No. 18 Volleyball Falls to No. 21 Illinois in NCAA Second Round

Saturday, December 5

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

25-7

University of Illinois

21-12

Illinois

Louisville

No. 18 Volleyball Falls to No. 21 Illinois in NCAA Second Round

December 05, 2015 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Nancy Worley

Maya McClendon hit .317 and finished with17 kills from off the bench to lead the offensive attack for the University of Louisville volleyball team as they fell to the University of Illinois 15-25, 25-22, 25-18, 27-25 in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night at Cardinal Arena.

Senior setter Katie George contributed a double-double as she finished with 47 assists and 11 digs, including a .455 hitting percentage on five kills. Senior outside hitter Erin Fairs added 14 kills, and Janelle Jenkins and Molly Sauer finished with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. The Cardinals finish the season 25-7 overall and the Illini improve to 21-12 as they were led by 26 kills from Jocelynn Birks, who finished with a .426 hitting percentage. Jordyn Poulter added 46 assists and Julia Conard led four Illini players in double digits with 16 digs. Illinois will advance to the Des Moines Regional next week.

"I want to first off congratulate Illinois for winning and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. It's definitely a phenomenal match," said Louisville head coach Anne Kordes. "One of the more competitive ones we've been a part of. I'm so proud of my team. I thought we fought incredibly hard. This is a tough one because this is a really special group; not just because we've had a successful year. It has everything to do with the way that these kids have prepared and trained and worked, which has made it so incredibly – they've made it stand out to me."

Louisville roared out of the gate in the first set to build an early 10-4 advantage forcing an Illinois timeout after three straight Illini attack errors. Illinois closed the gap but a pair of aces from Maggie DeJong and kills from Erin Fairs and Tess Clark forced the final Illini timeout of the set with the Cards leading 16-8. Illinois responded with a 5-2 run but UofL used a 6-0 run of their own to gain set point 24-15 on a Maggie DeJong kill. The Illini would make it 24-15 before a dump from Katie George earned the Cardinals the set one victory 25-15. Louisville hit .333 compared to just .097 for Illinois in the first.

In the second set, Illinois led from the start behind five early kills apiece from Jocelyn Birks and Naya Crittenden to gain a 14-12 lead headed into the media timeout. Louisville hung tough and would take their first lead of the set at 20-19 following a service error and attack error from the Illini. Illinois would go on a 5-2 run to gain set point 24-22 and force a UofL timeout. The Illini would close out the set 25-22 on a dump from setter Jordan Poulter.

The match remained tight in the third before Illinois used a 9-3 run to force a Louisville timeout with the Illini holding a 16-11 advantage. The Cards would cut the lead to 20-16 but the Illini finished with a 5-2 run to win set three 25-18.

The fourth set was tight early as well before Illinois opened a 16-11 advantage. The Cards responded to close within 17-14 on a block from Tess Clark and Erin Fairs. The Illini would extend the lead once again to 22-16 but UofL hung tough and responded with a 5-0 run to force a timeout with the Illini clinging to a 22-21 lead. Illinois battled to earn match point 24-21 but the Cards were resilient using a 4-0 run of their own to earn set point leading 25-24 on a block from Maggie DeJong and Katie George. The Illini regained match point and closed out the set on back-to-back blocks to win the match 3-1.

"We didn't want it to end tonight but hats off to Illinois who just played an, they bounced back after the first set and came back," Kordes continued. "But, like I said, I'm walking out of this match holding my head high and I just couldn't be more thankful to the three seniors who really just put it on the line and did a phenomenal job; not just playing this year but just with their leadership of the team."