The Louisville Cardinals got their sweet revenge with a three-set win (25-15, 25-21, 25-18) over Pittsburgh on Friday night. The Cards dominated all facets of the game and beat the Panthers in virtually every statistical category. The Cards hit .309 as a team and held Pitt to a .088 clip. They out-blocked the Panthers 12 to five and posted EIGHT service aces to the Panther's one. On top of that, the Cards totaled 32 digs compared to Pitt's 22 and registered seven less attacking errors.
Pitt struggled in the serve and pass game — Louisville came out aggressive from the service line to start and Pitt was never able to get a strong rhythm going. Claire Chaussee led the Cardinals with nine kills on .259 hitting, and Nena Mbonu followed with eight kills. Aiko Jones was a spark all night and finished with some stellar numbers — eight kills on .583 hitting with three aces and four blocks. Courtney Buzzerio led the Panthers with 10 kills followed by Valeria Vazquez Gomez.
A double-digit kill machine 🥵
— Louisville Volleyball (@LouisvilleVB) November 19, 2022
💻: https://t.co/qFABO1kTRE#GoCards pic.twitter.com/THCcPZhsek
The early runs in the third set put Louisville leaps and strides ahead, and the Panthers were never really able to recover. The Cardinals are now through the toughest opponents on the schedule and have just one more matchup against Notre Dame before selections. Louisville picked up a share of the ACC title with the win and put themselves in a great position for a high seed in the tournament.
This was a big statement win for a team that has found themselves down early in matches. This time, they came out punching and maintained a steady lead the whole way. This was a dominant outing against a really strong Pittsburgh team, and exactly what the Cards hoped for at the end of the season.
SWEEP, SWEEP VICTORY!#GoCards pic.twitter.com/QcQaZhULr8
— Louisville Volleyball (@LouisvilleVB) November 19, 2022
