University of Louisville
Pepperdine
Volleyball Falls 3-1 to Pepperdine
September 14, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 14, 2013
Kelley Larsen had 19 kills and two blocks to lead Pepperdine University to a 3-1 win over the University of Louisville volleyball team at the Bluegrass Battle Saturday evening in Memorial Coliseum.
"I am proud of our fight that we showed and we had opportunities to win and our lack of experience prevented us from pushing through to the win," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. " Our service errors prevented us from putting together sustained runs. But playing a national caliber schedule like this helps us to focus on what we need to work on to compete at that level as we move to the end of our season. "
The Cardinals, 2-6, hit .185, were outblocked 13.5-9.5 and committed 12 service errors in the 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 26-24 loss to the Waves. Janelle Jenkins had 11 kills and Maya McClendon added 10 to pace the Cards. Pepperdine, 6-2, hit .239 and was added Katie Messing's 15 kills to the double digit list.
Neither team could get any breathing room of more than two points in the tightly contested first set. Pepperdine took its first lead at 19-18 on a kill by Samantha Cash, but after a PU service error, U of L responded with three straight points, one by Maya McClendon and two straight by Randi Ewing, to get to set point. Katie George aced the Waves for the 25-22 win.
In the second set, U of L fell behind 10-6 early on and then managed to scrap its way back into the set when they pulled within three at 21-18 on one of Maya McClendon's three kills in the set. The Cards had trouble containing 6-5 Katie Messing, who had seven kills in the set.
The Cardinals trailed early in the third set but took their first lead at 16-15 in the midst of a 6-0 run. Pepperdine pushed back, retaking the lead at 20-19 on a kill by Kelley Larsen and the never trailed again. The Cards hit .000 in the 25-22 loss.
Pepperdine stayed within striking distance in the fourth set and then took the lead at 18-17. The Cardinals battled back two straight kills to get to set point at 24-22 but could not contain the PU offense and fell 26-24.
U of L opens its home slate next Saturday when they face Rice at noon and Virginia Tech at 7:30 both in Cardinal Arena as part of the Active Ankle Challenge Presented by Marriott Downtown .
