Thursday, December 15
Omaha, Neb.
9:30 PM
University of Louisville
vs
Pittsburgh
Cardinals Set to Face Pitt in NCAA Semifinals in Omaha
December 12, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
Louisville_Tournament_stats_only.pdfLouisville_Stats_after_Regional_Championship.pdf2022_Louisville_VB_Notes_for_NCAA_Finals.pdf
ACC Rivals to face off on Thursday for shot at NCAA title
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The No. 2 overall seed and the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team (30-2, 17-1) hits the road for the second-straight Final Four appearance, facing No. 2 seeded Pittsburgh (31-3, 17-1 ACC) on Thursday evening at  30 minutes following the first match which begins 7 p.m. ET at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
No. 1 seeded Texas will face No. 2 seeded San Diego at the CHI Health Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET
Semifinal winners will play for the National Championship on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m.
How We Got Here
The Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16, before defeating No. 3 Oregon in a five-set thriller in the Elite Eight. The Cards move to 30-2 and advance to their second straight NCAA National Semifinals.
A Look at the Competition
Pittsburgh
The Cards will face their ACC Co-Champion for the third time this season, after losing the first matchup in five (15-25 13-25, 27-25, 25-20, 12-15) and sweeping the second matchup (25-15, 25-21, 25-18). The Panthers (31-3) enter the Final Four, for the second consecutive year, after defeating the defending National Champions, No. 1 seeded Wisconsin, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13) in the Elite Eight and No. 12 Florida 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22). Pittsburgh has a balanced offense with four players with 200+ kills this season, led by Courtney Buzzerio, who was named NCAA Madison Regional MVP, with 448 kills hitting .329. The right side hitter added 33 aces, 10 digs, and 82 blocks to the stat sheet this season. Valeria Vazquez Gomez recorded 351 kills hitting .245, 23 aces, 279 digs, and 38 blocks. Serena Gray led the team in blocks with 127 and added 238 kills hitting .404, 24 aces, and 77 digs. Rachel Fairbanks, who led the team in double-doubles (15), had 136 kills, 851 assists, 39 aces, 282 digs, and 48 blocks.Â
Texas
No. 1 overall seed and No. 1-ranked Texas heads into its 14th Final Four Appearance and their 10th in the last 15 seasons. The Longhorns (26-1) reach the National Semifinals after beating Marquette 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 19-25, 25-17) and Ohio State in the Regional Finals 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 25-21). The Cardinals beat Texas 3-2 to advance to their first Elite Eight in 2019. From that match, Aiko Jones, Amaya Tillman, Claire Chaussee and Alexa Hendricks all played the Longhorns in 2019. Jones had 24 kills, an ace and four blocks.Â
San Diego
No. 2 San Diego continues its historic season, advancing to its first-ever Final Four. The Toreros (31-1) reach the National Semifinals after sweeping Kentucky (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) and winning a five-set thriller against the regional host Stanford (19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 15-9). San Diego has won 28 straight matches, with the Cardinals handing them their only loss back in September. In the match in September, Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee each had 15 kills, with Jones adding three aces and four blocks.Â
About the Cards
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals head to the National Semifinals after sweeping Baylor (25-23, 25-16, 25-17) and winning a five-setter against Oregon (25-23, 23-25, 13-25, 27-25, 15-6). With the wins, UofL moves to 30-2 on the season and advance to their second consecutive semifinal. The Cards will return to the roots of head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, the ACC Coach of the Year, to compete for a shot at the national title. Led by an outside hitter duo, the Cardinals have a well-balanced offense. Claire Chaussee, the ACC Player of the Year, has 415 kills hitting .303, 17 aces, 197 digs, and 41 blocks on the season. Chaussee was named to the All-Regional team. Anna DeBeer, who has returned from an injury and was named the NCAA Louisville Regional MVP, added 152 kills, 24 aces, 153 digs, and 28 blocks. ACC Defensive Player of the Year Amaya Tillman continues to be one of the best blockers in the country. She led the team with 157 this season and added 236 kills hitting .352, 18 aces, and 40 digs. Aiko Jones, named to the All-Regional team, recorded 280 kills, 44 aces, 104 digs, and 100 blocks this season. The ACC Setter of the Year Raquel Lazaro has recorded 1,075 assists this season, adding 55 kills, 22 aces, 225 digs, and 91 blocks. Libero Elena Scott led the team with 433 digs and added 35 aces.
