University of Louisville
Penn State
Volleyball Falls to No. 2 Penn State
August 31, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Aug 31, 2013
Maya McClendon had eight kills and Emily Juhl added seven but the University of Louisville fell victim to No. 2-ranked Penn State's aggressive serving bowing out 25-15, 25-16, 25-13 at the Penn State Invitational in State College, Pa.
"As evidenced by the very last point of the game our setter Hannah Kvitle was crashing into the stands chasing a ball down, the score doesn't reflect the amount of fight in this team," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. "No question we can learn from this that we cannot make unforced errors on a team that experienced, deep and talented."
The Cardinals were aced 10 times, eight of them from the hot left hand of PSU setter Micha Hancock. U of L hit .020 to PSU's .247. The Lions were paced by Ariel Scott's 11 kills. U of L's Hannah Kvitle and Randi Ewing each had two blocks with Caitlin Welch adding a team-high 10 digs. Emily Juhl and Brooke Mattingly were named to the All-Tournament Team.
"Maya McClendon had a her coming out party on the biggest stage possible not to mention with her entire family and sister on the other side of the net. She has such a promising future," said Kordes.
U of L fell behind early in the first set, trailing 14-4 before scrambling back with long rallies and aggressive serving to pull within five at 16-11. PSU kicked it up a notch, outscoring the Cards 10-4 down the stretch. Neither team was putting on a hitting clinic, with PSU hitting .185 and U of L at a chilly .185. Emily Juhl paced the Cards with 4 kills and Maya McClendon had three in the opening set.
The Cards were undaunted and led early in the second half when kills by Juhl and Brooke Mattingly helpe the Cards to an 8-6 lead. PSU answered with a 10-2 run and Kordes burned both her time outs trying to chill the hot hands of the Nittany Lions and trailed. U of L made a little run but fell 25-16 to trail 2-0 at the break. Mattingly and Juhl each had two kills in the set, but Cardinal hitting fell to -.176.
PSU emerged from the break in a higher gear and ran out to a 14-6 lead and the Cards could not grab the momentum and fell 25-13.
