The No. 2 ranked Pitt Volleyball team completed their ACC schedule by going a perfect 18-0 after defeating Louisville at the Petersen Events Center, 3-1 on Wednesday night.
The Panthers and Cardinals were tied 1-1 after two sets (25-22, 21-25) before turning it on in the third and fourth, dominating 25-11 and 25-12.
Pitt junior outside Kayla Lund paced the team with 15 kills followed by senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk with 12 kills on 15 attempts and zero errors, redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams (13) and junior Chinaza Ndee (10). Van Buskirk also added a team-high seven blocks.
Also contributing to the victory were redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas, who lead the Panthers with a season-high 26 digs and freshman setter Lexis Akeo who had a match-high 47 assists.
Pitt dominated the match out hitting Louisville in service aces (5-1), assists (58-43), kills (61-43) and hitting percentage (.285-.116) had the upper hand in hitting percentage (.285-.116).
With the win, the Panthers completed the first undefeated ACC schedule since Georgia Tech went 16-0 in 2004 and earned their first perfect ACC season ever.
With the regular season wrapped up, the second ranked Pitt team will wait for the 2019 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship selection show Sunday on ESPNU to learn their seeding. Much like basketball, the top four teams will earn No. 1 seeds in the tournament. However even with the No. 2 ranking in the AVCA Coaches Poll, the Panthers are only No. 5 in the NCAA RPI rankings. Whether or not they’ll earn a top seed is still up in the air.
The 2019 NCAA Championships National Semifinals and Finals will take place on December 19th and 21st in Pittsburgh. The first, second and regional rounds will be held at non-predetermined campus sites across the country.
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