Louisville volleyball defeats Pittsburgh in five-set thriller to remain undefeated
Louisville remains undefeated, takes down Pitt in five sets
Louisville took down Pitt in a five-set battle to remain undefeated on the season at 20-0, which ties a program-best start with 2005.
Claire Chaussee led the Cards with 17 kills on .483 hitting, Anna DeBeer totaled 17 kills as well, Anna Stevenson posted 13 kills, Amaya Tillman added 12 kills and and EIGHT total blocks on the match. Tori Dilfer posted 57 assists on the match — this was a total team effort for a well-rounded team.
In a match between two top-5 powerhouse teams, we got it all. The match went to a decisive fifth set, one filled with ties, lead changes, momentum shifts, and everything you can imagine. Member-Meneh did it ALL for Pitt today, and she hammered one down followed by a Serena Gray block to tie the fifth set up at 13. It came down to the wire. But, Anna Stevenson absolutely unloaded on a ball to give the Cards match point and then in classic Louisville fashion, they sealed the deal with a big-time block.
The Panthers now lost their second match of the season, but still proved to be a national championship contending volleyball team on the court today. Pitt outhit Louisville on the match .338 to .258, and played some seriously high-caliber volleyball. Member-Meneh led with 18 kills on .389 hitting, Ndee added 16 kills on .303 hitting and Kayla Lund posted 14 kills on .407 hitting. Despite the loss, the Panthers gave the Cards all they could handle. I don't suspect they will fall much at all in the rankings or the eyes of the Committee.
The best part of this all, is that we get to do it all over again when these two top-ACC teams face for a second time this season.
Pitt forces fifth set with 25-22 victory in fourth set
Pitt and Louisville hit .333 and .308, respectively in a fourth set that resulted in a Pitt win. We are now headed to a fifth set. Leketor Member-Meneh has been phenomenal this entire match, and willed this team to the position they are in now. She now has 17 kills on .371 hitting and two aces for the match. Ndee is right behind her with four kills.
We are headed to five! For the highest ranked matchup in the ACC, this match has been all it was hyped up to be.
Louisville takes 2-1 lead with 27-25 set three win
The Cardinals take a 2-1 lead on the match after taking set three 27-25.
If you are not watching this match live, let me describe it to you. The last moments of set three had us on the edge of our seats, blood pumping as Pitt tied up the match at 23. Leketor Member-Meneh sent an absolute bullet over the net, one that sent chills down your spine.
From there, the Cards had set point, then they didn't. Then they had set point again, and Kayla Lund said no thank you and tied it up again. Another Pitt service error gave Louisville its third set point, and Chaussee sealed the deal at last.
What a match, though. Pitt has three players in double digit kills — Member-Meneh leads with 11, Ndee notched 10 and Kayla Lund chipped in 10 as well. All three of them are hitting above .300. Serena Gray has been a huge component as well with eight kills. Louisville's Tori Dilfer has plenty of offensive options with Aiko Jones, Anna Stevenson, Amaya Tillman, Anna DeBeer and Claire Chaussee, who has 10 kills on ,429 hitting.
We are headed to the fourth set with a lot on the line, and it should be a battle.
Pitt trails by two in the third set
Set three is underway and Louisville again started out strong with a 7-3 lead. This set looks a lot less clean than the first or second, with Pitt now in negative hitting. The service errors are high in the second set and the Panthers are having difficulty hitting around the Louisville block. But, in the blink of an eye, Pitt was within one point.
The Cards now lead 15-13 in a tight third set.
Louisville takes set two 25-20, evens up the match
The Cardinals are 17-0 on the season when they win the second set. A weird statistic, but they just tied up the match 1-1 with a 25-20 win in set two. They set the tone early in the set — jumping out to a 10-point lead. A big reason for that was Pitt's service errors and the Louisville block coming up big.
The Panthers got better as the set went on and they went on a 4-0 run late to make it 20-16, down by just four points. But Louisville took a timeout and Anna DeBeer hammered down a kill to end the Pitt run. The Cards finished out the set with a 3-0 run to win it 25-19, but Pitt challenged the final point and made the case that there was no touch on the point. That last point was overturned, before DeBeer finished it off for real this time. The Cards took the set 25-20.
