University of Louisville
Arizona State
Volleyball Upsets No. 15 Ranked Arizona State
September 12, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
"I am so proud of our kids because one of our recurring themes has been resiliency especially going into the ACC," said UofL head coach Anne Kordes. "We had back to back losses and came back and put together an amazing performance to beat No. 15-ranked Arizona State. They do really well in the PAC 12 and I expect them to do the same this year."
Janelle Jenkins led all players with 12 kills while Maya McClendon added seven kills. Katie George tallied a double-double with 29 assists and 12 digs while Tess Clark added five blocks to help the Cardinals improve their overall record to 4-3. The Sun Devils were led by Macey Gardner, who had 11 kills but were handed their first loss of the season as they fell to 6-1.
"I am very excited about the play of Janelle Jenkins who not only did well in the front row on offense but on her blocking," said Kordes. "She played all the way around and did a phenomenal job in the back row. Maya McClendon was unflappable in the back row and her passing kept us in system and allowed Katie George to run a great offense. That was a phenomenal team effort with everybody doing their job together."
In the first set, the Cards jumped out to a 9-4 lead and held their largest lead of the set at 18-12 prompting a Sun Devils timeout. Arizona State clawed back to tie the set at 22 all. Kills from Jenkins and McClendon gave the Cards set point before a service ace from Courtney Robison gave the Cards a 25-23 first set win. Louisville hit .118 in the set but was helped with five service aces and three blocks.
In the second set, the two teams kept it close early with the Cards building a slight 9-6 advantage. A 7-0 run propelled the Cards to an 18-6 lead. In the run, Lyndsay Palmer served up three aces while the Sun Devils committed three attack errors. The Cardinals finished the set behind kills from Laura Blab and Maggie DeJong to take a 25-13 win. Arizona State was held to a .000 hitting percentage in the set while the Louisville hit .200 along with three aces and three blocks.
Louisville jumped out to a 14-3 early lead in the third set behind another 7-0 run. Arizona State clawed back within seven but the Cardinals cruised to a 25-17 set win. Louisville tallied 15 kills in the set, including six from Jenkins, and hit .294 to earn the 3-0 sweep from the Sun Devils.
Overall the Cardinals hit .204 along with 12 service aces and tallied 8.0 blocks. Louisville held Arizona State to a .089 hitting percentage to give the Cards their second win over a ranked opponent this season.
UofL plays Morehead State this evening to continue the Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational. The first serve is set for 7 p.m. before the Cards round out the tournament on Saturday against Northern Illinois at 2 p.m.
