University of Louisville
BOSTON COLLEGE
Volleyball Falls to Boston
September 26, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
The University of Louisville volleyball team dropped its ACC opener to Boston College in a five set loss (25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 17-25, 15-8). This was the first conference opening loss for UofL in five seasons and snapped a 34-conference match winning streak dating back two different conferences in a Big East loss to Notre Dame Sept. 23, 2012.
Sophomore Janelle Jenkins finished with 18 kills, while junior Roxanne McVey totaled 24 digs. Despite the loss, the Cardinals held a .164 to .152 hitting advantage. The Cardinals also outblocked the Eagles 10-5 but were aced five times. Tess Clark led the block with six. Setter Katie George had seven kills and 14 digs and a block. The Eagles were led by Katty Workman's 21 kills.
"Without Katie George's heroics, we wouldn't have even been in the position to get to the fifth set and try to salvage the match," said UofL head coach Anne Kordes. "We had some injuries and made some lineup changes but that is no excuse because we looked like we have never played volleyball together before. I am really leaning on Janelle Jenkins, Maya McClendon and Roxanne McVey on defense so we can stay in system."
The Cardinals struggled with the Eagles' serve, getting aced three times in the first set. BC was able to keep UofL out of a rhythm and held them to a .167 hitting percentage. The Eagles hit .279 and used a 9-2 run late in the first set. Boston College went on two five-point runs in the set, as the Cards were unable to push back and eventually fell 25-19.
In the second set, UofL fell behind 8-1 early and tried to play catch-up. The Cards made it 17-19 at one point late in the set, before BC got to set point at 24-18. The Cards scored four points before a kill by Julia Topor gave the Eagles the 25-22 win and a two-set lead going into the break.
In the third set, the Cards went on a six-point run early on to go up 8-3. BC was hampered by a .047 hitting percentage as the Eagles tried to come back, but only got as close as 10-5. Janelle Jenkins had five kills in the set as the Cardinals rolled 25-16.
In the fourth set, a 14-6 Cardidnal lead early proved to be insurmountable for the Eagles as the Louisville outhit BC .250 to .027 in the set. The Cards registered their first two aces of the match, one from McClendon and the other from Lyndsay Palmer. But the turning point was the eight Cardinal blocks as BC fell 25-17 to even the set score at two.
The decisive fifth set was close before the switch as the teams went back and forth. The score was tied at eight when Boston College pulled away on a seven-point run to take the set and match.
The Cards will stay at home, and host Georgia Tech on Sunday at 2 pm. In the KFC Yum! Center.
