University of Louisville
UCF
Volleyball Beats UCF to Stay Unbeaten in AAC
October 13, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 13, 2013
For video highlights: Video
Freshman outside hitter Maya McClendon had 18 kills with 18 digs to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-1 win over Central Florida in AAC volleyball action Sunday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Cards stayed undefeated in The American at 6-0 and move to 10-6 overall with the 23-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20 win. U of L was paced by its two senior middles with Randi Ewing connecting for 11 kills and seven blocks, and Brooke Mattingly adding 15 kills and two blocks. Emily Juhl was the fourth Cardinal in double digits with 10 kills. Libero Caitlin Welch had a school record 40 digs for the Cards, beating Sarah Drury Petkovich's mark of 39 set in 2003 . UCF suffered its first loss in the league for a 4-1 mark and are 13-5 overall. The Knights were paced by Angelica Crump's 15 kills.
"I thought Randi Ewing showed great senior leadership both physically and emotionally out there on the court," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. " Brooke Mattingly was quiet but showed up with a vengeance in the third game and that was huge. You can't run the middles like that unless you have great passing. I though Haley Pouliezos, Hannah Kvitle and Caitlin Welch made for a stud back row defensively."
The first set had 13 ties and six lead changes as both teams struggled to find their footing. In fact, U of L was up 22-21 and then let the Knights back in with two Cardinal miscues and akills by Crump and Loren Corey to give UCF the 25-23 win. The Knights hit .308 in that set which may have been the tipping point as the Cards mustered only .186.
The Cards regrouped quickly in the second set, going up 14-8 on an ace by McClendon but then had to stave off a furious rally by the Knights, who tied at 15. UCF retook the lead at 18-17 and the Cards were unable to regain it until 24-23 on a miss by Kaye-Alese Green. Mattingly put down the slide for the set point to even the set score at one going into the break.
In the third set, with the score knotted at 10, the Cards put together a 5-2 run powered by Pouliezos' serving four straight to go up 15-12. The Knights managed to cut the lead to one at 18-17 on a Cardinal miss but would only score once more as Cards dug in for the 25-18 win.
The Knights faltered in the fourth set, falling behind 13-4 early but showed their mettle by cutting that deficit to two at 15-13. Libero Caitlin Welch served for six straight points to push the lead to 22-13 and the Cards held off the Knights' comeback for the 25-20 win.
The Cardinals head to Wichita State for a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, before heading to longtime rival Cincinnati on Friday.
