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Published Dec 19, 2024

Pitt's path ends in the Final Four

Chris Peak • Panther-lair

Publisher

@pantherlair

Pitt spent the better part of the last four months as the best team in the country, but on Thursday night, the Panthers weren’t the best team in the KFC Yum! Center, and now their season has come to an end.

Pitt fell to Louisville 3-1 in the opening match of the 2024 Final Four, ending the Panthers’ season with a 33-2 record.

Pitt opened the match with a 25-21 win in the first set and battled through a back-and-forth in the second set before falling to the Cardinals 25-23.

The third set, though, was where the match was decided. The Panthers jumped out to a 5-1 lead to open the set; then, after Louisville took a 15-14 advantage, Pitt went on a 9-4 run to get in striking distance of set point.

But Pitt’s 23-19 lead evaporated with a 4-0 run from the Cardinals, who got two kills from Sofia Maldonado Diaz and a block on Olivia Babcock to tie the score at 23-all. Babcock broke the tie with a kill to set up set point, but Louisville star Anna DeBeer answered with a kill of her own.

Torrey Stafford landed a shot to get to set point again, but once again, DeBeer tied the score with another kill. And when a block on DeBeer led to a third set point, it was DeBeer who tied the score for a third time.

Pitt got to set point a fourth time on another Stafford kill, but Charitie Luper landed a shot to tie the score, Kamden Schrand hit an ace to take a one-point lead and Louisville blocked a shot by Valeria Vazquez Gomez to win the set.

That comeback and extended defense against set point reenergized the Cardinals and their home crowd, and the fourth set was all Louisville. The Cardinals took a 9-3 lead to open the set, led by 17-9 at one point and never let Pitt get closer than seven points after that. The final point came on a kill from Payton Petersen, and the Panthers left the court having lost their final set of the season 25-17.

Babcock, a national player of the year finalist, recorded a match-high 33 kills, giving her 102 kills in five NCAA Tournament matches. She also had 39 digs, 14 blocks and five aces.

Fairbanks had a match-high 53 assists, giving her 207 for the Tournament. And Stafford finished with a double-double of 18 kills and 15 digs against Louisville.

For Louisville, Luper, Maldonado Diaz and DeBeer recorded 14 kills each (three of DeBeer’s 14 kills came in the third set rally with Pitt facing set point).