Outside hitter Claire Chaussee’s 17 kills were not enough as the No. 2-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell 3-2 to No. 8 Pitt Sunday afternoon in Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.
The 25-15, 25-13, 25-27, 20-25, 15-12 loss snaps Louisville’s streak of ACC wins at 37 dating back to a loss to Pitt on Oct. 23, 2020. The Cardinals hit just .131 as a team with six aces and 17 blocks. Nena Mbonu had 14 kills and a block. Setter Raquel Lazaro had a match-high 42 assists and libero Elena Scott had a match-high 14 digs. Aiko Jones added four aces, seven blocks and 11 kills.
Pitt hit .225 with two aces and 13 blocks. The Panthers got 22 kills from Courtney Buzzerio who added five blocks to her stat total. Serena Gray tallied 15 kills and five blocks.
UofL hosts Notre Dame this Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the KFC Yum! Center at 8 p.m.
Set 1
The Cardinals dropped the first set 25-15. Hampered by .000 hitting and a big Pitt block, UofL was not able to battle back after falling behind 6-1 early on. A 6-0 run midway through the set put the Panthers up 16-6 before cruising to the first set victory. Nena Mbonu led the Cardinals with three kills.
Set 2
In the second set, U ofL fell behind 11-6 and once again struggled on offense, hitting -.111. The Panthers went on an 8-1 down the stretch to win 25-13 and take a two-set lead into the break.
Set 3
Louisville took the lead in the third set at 5-4 on a kill by Nena Mbonu. A 6-1 run by Pitt took the Panthers to 11-6. Louisville had a 3-0 run to pull within three at 11-9 but Pitt pushed back to go up 15-10. The Cards started chipping away at the Pitt lead and the Panthers called timeout when a big block by Amaya Tillman and Raquel Lazaro cut the lead to three at 16-13. Louisville kept the pressure on and Pitt and tied at 20 on a Pitt hitting error. The Cards took the lead at 23-22 on an unlikely kill by defensive specialist Ayden Bartlett and Pitt had to use its final timeout. Pitt came out of the timeout and put down a ball to tie. Claire Chaussee hit down the line for a kill to put the Cards at set point. Mbonu parked one to go up 25-24. Pitt tied and then Mbonu came through again to go up 26-25. A net call on Pitt gave UofL the 27-25 win and give the Cardinals new life.
Set 4
Louisville popped out to a 6-2 lead, with two blocks and two aces by Aiko Jones to propel the Cards into the fast start and spark a Pitt timeout. The Panthers tied at ten on a block by Serena Gray. The teams began trading points. Louisville gained a bit of breathing room, taking a two-point lead at 18-16 on a block by Phekran Kong and a Pitt hitting error. A block by Kong pushed the Cards to set point and a kill by Claire Chaussee sealed the win at 25-19.
Set 5
Pitt took the lead in the fifth stanza early and Louisville coach Dani Busboom Kelly called timeout down 7-3. The Cardinals trailed 8-4 at the side switch on a kill by Gray. An ace by Amaya Tillman helped cut the lead to three at 9-6 before Mbonu notched her 13th kill of the match to take the Cards within two and spark a timeout by the Panthers. UofL tied at nine and took its first lead at 10-9 on another Mbonu kill. Pitt went on a run to take a 13-11 lead. A kill by Buzzerio gave Pitt set point. The Cards got a block from Kong but another kill by Buzzerio gave the match to Pitt 15-12.
| Nancy Allison WorleyAssociate Sports Information Director | Louisville Athletics |