No shot that gets by @amaya_shay 😏
— Louisville Volleyball (@UofLVolleyball) October 24, 2021
Set 2 | Cards 23, Pitt 17
Watch @espn: https://t.co/s3H8fqDMsP#GoCards pic.twitter.com/sN9cDoA5DT
Louisville jumps out to demanding lead in set two
The Cards just jumped out to a huge lead in set two, up 14-4 early. The Panthers have notched four service errors already and are hitting a low .100 compared to set one. The Cardinals are staying consistent, hitting .333 on the set.
Claire Chaussee came alive in set two and is now up to a team best five kills on .500 hitting. Amaya Tillman has been a big part of the run as well with four kills on .429 hitting.
THIS BLOCK > 😍
— Louisville Volleyball (@UofLVolleyball) October 24, 2021
Set 2 | Cards 5, Pitt 3
Watch @espn: https://t.co/s3H8fqDMsP#GoCards pic.twitter.com/Tfg8OIpsvd
Pitt takes set one over Louisville, 25-19
Pittsburgh just took the first set 25-19 and a 1-0 lead in the match. The Panthers took the first set behind a phenomenal .714 hitting efficiency and high team energy. Louisville hit .353 for the first set, and it still wasn't enough. What we know though, is that this is going to be a TIGHT matchup in the first ever meeting between top-five opponents.
Leketor Member-Meneh has been unstoppable on the match so far, she leads in kills for the Panthers followed by Chinaza Ndee. The Cards are led by Aiko Jones with five kills on .444 hitting. The Panthers can not let up though, I suspect the Cardinals offense could come alive in the second set.
.@clairechaussee9 with the KILL 👏
— Louisville Volleyball (@UofLVolleyball) October 24, 2021
Set 1 | Cards 8, Pitt 7
Watch @espn: https://t.co/s3H8fqDMsP#GoCards pic.twitter.com/vLodXxrNyA
We've got a tight matchup and GREAT volleyball, Pitt leads 15-11
Wow. This is clearly a matchup between the No. 2 and No. 4 team in the nation. Neither teams have won a national title, but they are both looking to do so this season.
Things were all tied up at 11 when Pitt went on a 4-0 run to take a 15-11 lead and force Louisville and Dani Busboom-Kelly to take a timeout. Early in the match we have seen some really efficient volleyball. Pitt is hitting .667 so far on the match and Louisville is hitting .348. Serena Gray leads the Panthers already with four kills, but Chinaza Ndee has got three kills on three swings so far.
For Louisville, Anna Stevenson leads with four kills, and this offense is dangerous. You can not count them out of this set.
How to watch Pittsburgh at Louisville
- Who: No. 4 Pittsburgh at No. 2 Louisville
- Time: 12 p.m. ET
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 24
- Location: Louisville, KY
- TV channel: ACC Network
Previewing Louisville vs. Pitt
We will FINALLY get to see the head-to-head matchup between Louisville and Pitt as they battle for the top of the ACC and also the entire country, considering these two teams are ranked No. 2 and No. 4. So we have a top-5 battle and an ACC battle.
Louisville is one of just two teams in the nation to remain undefeated — No. 1 Texas is the other. And it is not due to a weak schedule. The Cardinals have defeated FOUR ranked opponents this season, including a sweep over Purdue, a five-set victory over the reigning champions Kentucky, a sweep over Nebraska and a sweep over Georgia Tech, a team that just handed Pitt its first loss of the season. So not only are they unbeaten, but they have faced some of the toughest opponents in college volleyball. If that doesn't shout out to you that this team is legit, I don't know what does. This team is loaded with experience and talent and they have been on the rise, with most of the same players, since the upset over then No. 2 Texas in the 2019 NCAA tournament. Amaya Tillman ranks ninth nationally in blocks per set, and she and Aiko Jones joined together make for a powerful force at the net that makes this team the fifth best blocking team in the nation. Anna Stevenson and Claire Chaussee were there in 2019 and were joined by Anna DeBeer last season to round out the offense, and then they have a phenomenal setter in Tori Dilfer and a great libero in Elena Scott. This stacked team makes for a tough one to beat, but this Pitt team will be no easy task.
