No. 2 Cardinals Fall 3-2 to No. 8 Pitt

PITTSBURGH — 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…