LOUISVILLE, KY. – Despite a career-high 33 kills from Olivia Babcock, the No. 1 overall seed Pitt volleyball team lost to No. 1-seeded Louisville 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 27-29, 25-17) in the National Semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament in the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday night.
Babcock’s 33 kills, which also mark a Pitt (33-2, 19-1 ACC) program record for most kills in an NCAA Tournament game, came on a .391 hitting percentage. Torrey Stafford tallied a double-double with a season-high 18 kills on .333 hitting and 14 digs. Emmy Klika also notched a season-high 21 digs.
Pitt fell behind, 2-0, before evening the first set at 2-2 behind an error and a Babcock kill. The Panthers and Cardinals (30-5, 17-3 ACC) traded lead changes before meeting at 10-10. Pitt rallied behind Stafford and Babcock kills to take a 12-10 lead. Louisville responded, and the two teams met again at 14-14 before the Panthers took a commanding 18-15 lead following a Vazquez Gomez kill. After a Cardinal termination, the Panthers went on a blistering 5-0 run to take a 23-16 lead. Kills from Bre Kelley and Babcock sealed the first set for Pitt, 25-21.
The Panthers started the second set with a 3-0 lead spurred by a Babcock kill and Bre Kelley block. Pitt extended its lead to 10-6 off a Babcock swing, but the Cardinals went on a reviving 7-1 run to take a 13-11 lead. Following a Dan Fisher timeout, the Panthers used a 6-2 rebuttal to take a 17-15 lead. The match evened at 19-19, and Louisville took back-to-back points to take a 21-19 lead. Behind the serve of Mallorie Meyer, the Panthers went on a 3-0 spurt to take a 22-21 edge. The teams traded kills to meet again at 23-23, but the Cardinals closed the set with two kills to even the match at 1-1.
The Panthers opened the third set with a momentum-swinging 5-1 tilt, sparked by a forceful Stafford swing. Louisville used a four point run to take its first lead of the set at 11-10. Pitt rallied around its middle, as a kill from Bre Kelley ignited an 9-3 Panther run, to take a 21-17 advantage. The Cardinals, in front of their home crowd, answered with a 3-1 tilt to force a Pitt timeout. The Panthers led 23-20 and earned four set points down the stretch but could not close out the set, and Louisville took it,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Pitt Panthers #H2P…