No. 4 Louisville Falls to No. 1 Pitt in Five Sets

Friday, October 25

Pittsburgh, PA

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

16-3,8-1ACC

Pittsburgh

18-1,8-1ACC

Louisville

Pittsburgh

October 25, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Nancy Worley

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- University of Louisville outside hitter Anna DeBeer had 22 kills, 14 digs and two aces but it was not enough as the No. 4 Cardinals fell 3-2 to No. 1 Pitt Friday night at the Peterson Event Center.

Pitt moves to 18-1 overall and is 8-1 in ACC play with the 25-21, 26-28, 25-17, 22-25, 15-12 win. Louisville moves to 16-3 and suffered its first league loss at 8-1.

The Cardinals hit .203 with 13 blocks and just one ace. Charitie Luper had 19 kills with 17 digs and two blocks. Reese Robins had 10 kills with three blocks. Libero Elena Scott had 21 digs and setter Elle Glock had 38 assists.

Pitt was led by Olivia Babcock's 22 kills and four blocks. Torrey Stafford had 15 kills and 13 digs and Bre Kelley had 12 kills and 10 blocks. The Panthers hit .263 with three aces and 16 blocks and survived 12 service errors.
Pitt jumped out to a 7-2 lead early and then used .247 hitting to keep Louisville on its heels. Anna DeBeer led the Cardinal comeback and forced a Pitt timeout at 23-19. It was a DeBeer kill, one of her six in the first set, that put the Cards down just three at 23-21. A service error by the Cardinals and a kil by Babcock gave the Panthers the 25-21 win. The Cards were held to .147 but had three blocks. Pitt had three blocks and an ace in the set.

In the second set, Louisville wrested the momentum from the Panthers and took a 7-3 lead early and forced a timeout by Pitt. The Cards scored twice more coming out of the timeout to stretch the streak to five straight points to go up 9-3. After DeBeer parked another ball, Pitt had to call timeout again, this time trailing 12-5. Later, Pitt came up with a 4-0 run to pull within two at 19-17 and forced a Louisville timeout. The teams tied back and forth down the stretch and then finally, tied at 26, UofL scored on a service error by Babcock and a block by Phekran Kong to give Louisville the 28-26 win.

In the third set, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 7-4 lead but the Cardinals did not let the Panthers spread that lead, trailing by just two at the media time out at 15-13. But after that break, Pitt put together a 4-1 run to go up 19-14 and cause the Cardinals to call timeout. Louisville scored two straight to get to 19-16 and Pitt called timeout to try to stop the run. The strategy worked as the Panthers went on a 6-2 run down the stretch for the win.

Louisville took the lead at 9-8 on a Anna DeBeer kill early in the fourth set. The Panthers tied at 16. The Cards spread the lead to 22-19 on an Anna DeBeer kill forcing Pitt to call timeout. The Panthers then scored three points to pull within one at 23-22. Luper landed a kill for set point and Anna DeBeer went cross court for the 25-22 win to force a fifth set.

Pitt went up 5-2 early in the fifth set. After their timeout, the Cardinals pulled within one at 6-5 on a DeBeer's 22^nd kill. The teams traded points and a kill by Cara Cresse put the Cards within one point at 8-7 and the switch. Pitt scored twice more before a Charitie Luper kill put an end to the run. After a Louisville timeout, Pitt scored after a long rally to get to 12-8. DeBeer and Phekran Kong had two straight blocks to pull within one at at 13-12 and force a Panther timeout. Kills by Bayless and Valeria Vazquez Gomez gave Pitt the 15-12 win.