University of Louisville
0-1
Illinois
1-0
Volleyball Edged by No. 8 Illinois
August 31, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
Cards Shine in Season Opener
Erin Fairs had 13 kills and two blocks but it was not enough as the No. 8 ranked University of Illinois escaped 27-25, 25-23, 26-24 in a tightly contested season opening volleyball match in the first round of the Illini Classic in Champaign, Ill. Friday night.
UofL, 0-1, was plagued by service errors with 13 but had eight team blocks, led by Tess Clark's four. The Cards hit .131 for the match and had 52 digs led by setter Katie George's 15. George had 30 digs and two blocks. The Illini were led by Michelle Strizak's 13 kills and two blocks.
"We played extremely tough and challenged ourselves tonight," said UofL head coach Anne Kordes. "Our floor defense and our offense looked really good but we struggled at the service line and you can't give away points like that in a match that was won by six total points when you are competing against a top 10 team. I am proud of how extremely tough we played."
In the first set, the Cards outhit the Illini .208 to .189 but lllinois had five blocks, five by Katie Stadick. Louisville newcomer Erin Fairs had seven kills to pace the Cards. U of L tore out to a 904 lead early and did not relinquish the lead until 22-21. The Cards staved off set point three times before falling 27-25.
A 6-1 run by U of I put the Cards down 12-5 early in the second set. The Cards got their block going with four in the set and put themselves in striking distance at 14-11. Katie George served five straight points to put the Cards within one at 22-21. U of I answered and had set point at 24-21. UofL dug its heels in and a kill by Erin Fairs took the Cards to 24-23 before falling 25-23 on a hitting error.
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The Cardinals used a 7-2 run midway through the third set to tie at 15 and then traded punches with the Illini. UofL never led but managed seven ties and held off two set/match points befor a kill by Strizak put an end to the comeback efforts.
The Cardinals play Creighton at 1:30 ET as the Illini Classic continues. The Blue Jays beat Miami of Ohio 3-2 in the first match of the day. Later, the Cards will square off with the Redhawks immediately following their first match.
