Louisville earns second NCAA volleyball championship berth in 3 years, beating top-seeded Pitt 3-1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Anna DeBeer recorded 14 kills before leaving with a right ankle injury, Payton Peterson recorded consecutive aces in her place and top-seeded Louisville beat No. 1 overall seed Pittsburgh 3-1 on Thursday night to reach its second NCAA volleyball championship in three years.

The host Cardinals (30-5) stopped a four-match losing streak against the Panthers, including two this season, and will face the winner of the second semifinal between Big Ten foes Penn State and Nebraska in Sunday’s championship.

All-American outside hitter/right setter Olivia Babcock had 33 kills for the Panthers (33-2), whose 18-match winning streak was snapped. They entered as the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and played in their fourth consecutive national semifinal, but couldn’t follow their strong opening set in which they hit .373 with nine kills from Babcock.

Louisville overcame a 25-21 opening-set loss to beat Pitt 25-23, 29-27 and 25-17, taking control after DeBeer went down early in the fourth set, with what a university official after the match called a right ankle injury.

The graduate All-American hitter was helped off the court and into the locker room before returning to the sideline and cheering on her teammates.

Sofia Maldonado Diaz and Charitie Luper also recorded 14 kills each for the Cardinals, who hit .320 in the match and .425 on kills. They never trailed in the final set, but found another gear after their star player left the floor with Louisville up 2-0.

Peterson took her place and later registered three consecutive service points, including back-to-back aces for a 9-3 advantage. Louisville eventually built an 18-10 cushion on the way to a decisive clinching win.