By Daniel Rankin —
This weekend, the No. 2 Louisville Cardinal’s volleyball team faced the No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers. Louisville won with a final score of 3-2.
Pitt started the match well, winning set 1 with a score of 25-19. Louisville attempted to take the lead throughout the first set, but the Panthers were able to take the lead before the Cardinals had a chance to catch back up.
Set 2 saw the Cards putting immediate pressure on Pittsburgh with a 13-3 lead. During her team’s 10 point run, junior blocker Amaya Tillman had a strong performance with three straight kills and a block, and Tillman finished a match-high of 8 blocks. Pitt continued to battle back, but they eventually fell short. Louisville won the second set with a score of 25-20.
Set 3 was tightly contested when both teams were tied with a score of 25-25. However, the Cards were able to pull away and win the match 27-25, capped off by a kill from senior hitter Claire Chaussee.
Down to a must-win set, Pittsburgh was able to force a winner-take-all set after winning the 4th set with a tight score of 25-22.
In the fifth and final set, only needing 15 points to win, the Cards found themselves in a hole 8-6. However, this was Pitt’s last lead of the night after Louisville went on a 4-0 run. Tied at 13-13, the Cardinals finished the match with two points and a final block from graduate blocker Anna Stevenson.
Next up, the undefeated Cardinals embark on a three-game road trip facing the Duke Devils on Halloween night. The next home game will take place at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on November 12 at 7 pm.
Photo Courtesy of Adam Creech // U of L Athletics