Volleyball Falls to No. 24 Kentucky

Sunday, September 20

Lexington, Ky.

2:00 PM

University of Louisville

6-4

Kentucky

7-5

Louisville

Kentucky

September 20, 2015 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Fairs has 15 kills

By: Nancy Worley

Erin Fairs had 15 kills and two blocks for the University of Louisville volleyball team but it was not enough as the Cardinals fell to intrastate rival No. 24-ranked Kentucky 3-1.

"We were on a nice little win streak coming in and we pride ourselves on being a team that plays with some swag and the ability to stay loose. But we were tight. You can't have 30 hitting errors and 14 service errors and expect to mount a comeback," said UofL head coach Anne Kordes.

The Cards move to 6-4 on the season with the 25-27, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23 loss to the Cats. UofL hit .171 with 30 hitting errors and were plagued with service errors, committing 14. UK hit .191 but had 17 blocks and three aces. Janelle Jenkins added 15 kills with middle blocker Maggie DeJong adding 10 kills. Tess Clark had a team high eight blocks. UK was led by Darian Mack's 14 kills and Kaz Brown roofed the Cards 13 times.

The Cardinals had to hit around a tall Kentucky block in the first set, but managed to hit .256 led by Erin Fairs' eight kills. Trailing early, UofL used an 10-2 run to go up 18-15, forcing the Cats to burn both their timeouts to staunch the point bleed. In all there were eight ties as the teams traded punches until UofL managed to squeak out the 27-25 win on a kill by Erin Fairs and a block by Tess Clark. The Cats had six blocks in the set but hit just .200.

"We needed a spark to get us going," said senior Erin Fairs. "I tried to bring that and I felt strong in the first set."

The Cats used an 8-1 run in the second set to run out to a 16-7 lead. Louisville battled back with a 4-0 run to get to 22-17 and spark a UK timeout. But three straight Cardinal hitting errors sealed UofL's fate with the 25-18. UK added three more blocks as the Cards hit a chilly .103 in the set. Janelle Jenkins led with seven kills in the set.

Service errors plagued the Cards, nipping UofL runs in the third set. After trailing 15-9, UofL got to within one at 19-18 but a UofL service error and a pair of UK blocks gave the Cats set point when Anni Thomasson ricocheted a ball off the Cardinal block for set point. UofL fell 15-20 in the set.

The fourth set saw the Cards scoot out to a 11-8 lead but the Con one to ats benefitted from Cards' spotty hitting and managed to tie at 13. Uof L came back to take the lead at 18-17 on a solo block by Tess C lark. As the team traded points, UK took a one point lead on at 20-19 on an miss by Fairs. UofL ran off three straight to go up 22-20 on a kill by Aniah Philo but the Cats ran off four straight for match point at 24-22. Jenkins connected on one for a kill before Kentucky closed the door with a 25-23 win.

The Cardinals open the ACC campaign at Notre Dame Friday, Sept. 25 before coming home on Sunday for a 12:30 p.m. matchup with the Hurricanes at the KFC Yum! Center.