DeBeer Wins Louisville Region MVP Â
Anna DeBeer was voted MVP of the Louisville Region. In the Regional Final, she had 17 kills, 10 digs and three blocks against Oregon.Â
Jones and Chaussee Named All-Louisville Region
Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee were named All-Louisville Region. Jones had 12 kills, two aces and two blocks while Chaussee had 13 kills, nine digs and a block against Oregon.Â
Cards Rake in AVCA East Region Honors
Claire Chaussee was named AVCA East Region Player of the Year. She is joined by First Team All-East Region teammates Amaya Tillman, Raquel Lazaro, Aiko Jones and Elena Scott.Â
Chaussee Named AVCA East Region Player of the Year
Chausee, the 2022 ACC Player of the Year is a four-time ACC Player of the Week and was named National Player of the Week.  She ranked 16th in career kills with 1,171 and was named All-Cardinal Classic ... Named ACC All-Preseason  and leads No. 4 ranked team in kills and attacks. She was named to last year's All-Louisville Regional team, HM AVCA All-East Region team.Â
DBK wins East Region Coach of the Year
Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly was named the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time. She led the Cardinals to a 28-2 record, an ACC Championship, a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship and was voted as ACC Coach of the Year. Â
Cards Win ACC Title with sweep of ND
 Senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman had 11 kills, with eight blocks, hitting .500 to lead the No. 4 Cards to a share of the ACC Championship as the Cardinals downed Notre Dame 25-22, 25-22, 25-13. This is the Cards' fifth ACC title. UofL shares the title with Pitt.  The Cardinals earned the tiebreaker with a 5-3 set advantage and received the ACC's automatic qualifier. Louisville ends the regular season with a 26-2 mark and went 17-1 in conference play.
Chaussee Wins ACC POY, Tillman is DPOY, Lazaro is SOY and DBK is COY
Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Champion Louisville earned four of the five season's awards to headline the 2022 All-ACC Volleyball honors.
Louisville graduate student outside hitter Claire Chaussee earned ACC Player of the Year, while her teammate, senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Lazaro was tabbed the ACC Setter of the Year. After leading the Cardinals to a regular season 26-2 regular-season record and third consecutive ACC Championship, Dani Busboom Kelly was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the third straight year and third time in her career.
Chaussee led the Cardinals with 3.81 kills per set to fuel the Louisville offense. She tallied 370 kills this season and registered four double-doubles, logging 10 or more kills 20 times. She helped keep Louisville's hopes at a share of the ACC title alive with a season-high 27 kills in a five-set victory over Georgia Tech. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native was named ACC Player of the Week five times during the season.
Tillman leads the conference in blocks per set with 1.53, totaling 141 on the season. The two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2020) is tied for sixth nationally in blocks per set and tied for 25th-most blocks this season. She posted a season-best 10 blocks against Pitt and registered 15 games with five or more blocks. Lazaro, a graduate transfer, amassed 925 assists this season running Cardinals' offense, averaging 9.95 assists per set. With six double-doubles this season, Lazaro recorded a season-best 57 assists in Louisville's five-set comeback over Georgia Tech. The Málaga, Spain, native helped lead the Cardinals to their third consecutive league title, clinching a share after a 3-0 sweep of Notre Dame on Wednesday where she had 29 assists.
Under Busboom Kelly's direction, Louisville worked its way to the 2022 ACC title. With a 26-2 record, the ACC Co-Champion earned a No. 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Louisville is second nationally in blocks per set and 10th nationally in hitting percentage (.289). The Cardinals face the second most difficult schedule in the nation, owning nine wins against ranked opponents in 2022.
Five Cards Earn All-ACC First Team Honors
All three award winners were named to the All-ACC Teams with Chaussee, Tillman and Lazaro earning first-team honors along with teammates Aiko Jones and Elena Scott.
ACC Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.289) and opponent hitting percentage (.148), first in blocks (331 total) and blocks per set (2.98), second in service aces per set (1.68), and third in kills per set (13.05).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Aiko Jones – 3rd in service aces with 0.40 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 5th in assists with 10.05 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.48 blocks/set, 5th in hitting % with 0.352
PK Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.26 blocks/set
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 3.90 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 6th in kills with 3.74 kills/setÂ
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.29 blocks/set
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NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 9 (.289)
Blocks/Set: No. 3 (2.98)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 6 (.148)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 9 in blocks/set (1.48)
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No. 1 seeded Texas will face No. 2 seeded San Diego at the CHI Health Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET
Semifinal winners will play for the National Championship on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m.
