University of Louisville
USF
Volleyball Clinches AAC Crown with Sweep of USF
November 17, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 17, 2013
Senior hitter Emily Juhl had 17 kills and two aces to lead the University of Louisville to a 25-15, 25-16, 25-23 sweep of South Florida which clinched The American Athletic Conference Championship for the Cardinals and ensured the NCAA Automatic Qualifier.
"That was a phenomenal job today and it took a great team effort to execute our game plan," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. "Emily Juhl proved why she was selected as co-Player of the Year in the preseason. She had a huge match today and was unstoppable offensively and from the service line as well. Her aggressiveness set the tone for us and helped every other player play with zero hestitation. She was out there banging balls."
U of L, now 15-0 in the AAC, still has three matches but could lose the last three and still win the league. Only Cincinnati, Rutgers and UConn remain on the slate for the Cards, the three teams currently in the AAC cellar. The Cardinals hit .336 and had four blocks and four aces. Maya McClendon joined Juhl in double digit kills and got her ninth double-double as she added 17 digs. USF was led by Erin Fairs' nine kills and 13 digs.
In the first set, U of L, 20-7 overall, put together an 8-2 run to go up 20-13 and then Emily Juhl served for three straight points, including an ace boost the lead to 23-15. Katie George dumped to get set point and a block by Randi Ewing tipped the set to the Cardinals 25-15.
In the second set, U of L ran off to a 12-4 lead and then held off the Bulls with .533 hitting cruising to a 25-16 win.
The Cards had a battle on their hands in the third set as there were 15 ties and five lead changes. Up 22-18, U of L let USF run off five straight to take the lead at 23-22 but a kill by Maya McClendon and a Emily Juhl kill gave the set and match to the Cards 25-23.
