LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s become a regular occurrence for the Pitt volleyball program to compete in the NCAA Semifinals, but that’s where it has ended in each of the past three seasons for the Panthers.
If top-seeded Pitt was going to break that streak, it needed to come on the home court of their rival counterparts in the Louisville Cardinals at the KFC Yum Center. However, it was the home team that bottled up that energy to defeat the Panthers, 3-1.
Pitt (33-2) secured the opening set before Louisville (30-5) won the final three to advance to its second-ever National Championship. The other appearance came in 2022 when the Cardinals were swept by Texas after defeating Pitt in the semifinals.
Olivia Babcock, Pitt’s First Team All-American sophomore, recorded a new career-high 33 kills, which also comes as a program record in the NCAA Tournament, while hitting .385. Torrey Stafford added 18 kills as Emmy Klika notched 21 digs.
Anna DeBeer, Sofia Maldonado Diaz and Charitie Luper each registered 14 kills for the Cardinals. Louisville out-blocked Pitt 14-6 in the match.
With the two conference powers going head-to-head, the first set opened with the two teams trading points back and forth. Pitt took its first lead with a kill from Stafford to make it 6-5.
Pitt’s defense was stout in the first set, registering 24 digs as the Panthers weathered the storm, holding onto several lengthy rallies. The Panthers took their first three-point lead on a Valeria Vazquez Gomez kill to make it 18-15.
The Panthers would go on an 8-2 stretch as they would take a seven-point lead thanks to multiple saves by Klika that eventually turned into a Babcock kill.
While Louisville would claw back, the Panthers would capture the first set, 25-21, with a kill from Babcock for her ninth of the opening period. The sophomore would hit .381 in the set, while Stafford recorded six kills and six digs.
Pitt carried that momentum immediately into the second set as the Panthers jumped out to a 7-2 lead as Louisville racked up several errors.
However, the Cardinals did not let the poor start weigh on them and rattled off five-straight points to take a 13-11 lead with strong defense.
On the other end, the outstanding play of Babcock continued for the Panthers as she put away three key points down the stretch in the second set to make it 23-22 Pitt.
Still, the Cardinals were persistent and secured the last three points thanks of the set thanks to a trio of kills from Luper to win 25-23 and tie the match at 1-1.
In a similar fashion, Pitt was off and running in the third period with a 6-2 lead, and once again Louisville took control of the set with a kill by DeBeer to put the Cardinals ahead 11-10.
As Pitt handled the early comeback, it started to increase its lead as Babcock put away a heavy swing to put the Panthers in striking position to close out the set at 23-19.
That did not stop the Cardinals from securing five-straight points to extend an emotional third set. Even as Pitt put itself into set point, the Cardinals responded and eventually finished off the Panthers as Phekran Kong blocked Vazquez Gomez’s attempt to win the third set 29-27.
With the home crowd ramping it up, Louisville came out roaring in the fourth set to a 9-3 lead. Cara Cresse was a factor at the net with multiple blocks that were followed by back-to-back aces by Payton Petersen.
Everything swung in the Cardinals’ direction as the Panthers struggled with the mounting pressure in all facets, including serve-receive. An 8-3 spurt for Louisville put it ahead by eight points as Maldonado Diaz recorded a pair of kills.
Louisville’s offense continued to come in waves to close out the fourth set as Petersen clinched the final point with a kill to win the set 25-17.
Louisville will take on the winner of Penn State and Nebraska.
