The No. 1-ranked Pitt women’s volleyball team faced a top-five opponent for the second straight year and was forced to a fifth set.

This has become commonplace for the Panthers against No. 4 Louisville as their rivalry has expanded beyond the ACC and into the NCAA Final Four.

Pitt knew it had to work hard to win, and Valeria Vazquez Gomez did just that in the final set to help the Panthers to a thrilling 3-2 victory in front of 11,309 spectators at the Petersen Events Center on Friday night.

Vazquez Gomez scored a kill for the game-winning point off an assist from Nisa Buzlutepe, clinching the final set 15-12 despite a decision that withstood a Louisville challenge before being decided in the Panthers’ favor. Pitt won the first (25-21) and third sets (25-17), while Louisville won the second (28-26) and fourth (25-22).

“Louisville always seems to push us to our limits and tonight was no different. I guess we got three five-setters in a row, which is pretty rare in volleyball,” Pitt coach Dan Fisher said. “This is the kind of game we needed. We haven’t been in these tough games often this season. We’ll make some adjustments and get better as a result. I thought it was a great fight. We know they will be ready for us at home.”

Pitt (18-1, 8-1 ACC) tied for first place in the conference standings with Louisville (16-3, 8-1). They will meet again on November 27th in Louisville.

The Panthers had a win over No. 5 Stanford on Sunday, their first win over the Cardinals and their second win over a top-five team this season (they beat No. 3 Penn State on Sept. 18). Pitt’s only loss came at then-No. 15 SMU (3-2) on Oct. 12. Louisville lost to then-No. 7 Penn State on September 3 and then No. 5 Nebraska on September 22.

Pitt and Louisville have developed an intense rivalry, with one of the two having won at least a share of the ACC Championship in the last seven seasons. They won the conference title in 2022 and Pitt won the ACC last season. Pitt twice rallied from straight-set deficits last year to beat Louisville, including in the NCAA quarterfinals, to earn a berth in the Final Four.

Louisville knocked Pitt out of the 2022 NCAA semifinals.

“We always talk about having an underdog mentality,” said Vazquez Gomez, who finished with 10 kills and 11 digs. “Being No. 1 doesn’t matter if we don’t win the national championship.”

This time the Panthers won the first set. After taking an early 5-1 lead, they maintained a lead behind big kills from Ryla Jones, Bre Kelley and Olivia Babcock that put the finishing touches on set point.

However, Louisville gained momentum and took a 9-3 lead early in the second set before extending it to 13-5. Louisville had a 19-13 lead when Torrey Stafford made a big kill, then scored on a layup to cut the lead to 19-15 and cause Louisville to call a timeout.

Vazquez Gomez made a kill and Louisville’s Anna DeBeer made an error that cut the game to 19-7 and forced another Cardinals timeout. Pitt came through with some great defensive play and made it 20-20 after a block from Kelley, who in turn made it 21-21 with a kill. The Panthers took their first lead of the set, 24-23, when a decision was reversed. But Louisville scored the next two points and tied the game.

However, the Panthers regained control in the third set. A kill by Vazquez Gomez put Pitt ahead 22-16, Kelley followed a kill with a huge block and Vazquez Gomez hit a service ace to secure the win.

Kelley, a junior middle blocker, set a career-high in kills (12) and matched her career-high in blocks (10).

“We were able to get Bre more involved and see what a dominant attacker she is,” Fisher said. “I thought Bre had a great night offensively.”

The fourth set was a back and forth affair that ended in a draw ten times. Louisville was leading 20-17 when Kelley’s goal was ruled out by the linesman. Fisher challenged the call and the decision was reversed, making the score 20-18. Louisville scored the next two points on kills from Charitie Luper, but Babcock responded with a pair of his own, cutting the game to 22-20. Stafford had two straight kills to cut the score to 23-22, but Louisville scored the next two points and forced a fifth set.

“It wasn’t our best defensive performance. “It’s one of the worst in a lot of ways in the back row – the first four sets – then we found a way to pick up our arguments again,” Fisher said. “I thought Valeria’s defense in the fifth set was incredible. That was one of the big differences, she kept the ball alive as it passed her block.”

Despite being comparatively young compared to an experienced Louisville team, the Panthers said their preparation and camaraderie made the difference in deciding the outcome.

“We’re at a point where we really love each other and love playing for each other,” Kelley said. “I think that’s the biggest thing when it comes to team sports, just playing for each other. If you love each other and we all have the same goal, you will gain a lot.”