Senior Erin Fairs had 23 kills, two aces and three blocks to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-2 win over Pitt in ACC volleyball action Friday night in the KFC Yum! Center.
“I have got give most of the credit to the crowd tonight,” said Anne Kordes, UofL head coach. “It felt like 22,000 packed in here. They understood when we needed the momentum and I really appreciate it. We are always looking for a player to put the team on their backs in big moments and that was Erin tonight, especially in the fifth set.”
UofL moves to 12-1 in the ACC and are now 19-6 overall with the 23-25, 25-15, 10-25, 26-24, 15-11 win. The Cards hit just .184 but had 14 blocks and three aces. Tess Clark joined Fairs in double digit kills with 10 and added five blocks. Maggie DeJong had a team-high seven blocks and Katie George had a double-double with 53 assists and 17 digs. Molly Sauer had 24 digs to pace the Cards. Pitt was led by Kadi Kullerkann, who had 19 kills and six blocks.
In the first set, Pitt hit .250, getting seven kills from Kadi Kullenkann. UofL tied at 18 but Pitt answered with a three point run to go up 21-18 and the Panthers never trailed again. UofL cut the lead to one at 23-22 but two straight kills by Kullerkamp gave Pitt the 25-23 win.
UofL powered out to a 9-4 lead early in the second set, prompting a Pitt timeout. The Cards maintained the margin at five at 13-8 and then went on a 10-1 run to get to set point at 24-12. Pitt managed to stave off set point three times before a hitting error ended the rally.
Pitt overwhelmed the Cards early with a 16-4 lead and UofL had to burn both timeouts to try to turn the tide. But -.026 hitting did little to help the Cardinals’ cause. Down 21-7, UofL managed to score three straight but it was too little too late as Pitt’s .355 hitting finished off the Cards 25-10, holding UofL to the lowest set point total of the season.
In the fourth set, Pitt had a 14-12 lead before UofL ran off four straight to go up 16-14 and spark a Pitt timeout. The Panthers retook the lead at 20-19 on a kill by Amanda Orchard. The Cards tied on a block and then ran off four straight to get to set point at 24-21. Pitt scored three straight but Erin Fairs pounded one off the Pitt block for the 26-24 win. U ofL hit .196 and added four blocks in the set. So well prepared. That is a great win for us.”
We were struggling a little bit throughout the course of the evening but we went back there and served really aggressively and that takes a lot of guts. Katie George continues to lead our team and I am so proud of the effort. Pitt is awesome and their coach has the
The Cards were down 8-5 at the switch in the fifth set and then went on an 8-1 run. Fairs scored the final five points of the match.
“Katie told me she might not set me because I was across from the big block. I just said give me the ball. I don’t care. I just went after it. I wanted it. I was pumped up,” said Erin Fairs.
Nancy Allison Worley
Associate Director, Sports Information
University of Louisville Athletics
2100 S. Floyd, Louisville, KY 40292
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