Wednesday, November 27
Pittsburgh, Pa.
6 PM ET
Pitt
29-1, 18-0
3
vs
1
Louisville
19-9, 12-6
1
2
3
4
F
Louisville
22
25
11
12
1
Pitt
25
21
25
25
3
No. 2 Pitt Volleyball Goes Undefeated in ACC Play
11/27/2019 9:12:00 PM | Volleyball
Panthers Top Louisville to Go 18-0 in League Play
PITTSBURGH – No. 2 Pitt volleyball (29-1, 18-0) defeated Louisville (19-9, 12-6) Wednesday night, 3-1, at Petersen Events Center to become the first team to go unbeaten in ACC play since 2004.
The Panthers topped the Cardinals by scores of 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12.
Senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk hit a season-best .800 with 12 kills on 15 attempts and zero errors. She added a team-high seven blocks.
Van Buskirk was one of three Panthers with double-figure kills, alongside junior outside Kayla Lund (15), redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams (13) and junior Chinaza Ndee (10).
Williams and Lund had double-doubles, adding 14 and 10 digs, respectively, alongside their double-digit kills.
Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas produced a season-high 26 digs. Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 47 assists with nine digs.
As a group, the Panthers had the upper hand in hitting percentage (.285-.116), kills (61-43), assists (58-43), service aces (5-1) and digs (70-57).
WITH THE WIN…
Set One: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 22
The first frame saw 13 ties and six lead changes. Louisville took a late 5-1 run to gain a 21-20 lead, but Pitt answered with a strong 5-1 surge to end the set on top, 25-22. Lund led Pitt with six kills as the Panthers hit .190 in the stanza.
Set Two: Louisville 25, No. 2 Pitt 21
It was another close frame, with 14 ties and five lead changes. The Cardinals gained momentum with a 4-1 run to earn a 17-15 lead. Pitt was able to tie the set at 17, but a 4-0 answer by Louisville put the Cards back in front, where they stayed for the remainder of the stanza, tying the match at one apiece. Pitt hit .167 compared to Louisville's .220.
Set Three: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 11
After a 1-1 tie, it was all Pitt for the remainder of the set. A 10-1 run secured domination of the frame for the Panthers, who took a 15-4 lead. A 3-0 run pushed Pitt's lead to 19-6, and again to 22-9. Pitt finished off the Cards with a kill by Van Buskirk, earning a lopsided 25-11 win and 2-1 advantage in the match. Pitt hit a hot .412 in the set while holding Louisville to .088.
Set Four: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 12
Pitt finished the job in the fourth set, dominating from the start. A 7-0 stretch in the middle of the frame put the Panthers in a double-figure lead, up 16-6. Pitt used a 3-0 run to reach the 20-point mark, up 20-8, and staved off the Cardinals to win, 25-12.
UP NEXT
No. 2 Pitt will learn its seed for the 2019 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship during the Selection Show, set for 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU. The Panthers earned the ACC's Automatic Qualifier Bid to the tournament.
PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2019 volleyball season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
The Panthers topped the Cardinals by scores of 25-22, 21-25, 25-11, 25-12.
Senior middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk hit a season-best .800 with 12 kills on 15 attempts and zero errors. She added a team-high seven blocks.
Van Buskirk was one of three Panthers with double-figure kills, alongside junior outside Kayla Lund (15), redshirt senior outside Stephanie Williams (13) and junior Chinaza Ndee (10).
Williams and Lund had double-doubles, adding 14 and 10 digs, respectively, alongside their double-digit kills.
Redshirt senior libero Hali Hillegas produced a season-high 26 digs. Freshman setter Lexis Akeo had a match-high 47 assists with nine digs.
As a group, the Panthers had the upper hand in hitting percentage (.285-.116), kills (61-43), assists (58-43), service aces (5-1) and digs (70-57).
WITH THE WIN…
- Pitt became the first team to go undefeated in ACC play (18-0) since Georgia Tech went 16-0 in 2004.
- The Panthers earned their first perfect ACC season since joining the conference in 2013, finishing at 18-0.
- Pitt swept the season series against the Cardinals. The Panthers earned a 3-0 decision in Louisville on Oct. 27.
- Pitt's record improved to 12-14 all-time against Louisville and 8-5 when playing in Pittsburgh.
- The Panthers' win streak against the Cardinals improved to three matches, with Pitt's last loss coming Oct. 27, 2017, in Louisville (3-2).
- The Panthers' win streak when playing in Pittsburgh against Louisville extended to four matches. Pitt's lone loss when playing at home against the Cardinals came Sept. 30, 2012 (3-0).
- The Panthers' record improved to 46-2 when ranked inside the AVCA top 10 and 19-1 when ranked inside the top five.
Set One: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 22
The first frame saw 13 ties and six lead changes. Louisville took a late 5-1 run to gain a 21-20 lead, but Pitt answered with a strong 5-1 surge to end the set on top, 25-22. Lund led Pitt with six kills as the Panthers hit .190 in the stanza.
Set Two: Louisville 25, No. 2 Pitt 21
It was another close frame, with 14 ties and five lead changes. The Cardinals gained momentum with a 4-1 run to earn a 17-15 lead. Pitt was able to tie the set at 17, but a 4-0 answer by Louisville put the Cards back in front, where they stayed for the remainder of the stanza, tying the match at one apiece. Pitt hit .167 compared to Louisville's .220.
Set Three: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 11
After a 1-1 tie, it was all Pitt for the remainder of the set. A 10-1 run secured domination of the frame for the Panthers, who took a 15-4 lead. A 3-0 run pushed Pitt's lead to 19-6, and again to 22-9. Pitt finished off the Cards with a kill by Van Buskirk, earning a lopsided 25-11 win and 2-1 advantage in the match. Pitt hit a hot .412 in the set while holding Louisville to .088.
Set Four: No. 2 Pitt 25, Louisville 12
Pitt finished the job in the fourth set, dominating from the start. A 7-0 stretch in the middle of the frame put the Panthers in a double-figure lead, up 16-6. Pitt used a 3-0 run to reach the 20-point mark, up 20-8, and staved off the Cardinals to win, 25-12.
UP NEXT
No. 2 Pitt will learn its seed for the 2019 NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship during the Selection Show, set for 8:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPNU. The Panthers earned the ACC's Automatic Qualifier Bid to the tournament.
PITT VOLLEYBALL TICKETS
Flex season ticket packages as well as single-match and group tickets for the 2019 volleyball season are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Panthers' Ticket Office at (800) 643-PITT (7488) or online at PittsburghPanthers.com.
#H2P | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Team Stats
LOU
UP
Kills
43
61
Errors
26
20
Attempts
147
144
Hitting %
.116
.285
Points
60.0
78.0
Assists
43
58
Aces
1
5
Blocks
16.0
12.0
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballPitt Volleyball | Pitt 3, Clemson 0 | Highlights
Monday, October 06
Pitt Volleyball | Pitt 3, Georgia Tech 1 | Highlights
Monday, October 06
Olivia Babcock Mic'd Up | Pitt LiveWire presented by UPMC
Monday, October 06
Pitt Volleyball | Postgame vs Georgia Tech | Dan Fisher, Olivia Babcock and Blaire Bayless
Sunday, October 05