Pitt Volleyball Falls to Louisville in Final Four

Pitt Volleyball fell to rival Louisville in the Final Four.

Dec 15, 2022; Omaha, Nebraska, US; Pittsburg Panthers head coach Dan Fisher looks to the scoreboard during the match against the Louisville Cardinals in the semi-final match at CHI Health Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Pitt Panthers saw their great season come to an end, as they lost in four sets to Louisville in the Final Four at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Panthers, who beat the Cardinals twice this season, in five sets at home on Oct. 25 and in four sets at the KFC Yum! Center on Nov. 27, drop just their second match of the season. It is also the first loss to Louisville since Oct. 13, 2023, a defeat in three sets at the KFC Yum! Center.

The loss also makes it four straight seasons that Pitt made the Final Four and lost in the first match and the second time to Louisville, doing so in 2022 in five sets.

Pitt and Louisville fought back and forth over in the first set, with Pitt holding a slight 15-14 lead. Neither team held much of a lead during this time, with two points the biggest advantage one had over the other.

The Panthers then went on a 5-2 run, with sixth year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez making two kills and Cardinals graduate student outside hitter Anna DeBeer making two attack errors, forcing the Cardinals to use their first timeout of the set.

Vazquez Gomez made another kill out of the timeout and sophomore right side Olivia Babcock joined her with a kill, making it 22-16 and forcing Louisville to take their final timeout.

Babcock made a kill out of the timeout to make it a 5-0 Panthers run. The Cardinals would end the run with a kill from sophomore middle blocker/right side Reese Robins, but redshirt junior middle blocker Bre Kelley made a kill to make it set point at 24-17.

Louisville responded with a 3-0 run, a kill from Robins, a kill from graduate student middle blocker Phekran "PK" Kong, plus a block from Kong and senior outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz, that forced Pitt to take their first timeout of the set.

Cardinals freshman setter Nayelis Cabello got the first service ace of the match, but Babcock ended the run with a kill, winning the first set for the Panthers, 25-21.

Babcock led Pitt with nine kills and hit .381, Stafford had six kills and hit .385 and Vazquez Gomez made five kills and hit .364. Senior libero/defensive specialist Emmy Klika led with nine digs and senior setter Rachel Fairbanks led with 15 assists and added four digs.

The Panthers started off the second set with a 4-0 run and led 7-2, forcing a Cardinals' timeout. The Cardinals hit -.500, with three attack errors and no kills. Kelley made two kills and a block, while Babcock made a kill and a block.

Pitt would still lead, 10-6, but Louisville then went on a 7-1 run and took the lead, 13-11. Pitt head coach Dan Fisher used a challenge that was unsuccessful and then took a timeout after Babcock hit a ball into her own net.

DeBeer went on a long service run and Pitt made two service errors and four attack errors, two on Louisville blocks

The Panthers rallied back for a 6-2 run to take a 17-15 lead, with Stafford making a kill and a solo block. The Cardinals then responded with a 6-2 run of their own to take a 21-19 lead, with Kong making a kill and a solo block and Maldonado Diaz making two kills.

Pitt would go on a 4-1 run to make it 23-22, with Babcock making two kills, but Louisville leaned on senior outside hitter Charitie Luper, who made three straight kills to win the second set, 25-23, and tie the match up at one set a piece.

The Panthers had another great start in the third set, going up 6-2 and 8-4, as Babcock and Torrey made two kills each.

Louisville fought back, with an 8-2 run that gave them 12-10 lead, with three attack errors from Pitt.

The Panthers stuck with it, erasing deficits of 14-12 and 15-14, to regain the lead, 17-15 on a 7-3 run. Babcock and Kelley both made two kills on the run.

The Cardinals cut it back to a one-point deficit twice, but Babcock made two kills, giving the Panthers a 21-17 lead and forcing the Cardinals to take a timeout. Vazquez Gomez and Babcock made another kill each, going up 23-19.

Louisville then went on a 4-0 run, with a Vazquez Gomez attack error, back-to-back kills from Maldonado Diaz and a block from both Kong and DeBeer.

Pitt then would have four set points, with a Babcock kill, two Stafford kills and a block from Babcock and Kelley, but DeBeer saved Louisville with three straight kills and Luper added a kill as well to tie it at 27-27.

Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Kamden Schrand came into serve and got a service ace to make it 28-27. The Cardinals then finished off the Panthers, as Cabello and Kong combined for the set winning kill, 29-27.

The Cardinals suffered a major injury as DeBeer got caught up with Kong early in the fourth set, resulting in her leaving the match with an injury. Freshman Payton Petersen came in for DeBeer at outside hitter.

Lousiville still came out with a 7-3 lead in the fourth set, forcing Fisher to take a timeout. Redshirt junior middle blocker Cara Cresse made a kill and two blocks, while Maldonado Diaz had a service ace and a kill.

Petersen then made back-to-back aces and Fisher took his second timeout, down 9-3.

Pitt tried to make a comeback, cutting the deficit to 10-7, but Louisville continued to excel, building their lead to 18-10. Maldonado Diaz made three kills during this time.

The Cardinals continued to play well, with Cresse making it three kills as Louisville buil their lead to 23-16.

Lousville won a challenge to make it 24-16 and then they would win the set, 25-17.

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