SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Senior middle blocker Amaya Tillman had 11 kills, with eight blocks, hitting .500 to lead the No. 4 University of Louisville volleyball team to a share of the ACC Championship as the Cardinals downed Notre Dame 25-22, 25-22, 25-13.
The Cardinals await the outcome of the Pitt versus Boston College match on Saturday to learn whether they win their fifth ACC title outright or share it with the Panthers. The Cardinals would earn the tiebreaker with a 5-3 set advantage and would receive the ACC’s automatic qualifier.
Louisville hit .248 for the match with four aces and 12 blocks. The 3-0 sweep was the Cardinals’ 18th of the season and the 11th in ACC play. For the Cardinals, Aiko Jones added eight kills, an ace and five blocks. Anna DeBeer, who played two sets in the front row, added six kills with an ace and six digs. Setter Raquel Lazaro had 29 assists and seven digs. Libero Elena Scott had eight digs and two aces.
Notre Dame hit .150 with two aces and no blocks. The Irish were led by Lucy Trump’s 12 kills and an ace. Avery Ross had eight kills with Hattie Monson and Maisie Alexander each adding 11 digs.
The Cardinals await their pairings which will be announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. If the Cardinals are announced as a top 16 seed, they will host on Dec. 2 and 3 in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Set 1
The first set was tightly contested with 12 ties and six lead changes. The Cards tied at 18 with a block by Phekran Kong and Aiko Jones. Notre Dame tied at 19 and then went up 20-18. The teams continued to trade points until Claire Chaussee landed her first kill of the set to tie at 22. Louisville then scored the next three points on a kill by Raquel Lazaro, a back row bomb from Anna DeBeer and and block by Chaussee and Amaya Tillman. Tillman led the way with five kills and five blocks in the first stanza. She got help from Aiko Jones’ four kills and four blocks.
Set 2
In the second set, UofL jetted to a 10-5 lead, but later, the Irish answered using a 4-0 run to come within three at 15-12 on a kill by Schrader. A kill by Cara Cresse from the middle put the Cards up 20-16. ND scrambled back to a one point deficit at 21-20 with an Irish ace by Hattie Monson. After a Louisville timeout, UofL scored twice to get to a 23-21…
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