Volleyball prepares for another classic against Louisville

The best games of the entire volleyball season happen when No. 1 Pitt and No. 4 Louisville line up from one another across the net. Reverse sweeps, NCAA Tournament battles, conference championships and much more.

Unlike past years, the two return a majority of their starters, enlivening the rivalry a little bit more. Both teams return five starters, and all 10 of these starters earned All-ACC selections in 2023. 

“I think it’s good for the fans to be able to root for the same players or root against the same players, I think that makes it fun,” Fisher said. “I’m expecting a really close match for sure, but you never know until you [play them].”

The outside hitter tandem threat of senior Charitie Luper and graduate student Anna DeBeer that Louisville possesses might trouble Fisher’s squad.

“Their two outsides are two of the best in the country,” Fisher said. “And so we’re going to have to do a good job against the left.”

In the second matchup last season — a game which the Cardinals should have won, looking back at it — the duo combined for 53 kills on 112 swings with only 12 errors, good for a .366 hitting percentage.

But Pitt contained the duo in the third matchup of the season, holding them to 21 kills on 66 swings and 15 errors — a .091 hitting percentage. 

Sophomore right-side hitter Olivia Babcock and senior setter Rachel Fairbanks are responsible for slowing down DeBeer and Luper as they match up against the opposing left pin. Recent performances show that the duo is ready for the challenge as they held both of Stanford’s outside hitters to negative hitting percentages.

If Babcock or Fairbanks aren’t opposing the Louisville outsides, Fisher isn’t afraid to put sophomore outside hitter Blaire Bayless on Pitt’s right pin to defend DeBeer and Luper. Fisher is also willing to put Bayless in some rotations for sixth-year outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez — this season, the Plano, Texas, native is Fisher’s ace up his sleeve.

“She’s a little bit more physical than Valeria, so it gives us a bigger block,” Fisher said. “We’ve also used her at times for Rachel Fairbanks, so she’s good on the right and the left, and she’s 

also a really good out of system hitter. So we will keep doing that.”

The Louisville outside hitters aren’t even the best players on the roster — that recognition goes to senior libero Elena Scott, who already has 290 digs on the season. Scott is the anchor of the Louisville defense and the reason it is a top-four team currently. The senior has five games with 20 or more digs — three of those coming in pivotal top-15 matchups.

Scott, like Babcock, even earned AVCA National Player of the Week this season. But, most impressively, she is the first libero to earn AVCA National Player of the Week in 18 years and the third libero to ever earn the prestigious award.

“She can do both, she can pass and play defense. She has a good serve too,” Fisher said. “So, yeah, like anyone, any libero that is getting those kind of accolades is as good at everything.”

Redshirt junior middle blocker Cara Cresse earned Second-Team All-ACC recognition in 2023 and is playing like a First-Team All-ACC player this season, especially defensively. She is fourth in the nation and second in the ACC in blocks per set with 1.61 per set. Cresse has also led Louisville to the second most blocks per set in the nation with 3.10, only behind Idaho State. 

The biggest difference between the Cardinals this season from years past is they now run a six-two rotation. First-year setter Nayelis Cabello, who won ACC Freshman of the Week last week, is one setter, and sophomore setter Elle Glock, who was the Cardinals lone starting setter in 2023, is the other setter. Because of this, Pitt will always match up against a hitter on the left pin rather than a setter for three rotations.

“I think Cresse certainly helps, and also the six-two probably helps,” Fisher said about Louisville having one of the best blocks in the nation. “You know that their right side block is good in all the rotations.”

This top-four matchup is somehow not on cable, something Fisher noted. The match is only watchable on ACCNX at 7 p.m. tonight. 

“I think a game that has over 10,000 people probably should be on a linear network,” Fisher said. 

But for the over 10,000 people in the Petersen Events Center, Pitt expects them to make a difference, especially the Volley Pitt. 

“I think home court advantages matter,” Fisher said. “I think this would be our fourth sellout of the season, and the second one in the Pete would be just huge for our program. Not only do we think it’s gonna be a great crowd, but we think there’ll be a really great student section. All home court advantages matter, but I think the big student section on the floor matters a lot.”