Volleyball Opens Virginia Weekend with Win -- SATURDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

Cards Dominate UVA in 3 of 4 Sets

Louisville volleyball is on the road in Virginia this weekend ahead of two huge matches to close the season: hosting Pitt on Wednesday and heading to Stanford on Saturday. Getting out of the Old Dominion with minimal stress would be ideal, and the Cards did their best to make that happen yesterday evening. If you ignore the third set, the final score looked about how I expected. Louisville won sets 1, 2, and 4 25-10, 25-14, and 25-16. Strangely, out of the halftime break, the Cavaliers jumped all over the Cards and took the third set 25-23. For Louisville to flip the switch again in the fourth was encouraging and they'll head to Blacksburg tomorrow still tied atop the ACC.

Since I've already told you the score of the first set, you'll be a bit surprised to learn that Virginia won the first point, tied Louisville at 4, and won back-to-back points to make the score 10-8. I see you doing the math at home. Yes, Louisville went on a 15-2 run to close the first. UVA's resilience to not be immediately demoralized by something like that at home is impressive. 

The second was not quite as much of a beatdown, but again, UVA never really threatened. The two teams tied at 3 before Louisville won three straight points to take a 6-3 lead. UVA twice got within two points over the next few, but Louisville continued to steadily gap the Hoos. After a block by UVA made the score 12-7 in favor of Louisville, the score was never closer than that five points as Louisville sprinted to a 2-0 lead at the halftime break. 

Then came the third. Out of the gate, it was clear that Virginia was not going to lay down and let Louisville walk out of the gym with a sweep. The Cavaliers jumped out to an early 6-2 lead and used that margin to keep the Cards at arm's length for the remainder of the set. Based on the way the previous two sets had gone, it seems safe to say that if Louisville had gained a lead, they probably could have completed the sweep. Virginia may have known that, as well, which could be why they pushed so hard to stay out front. 

Louisville's biggest chance came on a 6-1 run after trailing 12-6. Had the Cards tied at 13 and taken the lead, it could have been different. Instead, Virginia methodically stayed ahead. Again, Louisville got to within one point at 17-18, but UVA closed the door with a 5-1 run to put themselves within two points of the set win and Louisville needing a big run. The teams traded points and Louisville needed a 5-0 run to extend the set. They got four of the points they needed before UVA hit the 25 mark. 

Having been served a bit of humble pie, Louisville went into the fourth on a mission, establishing a gap early with a 7-1 lead. Virginia was able to bring the score within three points on two occasions (11-8 and 14-11), but a 6-0 run after the second put the match more or less to rest. Louisville was outscored 6-5 after being up 20-11, but in a race to 25, it was mostly academic. 

In a bit of an uncommon occurrence for the Cards this season, they hit steadily worse throughout the match. Louisville opened with a .500 mark in the first set with 14 kills and just one error. That dipped to .303 in the second before they hit .239 in the third. That .239 was on 17 kills and six errors, and it was the only set in which Virginia (.273) outhit them. To their credit, the third was the only set in which UVA had fewer than seven errors (3). The fourth saw Louisville hit just .100, but that was up against a -0.059, so the Cards walked away victorious. 

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Charitie Luper and Anna DeBeer led Louisville offensively. Both had 13 kills and just three errors, with DeBeer edging ahead with a .357 percentage. DeBeer added to her offense with 12 digs while Luper contributed an assist, an ace, two assisted blocks, and three digs. Sofia Maldonado Diaz joined the two in double digits with 10 kills while Reese Robins had nine and Cara Cresse had seven. 

Louisville's day at the net was strong, as they blocked 14 shots overall. Cresse and Hannah Sherman led the way on that front, with Cresse putting up two solo blocks and two assisted blocks while Sherman had a whopping three solo and six assisted. The Hoos kept the pressure on Louisville's defense forcing the setters into a combined 21 digs (14 from Cabello), while Elena Scott had 23. Louisville finished with 68 digs as a team, so hats off to UVA for keeping the ball in play. 

The Cards will be back in action tomorrow against Virginia Tech at 1PM. As I noted before, this is the last match before the two closing matches of the season which will have massive implications on the postseason landscape. The Cards and Hokies will do battle on ACC Network Extra. 

Cardinal Couple Radio Hour Podcast

We'll be without the live show again this week as Jeff is on the road. Jared will be at the football stadium for pre-game Senior Day festivities, but with basketball and volleyball to discuss, we'll carry on with the show. We're set for our normal recording time, the show will get be available for listening at its usual time this afternoon. Daryl and Paulie will be on with me. There are plenty of playback options, so be sure to check out whichever is best for you!

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Until next time, Go Cards!

Case