LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Claire Chaussee had 18 kills to lead No. 5 Louisville volleyball past No. 8 Kentucky 3-2 in the Battle of the Bluegrass on Wednesday night in front of a record crowd at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Louisville tallied 59 kills while hitting .210, adding 57 digs, 15 blocks, and four aces. Anna DeBeer notched 14 kills with Anna Stevenson contributing 12 on a team high .333 hitting percentage. ACC Freshman of the week Elena Scott had 18 digs with setter Tori Dilfer adding 44 assists and Amaya Tillman racking up nine blocks in the victory. Tonight's match marks the 12th time in series history the two teams battled out a full five set match which came before a record crowd of 1,268 at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
The Cardinals improve to 9-0 for the best start since 2005 with the 17-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9 win.
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Kentucky had 62 kills and hit .193 with three aces, eight blocks and eight service errors. Alli Stumler lead UK's offense with 20 kills and Emma Grome added 55 assists. With the loss, the Wildcats move to 6-3 on the season.
Set 1
The Cardinals found themselves down 5-2 to start the set but managed to trade points and get back within one at 6-5. A run by Kentucky extended its lead to 13-7, forcing UofL to call their first timeout. Continuing to play from behind, Louisville put together a solid three-point run to get back within five at 16-11 before having to call its final timeout down 19-12 late in the set. The Cards would make one final push to stay in the game at 20-15 but would eventually drop the first set 25-17.
Set 2
A tightly contested second set that had 12 ties and five lead changes saw the Cardinals and Wildcats going back-and-forth with some of the longest rallies of the match. UofL strung together three straight points highlighted by an Aiko Jones ace to take a 12-10 lead. UK scratched back into the set, evening the score 13-13 before a kill by Claire Chaussee and a long volley win for the Cards gave them a 15-13 lead heading into a TV timeout. Louisville carried the momentum through the timeout and controlled the set, taking a 22-18 lead, its largest of the set, to force Kentucky to call its first timeout. UofL would go on to win the second set 25-20, bringing the match even 1-1.
Set 3
The Cards kept the momentum, jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead off a four-point run. After losing a point, Louisville went on the attack again, stringing together a second four-point run to take an early 8-2 lead and force Kentucky to call its first timeout. UofL continued to dominate the set, extending their lead 13-5. The Wildcats put together a rally to close the gap, getting within three at 16-13, and Louisville had to call its first timeout. Kentucky kept the pressure on through the break, tying the set 21-21 before a long rally win by the Cardinals would give them the surge they needed to take the set 25-22.
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Set 4
Louisville started the fourth set down early as Kentucky took a 10-5 lead into the Cardinals first timeout of the set. UofL used the break to regroup and mounted a rally to get back within two at 14-12, capped off by back-to-back aces from Aiko Jones to force the Wildcats to call their first timeout. The Cards found themselves down 22-19 late and had to take their final timeout after UK scored two straight points to take a 24-19 lead. Louisville would go on to drop the fourth set 25-20.
Set 5
Another tightly contested start, Louisville and Kentucky went back-and-forth trading the lead. After six ties and three lead changes in the set, Kentucky took an 8-6 advantage into a TV timeout. The Cardinals went on a three-point run and took four out of the next five points out of the break for a 10-9 lead that would force the Wildcats to take their first timeout. UofL did not let up as they scored back-to-back points after the timeout to extend the lead 12-9 as Kentucky took its final timeout of the match. Louisville would not give up another point as they railed off a seven-point run to take the set 15-9 and win the match 3-2.
Up next, the Cards head to Lincoln, Neb. on Saturday, Sep. 18 to take on No. 6 Nebraska in their second consecutive top 10 matchup.
