) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.163), first in blocks (184 total) and blocks per set (2.97), and third in service aces per set (1.77), assists per set (12.50) and kills per set (13.52).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Cara Cresse – 4th in blocks with 1.24 blocks/set
Anna DeBeer – 4th in service aces with 0.43 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 2nd in assists with 10.31 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.40 blocks/set, 4th in hitting percentage with .370Â
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 4.15 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 5th in kills with 3.77 kills/set, 7th in points with 4.12 pts/set
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.33 blocks/set
NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 2 (.319)
Blocks/Set: No. 3 (2.97)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 18 (.163)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 19 in blocks/set (1.40)
Reloading from Historic 2021 Run
In 2022, statistically, the Cardinals return:
Kills: 74%
Service Aces: 72%
Points: 72%
Digs: 83%
Blocks: 62%
RPI Run Down with Cards at No. 2
UofL boasts a No. 2 RPI as of the week of Oct. 3. The Cardinals' final RPI in 2021 was No. 1. There was no RPI released for the 2020 pandemic season. Â RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index and the index comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). The opponents' winning percentage and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents both comprise the strength of schedule (SOS). Thus, the SOS accounts for 75% of the RPI calculation and is 2/3 its opponents' winning percentage and 1/3 its opponents' opponents' winning percentages.
Louisville at Home
            Sets Lost   Matches Lost
Last Season: Â Â Â Â 6 Â Â Â Â Â Â 0
This Season: Â Â Â Â 7 Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
Â
The Pitt match will be televised on ESPNU.Â
About the Cards
Louisville extended its unbeaten streak in ACC play to 37 straight matches and moved to 17-1 overall and 8-0 in ACC play with two four-set wins against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest this past weekend. Claire Chaussee notched her 1,000th career kill on Sunday with 15 kills against Wake Forest. Chaussee also had 18 kills on Friday against Virginia Tech. Aiko Jones had two double-digit kill matches with 11 kills (.333) against Virginia Tech and 20 kills (.385) against Wake Forest. Amaya Tillman had a career-high 14 kills and career-high four aces against Wake Forest and 11 kills and seven blocks against Virginia Tech. Libero Elena Scott recorded 33 digs, 12 assists, and two aces on the weekend while Raquel Lazaro had 97 assists, five aces, 16 digs, and eight blocks.Â
About the CavaliersÂ
Virginia won a tight five-setter against FSU 21-25, 30-28, 11-25, 25-22, and 15-22 last Friday but fell to Miami 25-22, 29-31, 12-25, and 7-25 on Sunday afternoon to move to 9-10 on the season and 1-7 in the ACC. The Cavaliers were led by 6-3 outside hitter Grace Turner who notched 15 kills against FSU and 16 against Miami. On the season, Turner leads the team with 263 kills. In the five-setter against FSU, sophomore Abby Tadder recorded 18 kills hitting .517, two aces, and four blocks. The 6-2 middle blocker leads the team in blocks with 81 and is 10th in the ACC in hitting percentage, hitting .347 on the season.
About the Panthers
No. 8 Pittsburgh is the only other team undefeated in ACC play. The Panthers are 8-0 in the ACC and 18-2 on the season. Pitt had a double-sweep weekend against Miami 25-22, 25-18, and 25-22 on Friday and FSU 25-19, 25-18, and 25-22 on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers were led by Courtney Buzzerio who recorded 12 kills hitting .370 on Friday against Miami and 16 kills hitting .444 against FSU. Buzzerio is 8th in the ACC in kills with 3.59 kills per set and has recorded 255 kills this season. Serena Gray, a 6-2 middle blocker, finished the weekend with 11 kills and 12 blocks. Gray is ranked 2nd in the ACC in hitting percentage (.405) and 7th in blocks with 1.15 blocks per set and 78 total.Â
Chaussee Joins 1,000 Kill ClubÂ
Claire Chaussee joined the 1,000 Career Kill Club after her first kill in the match against Wake Forest.Â
ACC Winning Streak
Louisville has the nation's second-longest winning streak against conference opponents. The Cardinals have won 37 consecutive league matches. The last team to beat Louisville was Pitt on Oct. 23, 2020. WKU has the longest streak in the nation at 51 straight in CUSA.
Mbonu to the Rescue
Nena Mbonu stepped in for the injured Anna DeBeer and got her first two starts of the season against Miami and Florida State. She hit .636 with 8 kills against the Hurricanes and hit .563 with 10 kills against FSU. She is currently hitting .277 with 77 kills and 11 blocks.
Deuce Games
In 2022, UofL has had 9 sets go "overtime" with a 7-2 mark in deuce games. In 2021, UofL had 11 deuce sets with an 8-3 mark in deuce games.
Conference Openers
UofL is 6-3 in ACC Opening matches.
UofL was 1-0 in AAC Opening matches.
UofL was 8-0 in Big East Opening matches.
UofL was 9-1 in Conference USA Opening matches.
Since 1995, UofL is 23-4 in conference openers.
Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.319) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.163), first in blocks (184 total) and blocks per set (2.97), and third in service aces per set (1.77), assists per set (12.50) and kills per set (13.52).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Cara Cresse – 4th in blocks with 1.24 blocks/set
Anna DeBeer – 4th in service aces with 0.43 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 2nd in assists with 10.31 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.40 blocks/set, 4th in hitting percentage with .370Â
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 4.15 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 5th in kills with 3.77 kills/set, 7th in points with 4.12 pts/set
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.33 blocks/set
NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 2 (.319)
Blocks/Set: No. 3 (2.97)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 18 (.163)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 19 in blocks/set (1.40)
Reloading from Historic 2021 Run
In 2022, statistically, the Cardinals return:
Kills: 74%
Service Aces: 72%
Points: 72%
Digs: 83%
Blocks: 62%
RPI Run Down with Cards at No. 2
UofL boasts a No. 2 RPI as of the week of Oct. 3. The Cardinals' final RPI in 2021 was No. 1. There was no RPI released for the 2020 pandemic season. Â RPI stands for Ratings Percentage Index and the index comprises a team's winning percentage (25%), its opponents' winning percentage (50%), and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents (25%). The opponents' winning percentage and the winning percentage of those opponents' opponents both comprise the strength of schedule (SOS). Thus, the SOS accounts for 75% of the RPI calculation and is 2/3 its opponents' winning percentage and 1/3 its opponents' opponents' winning percentages.
Louisville at Home
            Sets Lost   Matches Lost
Last Season: Â Â Â Â 6 Â Â Â Â Â Â 0
This Season: Â Â Â Â 7 Â Â Â Â Â Â 1
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Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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