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 to reach its second NCAA volleyball championship in three years. The host Cardinals 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. Louisville overcame a 25-21 opening-set loss to beat Pitt 25-23, 29-27 and 25-17. All-American outside hitter/right setter Olivia Babcock had 33 kills for the Panthers, whose 18-match winning streak was snapped.
Jess Mruzik had 26 kills, Caroline Jurevicius had 20 and Penn State rallied from an 0-2 semifinal hole for a five-set victory over Nebraska to reach the NCAA championship. Penn State will face host Louisville, which eliminated No. 1 overall seed Pitt 3-1 in the first semifinal, and set up a historic NCAA final between two women coaches. Katie Schumacher-Cawley guides the Lions, while Dani Busboom-Kelly leads the Cardinals. The Nittany Lions dropped the first two sets 23-25 and 25-18 before winning the next two 25-23 and 28-26 and 15-13 in the tiebreaker.