University of Louisville
RUTGERS
Volleyball Sweeps Rutgers in Regular Season Finale
November 29, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 29, 2013
Maya McClendon had a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs to lead the University of Louisville to a 25-16, 25-13, 25-19 sweep over Rutgers University in the final home match of the season. Louisville finished the season unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference at 18-0.
"I am more than proud of this team and especially our seniors. What an accomplishment on many levels to put up a perfect season in the conference," said UofL head coach Anne Kordes. "When you develop a level of success there is a pressure that follows, and really for the last two years they have risen to the occasion. Their experience and hard work paid off."
The Cardinals improved to 23-7 overall as they hit .400 for the match compared to just .133 for the Scarlet Knights. Emily Juhl added 10 kills for UofL. Katie George had 39 assists and Caitlin Welch had 13 digs. Rutgers was led by 10 kills from Micaela Anderson and 16 assists by Nicole Bayer.
Louisville opened up a 14-5 lead in the first set before Rutgers used a 7-2 run to close the gap to 16-12 Cardinals. Maya McClendon had four kills late in the set to spark a 9-4 Louisville run, giving the Cards the win 25-16. UofL hit .326 for the set compared to just .114 for the Scarlet Knights.
In the second set, the Cardinals used a 9-1 run to gain a 14-7 advantage. Another late 9-4 run by UofL helped the Cards earn set point, 24-13, on a service ace from Katie George. A block from Janelle Jenkins and Sydney Cooper gave Louisville the set 25-13.
It was a back and forth battle early in the third set as Louisville took a 9-7 lead before a 5-1 run by the Cards widened the margin to 14-8. The Scarlet Knights battled back to cut the UofL lead to 16-13. The Cardinals earned match point at 24-16 on a Rutgers service error and a kill by Maya McClendon closed out the match as UofL won the third set 25-19.
Louisville earned the AAC's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament and will await their matchup to be announced.
"We will celebrate today but get back to work in preparation for the NCAA tournament," Kordes added. "We are very excited about what comes next."
As the automatic qualifier for the AAC, the Cardinals await their NCAA pairing which will be announced live Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
