Louisville Volleyball freshman and Dike-New Hartford alum Payton Petersen made an impact on the national stage in Thursday’s NCAA National Semifinal win over top overall seed Pittsburgh.
When teammate Anna DeBeer went down with an injury, the outside hitter was subbed in for action in the final two sets of a 3-1 win and came up with some clutch plays. Early in the decisive fourth set, Petersen combined with teammate Cara Cresse for the first of consecutive blocks to take a 7-3 lead. After a Pittsburgh timeout, Petersen tallied back-to-back aces to force another Pitt timeout with Louisville leading 9-3. Petersen recorded four digs and two kills, including the winning point to send the Cardinals to the program’s second-ever championship match appearance.
On the season, Petersen has appeared in 19 of the team’s 35 matches, including one start against Notre Dame on October 30. She’s recorded 1.06 kills per set on .267 hitting.
The Cardinals will go for their first-ever national championship when they take on Penn State in the national championship match Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Coincidentally, Louisville is the host city of this year’s Final Four, and the Cardinals will play the match on their home court inside KFC Yum! Center.
