Louisville outlasts Pitt in historic ACC showdown
As Panther Nation fought the hangover of celebration from Pitt football’s win over Clemson the day before, two ACC volleyball programs squared off early Sunday afternoon in one of the greatest battles of the conference’s history.
No. 4 Pitt (18-2, 8-2 ACC) and No. 2 Louisville (20-0, 10-0 ACC) have established themselves as the heavyweights of the ACC. The teams have been on a collision course for this exceptional clash ever since the Cardinals snapped Pitt’s 37-match home winning streak in 2020.
Needless to say, plenty was at stake for both teams in the ACC’s first-ever meeting between top-five opponents. Pitt looked to avenge last year’s loss by snapping the Cardinal’s 19-match winning streak. Louisville aimed to tie the program’s best-ever start to a season: 20-0.
Graduate senior captains Kayla Lund and Chinaza Ndee got the day going in fashion, nabbing two kills for Pitt in the first three points off of well-placed Kylee Levers passes. The Cardinals diverted extra attention to Lund all match, a common occurrence for the two-time ACC Player of the Year, leaving prime opportunities for Pitt’s other hitters.
Down 11-10 in the first set, Pitt senior Serena Gray’s kill opened up a 5-0 run that gave the Panthers the edge they needed. They prevented Louisville from gaining any momentum back, winning the first game 25-19.
Pitt put ball after ball past the Cardinals defense, hitting an absurd .714 in the first game. Ndee made the most of her chances, racking up six kills on six attempts in that opening frame.
Louisville had dropped the first set for just the second time of the entire season, but the Panthers would soon meet the team that had dominated opponents all year.
Within moments of the first set’s conclusion, what seemed like a completely different Louisville team showed up.
Anna Stevenson stepped up to serve with the second game tied 3-3, and she wouldn’t leave the position for an eternity. The Cardinals reeled off ten straight points, the last two coming off Stevenson aces.
A Gray kill finally ended the blistering run, but the damage proved insurmountable. The Panthers slowly began to chip away at the lead, but couldn’t come within striking distance. Louisville took the second game 25-20, tying the match 1-1.
As discussed on Friday, Pitt has taken its game to another level in third sets this season. But Louisville has dominated third sets as well this year, like any other frame, and the Cardinals didn’t plan on giving the Panthers another match lead.
The tightest game of the day, Pitt and Louisville traded blows throughout the third game. Each time Pitt gained momentum, though, a service error extinguished it. Pitt set Louisville up with two game points in a row from inaccurate serves, and the Cardinals converted the second for a 27-25 result.
After dropping the first set, Louisville had surged back and suddenly stood just one set away from reaching a 20-0 record, tying the best start in program history. But a greater obstacle, Pitt senior Leketor Member-Meneh, aimed to make that as difficult as possible.
Standing at just 5-foot-8, Member-Meneh is the shortest outside hitter on Pitt’s roster by three inches. But what she lacks in height, the Missouri transfer makes up for in athleticism. The former high school long-jump star gave the Louisville defense fits all day, going on an absolute tear at the end of the fourth game in particular.
With the Panthers clinging to a 23-22 lead in the fourth set, Member-Meneh angrily rocketed a Lexis Akeo assist to set up game point. She then took the serve, which trickled over the net for an ace. Member-Meneh finished with a match-high 18 kills, complemented by 4 blocks and Pitt’s only two service aces
For the second time this weekend, the Panthers headed to a decisive fifth set.
A Lund kill gave Pitt the first true edge of the final game, a 6-4 lead. But a 4-0 run from the Cardinals a few moments later shifted the momentum in Louisville’s favor.
Down 13-11, Member-Meneh put away an Akeo set to pull within one, before Gray and Nwokolo rejected a Louisville attack to tie the game at 13. Cardinals middle blocker Anna Stevenson notched a kill that gave her team its first match point of the day.
Louisville did not waste it. Stevenson and setter Tori Dilfer leapt up to reject Lund’s attacking attempt on the next point, ending the match as the ball fell between all of the Panthers on the court.
While this loss surely stings, Pitt will have another chance for revenge exactly one month from today. The Panthers will rematch Louisville on Senior Day at the Fitzgerald Field House on Nov. 24 to wrap up the regular season.
But for now, the Panthers head back to the Fitz for their first home match in over two weeks - a Friday night showdown with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have limped their way to a 2-8 conference record.