How We Got Here
The Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16, before defeating No. 3 Oregon in a five-set thriller in the Elite Eight. The Cards move to 30-2 and advance to their second straight NCAA National Semifinals.
A Look at the Competition
Pittsburgh
The Cards will face their ACC Co-Champion for the third time this season, after losing the first matchup in five (15-25 13-25, 27-25, 25-20, 12-15) and sweeping the second matchup (25-15, 25-21, 25-18). The Panthers (31-3) enter the Final Four, for the second consecutive year, after defeating the defending National Champions, No. 1 seeded Wisconsin, 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13) in the Elite Eight and No. 12 Florida 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22). Pittsburgh has a balanced offense with four players with 200+ kills this season, led by Courtney Buzzerio, who was named NCAA Madison Regional MVP, with 448 kills hitting .329. The right side hitter added 33 aces, 10 digs, and 82 blocks to the stat sheet this season. Valeria Vazquez Gomez recorded 351 kills hitting .245, 23 aces, 279 digs, and 38 blocks. Serena Gray led the team in blocks with 127 and added 238 kills hitting .404, 24 aces, and 77 digs. Rachel Fairbanks, who led the team in double-doubles (15), had 136 kills, 851 assists, 39 aces, 282 digs, and 48 blocks.Â
Texas
No. 1 overall seed and No. 1-ranked Texas heads into its 14th Final Four Appearance and their 10th in the last 15 seasons. The Longhorns (26-1) reach the National Semifinals after beating Marquette 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 19-25, 25-17) and Ohio State in the Regional Finals 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 25-21). The Cardinals beat Texas 3-2 to advance to their first Elite Eight in 2019. From that match, Aiko Jones, Amaya Tillman, Claire Chaussee and Alexa Hendricks all played the Longhorns in 2019. Jones had 24 kills, an ace and four blocks.Â
San Diego
No. 2 San Diego continues its historic season, advancing to its first-ever Final Four. The Toreros (31-1) reach the National Semifinals after sweeping Kentucky (25-22, 25-19, 25-18) and winning a five-set thriller against the regional host Stanford (19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 15-9). San Diego has won 28 straight matches, with the Cardinals handing them their only loss back in September. In the match in September, Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee each had 15 kills, with Jones adding three aces and four blocks.Â
About the Cards
The No. 1-ranked Cardinals head to the National Semifinals after sweeping Baylor (25-23, 25-16, 25-17) and winning a five-setter against Oregon (25-23, 23-25, 13-25, 27-25, 15-6). With the wins, UofL moves to 30-2 on the season and advance to their second consecutive semifinal. The Cards will return to the roots of head coach Dani Busboom Kelly, the ACC Coach of the Year, to compete for a shot at the national title. Led by an outside hitter duo, the Cardinals have a well-balanced offense. Claire Chaussee, the ACC Player of the Year, has 415 kills hitting .303, 17 aces, 197 digs, and 41 blocks on the season. Chaussee was named to the All-Regional team. Anna DeBeer, who has returned from an injury and was named the NCAA Louisville Regional MVP, added 152 kills, 24 aces, 153 digs, and 28 blocks. ACC Defensive Player of the Year Amaya Tillman continues to be one of the best blockers in the country. She led the team with 157 this season and added 236 kills hitting .352, 18 aces, and 40 digs. Aiko Jones, named to the All-Regional team, recorded 280 kills, 44 aces, 104 digs, and 100 blocks this season. The ACC Setter of the Year Raquel Lazaro has recorded 1,075 assists this season, adding 55 kills, 22 aces, 225 digs, and 91 blocks. Libero Elena Scott led the team with 433 digs and added 35 aces.
