No. 2 seed Cardinals Set to Play No. 1 seed Pitt in NCAA Regional Final
December 08, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
Rivals square off at 4 p.m. Saturday
Pittsburgh -- With the 3-2 win over Creighton on Dec. 7 in Fitzgerald Field House, the Cardinals will be playing in their third straight Elite Eight against No. 1 seed Pitt on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 4 p.m. ET. The match will be televised on ESPNU.Â
About the Cardinals
Charitie Luper had 20 kills with teammate Anna DeBeer adding 19 as the Cardinals downed a scrappy Creighton squad to advance to their third straight and fourth overall Elite Eight. Both DeBeer and Luper had double-doubles in the match as well. With the 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8 victory the Cardinals move to 27-4 on the season. UofL hit .277 for the match with 69 kills, six aces and eight blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse added 12 kills, and ace and three blocks. Reese Robins came off the bench to land five kills and two blocks, one coming in the crucial fifth set. Setter Elle Glock had 49 assists and libero Elena Scott had a match-high 27 digs. The Cardinals are now 3-2 in five set matches.Â
The No. 7-ranked and No. 2-seeded Cardinals advanced to their ninth Sweet Sixteen with a sweep of Western Michigan on Friday night. UofL moves to 26-4 overall this season as Louisville hit .342, hitting .300+ in every set, with five aces and 10 blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse showed out again with nine kills and three blocks while hitting .538, outside hitter Anna DeBeer recorded nine kills, nine digs, and two blocks, and middle blocker Phekran Kong added seven kills and five blocks. Â Middle blocker Reese Robbins provided a crucial spark off the bench as she hit .462 with a career-high eight kills and a block. Libero Elena Scott was exceptional as she again totaled 20+ digs with 22 along with seven assists and two aces, and setter Elle Glock had 26 assists, 11 digs, and an ace.
About the Panthers
The No. 1 seed University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (28-4, 16-2 ACC) swept Washington State (26-8, 14-6 Pac-12) on Thursday night to advance to the Regional Finals. This is the fourth straight season the Panthers have advanced to the Elite Eight and second time they have the right to host the Regional Final match. Olivia Babcock recorded a match-high 15 kills, hitting .500 while adding six digs, five blocks and four aces. She is now fourth in program history for highest hitting percentage in an NCAA Tournament match
No. 1-seeded Pittsburgh is 28-4 overall this season after sweeping Coppin State in the first round and defeating No. 8-seeded USC in four sets in the second round. This is Pittsburgh's eighth straight tournament appearance and 19th overall. The Cardinals and Panthers have faced off twice this season, with the Cards sweeping Pittsburgh in the first matchup at the KFC Yum! Center and falling in five sets in the second matchup in Pittsburgh. Head Coach Dan Fisher is in his 11th season at the helm, having taken the program to unprecedented heights in his time. He has led the Panthers to four straight Sweet 16 appearances, their first three Elite Eight appearances from 2020-2022, and their first two Final Four appearances in the latter two years, all while amassing the most wins in NCAA Division I women's volleyball over the previous five seasons with 140. Right-side hitter Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford lead the Panthers with 377 and 334 kills, respectively, while libero Emmy Klika has 319 digs and middle blocker Emma Monks has 151 blocks on the year to lead the way defensively.
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About the Cardinals
Charitie Luper had 20 kills with teammate Anna DeBeer adding 19 as the Cardinals downed a scrappy Creighton squad to advance to their third straight and fourth overall Elite Eight. Both DeBeer and Luper had double-doubles in the match as well. With the 25-21, 14-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8 victory the Cardinals move to 27-4 on the season. UofL hit .277 for the match with 69 kills, six aces and eight blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse added 12 kills, and ace and three blocks. Reese Robins came off the bench to land five kills and two blocks, one coming in the crucial fifth set. Setter Elle Glock had 49 assists and libero Elena Scott had a match-high 27 digs. The Cardinals are now 3-2 in five set matches.Â
The No. 7-ranked and No. 2-seeded Cardinals advanced to their ninth Sweet Sixteen with a sweep of Western Michigan on Friday night. UofL moves to 26-4 overall this season as Louisville hit .342, hitting .300+ in every set, with five aces and 10 blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse showed out again with nine kills and three blocks while hitting .538, outside hitter Anna DeBeer recorded nine kills, nine digs, and two blocks, and middle blocker Phekran Kong added seven kills and five blocks. Â Middle blocker Reese Robbins provided a crucial spark off the bench as she hit .462 with a career-high eight kills and a block. Libero Elena Scott was exceptional as she again totaled 20+ digs with 22 along with seven assists and two aces, and setter Elle Glock had 26 assists, 11 digs, and an ace.
About the Panthers
The No. 1 seed University of Pittsburgh volleyball team (28-4, 16-2 ACC) swept Washington State (26-8, 14-6 Pac-12) on Thursday night to advance to the Regional Finals. This is the fourth straight season the Panthers have advanced to the Elite Eight and second time they have the right to host the Regional Final match. Olivia Babcock recorded a match-high 15 kills, hitting .500 while adding six digs, five blocks and four aces. She is now fourth in program history for highest hitting percentage in an NCAA Tournament match
No. 1-seeded Pittsburgh is 28-4 overall this season after sweeping Coppin State in the first round and defeating No. 8-seeded USC in four sets in the second round. This is Pittsburgh's eighth straight tournament appearance and 19th overall. The Cardinals and Panthers have faced off twice this season, with the Cards sweeping Pittsburgh in the first matchup at the KFC Yum! Center and falling in five sets in the second matchup in Pittsburgh. Head Coach Dan Fisher is in his 11th season at the helm, having taken the program to unprecedented heights in his time. He has led the Panthers to four straight Sweet 16 appearances, their first three Elite Eight appearances from 2020-2022, and their first two Final Four appearances in the latter two years, all while amassing the most wins in NCAA Division I women's volleyball over the previous five seasons with 140. Right-side hitter Olivia Babcock and outside hitter Torrey Stafford lead the Panthers with 377 and 334 kills, respectively, while libero Emmy Klika has 319 digs and middle blocker Emma Monks has 151 blocks on the year to lead the way defensively.
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