BRACKET: Bracket predictions before selections
We knew the Panthers were going to be a team to be reckoned with when they made program history in last season's NCAA tournament. The Panthers ALMOST made it even further to the national semifinals before falling in five sets to Washington after giving up a 2-0 lead. They returned their core and then added some more key players this season and they have looked really strong. They were undefeated until losing to Georgia Tech in five sets. This team has Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee offensively as well as Leketor Member-Meneh and Serena Gray. This team has also played an incredibly tough schedule, boasting the No. 1 RPI in the nation. You couldn't ask for more than this matchup, and it is just the first of two.
How Louisville and Pitt matchup, statistically
Louisville is looking to remain undefeated in the ACC and on the season, while Pitt is looking to take down the No. 2 team in the nation and its ACC challenger. A Louisville win would keep the Cards on top of the ACC and would will likely keep them at No. 2 in the AVCA, whereas a win for Pitt would cause a jump in the rankings and ACC standings.
Louisville ranks in the top five nationally in blocks per set, largely in part due to Amaya Tillman and Aiko Jones. The Cardinals are also fifth in the nation in hitting efficiency.
| Louisville | TALE OF THE TABLE | PITTSBURGH |
|---|---|---|
| 18-0 (8-0) | Record (ACC) | 17-1 (7-1) |
| No. 2 | AVCA ranking | No. 4 |
| Def. Wake Forest, 3-1 | Last time out | Def. Florida State, 3-1 |
| .310 | Hitting percentage | .278 |
| 13.7 | Kills per set | 14.1 |
| .125 | Opponent hitting | .186 |
| 3.0 | Blocks per set | 2.34 |
| 13.2 | Digs per set | 13.79 |
| 100/138 | Aces/Service errors | 99/124 |
| Anna DeBeer, 163 (3.20 k/s) | Kills leader | Kayla Lund, 216 (3.27 k/s) and Chinaza Ndee, 216 (3.22 k/s) |
| Tori Dilfer, 635 (10.76 a/s) | Assist leader | Kylee Levers, 416 (6.21 a/s) |
| Elena Scott, 220 (4.00 d/s) | Digs leader | Ashley Browske, 201 (3.09 d/s) |
AVCA rankings
Louisville and Pitt are ranked in the top-5 in the latest AVCA rankings at No. 2 and No. 4. Here is the latest top 25:
|
RANK |
TEAM |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (64) | 1,600 | 15-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Louisville | 1,536 | 16-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 1,468 | 15-1 | 3 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh | 1,368 | 17-1 | 4 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 1,319 | 13-3 | 5 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 1,283 | 16-2 | 7 |
| 7 | Purdue | 1,192 | 14-3 | 6 |
| 8 | BYU | 1,158 | 18-1 | 8 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 1,102 | 14-3 | 9 |
| 10 | Washington | 1,000 | 13-3 | 10 |
| 11 | Baylor | 949 | 11-4 | 11 |
| 12 | Minnesota | 902 | 10-5 | 12 |
| 13 | Georgia Tech | 776 | 15-3 | 16 |
| 14 | Penn State | 737 | 13-5 | 15 |
| 15 | Stanford | 698 | 11-5 | 18 |
| 16 | Oregon | 662 | 14-4 | 13 |
| 17 | UCLA | 583 | 13-3 | 14 |
| 18 | Utah | 540 | 12-5 | 17 |
| 19 | Western Kentucky | 432 | 18-1 | 20 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 404 | 15-3 | 21 |
| 21 | San Diego | 316 | 14-3 | 22 |
| 22 | Washington State | 257 | 11-6 | 25 |
| 23 | Florida | 194 | 12-6 | 23 |
| 24 | Creighton | 158 | 18-3 | 19 |
| 25 | Pepperdine | 63 | 13-4 | 24 |