DeBeer Wins Louisville Region MVP Â
Anna DeBeer was voted MVP of the Louisville Region. In the Regional Final, she had 17 kills, 10 digs and three blocks against Oregon.Â
Jones and Chaussee Named All-Louisville Region
Aiko Jones and Claire Chaussee were named All-Louisville Region. Jones had 12 kills, two aces and two blocks while Chaussee had 13 kills, nine digs and a block against Oregon.Â
Cards Rake in AVCA East Region Honors
Claire Chaussee was named AVCA East Region Player of the Year. She is joined by First Team All-East Region teammates Amaya Tillman, Raquel Lazaro, Aiko Jones and Elena Scott.Â
Chaussee Named AVCA East Region Player of the Year
Chausee, the 2022 ACC Player of the Year is a four-time ACC Player of the Week and was named National Player of the Week.  She ranked 16th in career kills with 1,171 and was named All-Cardinal Classic ... Named ACC All-Preseason  and leads No. 4 ranked team in kills and attacks. She was named to last year's All-Louisville Regional team, HM AVCA All-East Region team.Â
DBK wins East Region Coach of the Year
Head coach Dani Busboom Kelly was named the AVCA East Region Coach of the Year for the fourth time. She led the Cardinals to a 28-2 record, an ACC Championship, a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Championship and was voted as ACC Coach of the Year. Â
Cards Win ACC Title with sweep of ND
 Senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman had 11 kills, with eight blocks, hitting .500 to lead the No. 4 Cards to a share of the ACC Championship as the Cardinals downed Notre Dame 25-22, 25-22, 25-13. This is the Cards' fifth ACC title. UofL shares the title with Pitt.  The Cardinals earned the tiebreaker with a 5-3 set advantage and received the ACC's automatic qualifier. Louisville ends the regular season with a 26-2 mark and went 17-1 in conference play.
Chaussee Wins ACC POY, Tillman is DPOY, Lazaro is SOY and DBK is COY
Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Champion Louisville earned four of the five season's awards to headline the 2022 All-ACC Volleyball honors.
Louisville graduate student outside hitter Claire Chaussee earned ACC Player of the Year, while her teammate, senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Lazaro was tabbed the ACC Setter of the Year. After leading the Cardinals to a regular season 26-2 regular-season record and third consecutive ACC Championship, Dani Busboom Kelly was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the third straight year and third time in her career.
Chaussee led the Cardinals with 3.81 kills per set to fuel the Louisville offense. She tallied 370 kills this season and registered four double-doubles, logging 10 or more kills 20 times. She helped keep Louisville's hopes at a share of the ACC title alive with a season-high 27 kills in a five-set victory over Georgia Tech. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native was named ACC Player of the Week five times during the season.
Tillman leads the conference in blocks per set with 1.53, totaling 141 on the season. The two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year (2020) is tied for sixth nationally in blocks per set and tied for 25th-most blocks this season. She posted a season-best 10 blocks against Pitt and registered 15 games with five or more blocks. Lazaro, a graduate transfer, amassed 925 assists this season running Cardinals' offense, averaging 9.95 assists per set. With six double-doubles this season, Lazaro recorded a season-best 57 assists in Louisville's five-set comeback over Georgia Tech. The Málaga, Spain, native helped lead the Cardinals to their third consecutive league title, clinching a share after a 3-0 sweep of Notre Dame on Wednesday where she had 29 assists.
Under Busboom Kelly's direction, Louisville worked its way to the 2022 ACC title. With a 26-2 record, the ACC Co-Champion earned a No. 1 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Louisville is second nationally in blocks per set and 10th nationally in hitting percentage (.289). The Cardinals face the second most difficult schedule in the nation, owning nine wins against ranked opponents in 2022.
Five Cards Earn All-ACC First Team Honors
All three award winners were named to the All-ACC Teams with Chaussee, Tillman and Lazaro earning first-team honors along with teammates Aiko Jones and Elena Scott.
ACC Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.289) and opponent hitting percentage (.148), first in blocks (331 total) and blocks per set (2.98), second in service aces per set (1.68), and third in kills per set (13.05).
Cardinals in the ACC Rankings
Aiko Jones – 3rd in service aces with 0.40 aces/set
Raquel Lazaro – 5th in assists with 10.05 assists/set
Amaya Tillman – 1st in blocks with 1.48 blocks/set, 5th in hitting % with 0.352
PK Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.26 blocks/set
Elena Scott – 5th in digs with 3.90 digs/set
Claire Chaussee – 6th in kills with 3.74 kills/setÂ
Phekran Kong – 3rd in blocks with 1.29 blocks/set
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NCAA Team Rankings
Hitting Percentage: No. 9 (.289)
Blocks/Set: No. 3 (2.98)
Opp. Hitting Percentage: No. 6 (.148)
NCAA Individual Rankings
Amaya Tillman – No. 9 in blocks/set (1.48)
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Players Mentioned
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