Volleyball Set to Host Active Ankle Challenge at KFC Yum! Center

The University of Louisville Volleyball will host the Active Ankle Challenge this weekend at the KFC Yum! Center.

In all, six matches will be played over the two days. Friday, September 2, Auburn will play Stony Brook at 5 p.m. followed by Louisville taking on Santa Clara at 7:30. Saturday will feature Louisville vs. Stony Brook at 10 a.m.; Santa Clara vs. Auburn at 12 p.m.; Stony Brook vs. Santa Clara at 5 p.m. and Auburn vs. Louisville at 7:30. All in the KFC Yum! Center.

The No. 21-ranked Cardinals are 3-0 coming into the weekend, after sweeping the Hampton Inn Invitational at Bowling Green State last weekend. Freshman outside hitter Melanie McHenry was named tournament MVP and Tess Clark was named to the All-Tournament team.

Santa Clara volleyball finished opening weekend of the 2016 season by winning both of its matches Saturday to claim the USC Baden Invitational championship. The Broncos started with a 22-25, 25-11, 25-20, 25-17 upset victory over No. 7 USC and ended the day by downing Marquette 25-17, 25-22, 16-25, 25-14. The Broncos earned dual recognition on Monday afternoon for its undefeated opening weekend when Kirsten Mead was named West Coast Conference Volleyball Player of the Week and the Broncos received votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Broncos received 123 points, second-most for a team not to make the Top 25 in this week's poll.

The Stony Brook volleyball team was defeated by Hofstra in straight sets (19-25, 25-27, 21-25) Tuesday night at the David S. Mack Fitness Center. In the defeat, the Seawolves fell to 1-3. The Seawolves will play 10 of their first 11 matches away from Pritchard Gymnasium, with tournaments at UCF, Louisville, and Rhode Island, The Seawolves graduated four seniors - program all-time digs leader Lo Hathaway 1,000-kill outside hitter Kathy Fletcher, America East all-conference selection Nicole Vogel, and middle blocker/serving extraordinaire Stephanie McFadden - but some of the returning Seawolves look to make a big impact in 2016. Sophomore McKyla Brooks was an America East All-Rookie team honoree in 2015, while sophomore Morgan Kath was one of the top setters in the America East. Sophomore Taylor Wilson (Corydon, Ind.) elevated her play as a six-rotation player down the stretch and will be a major factor for the squad in 2016.

Auburn enters the Challenge with a 1-3 record. The Tigers will once again look to Alexa Filley of Louisville, Ky. to pace the Auburn offense this year and bring a new level of leadership to the team. The junior again had a record-breaking season as the two-year starter broke her own 25-point rally scoring era record for assists in 2015, having 1,226. Filley finished as an AVCA All-South Region honorable mention, averaging 10.13 assists per set. The Tiger hitters averaged 13.1 kills per set with her directing the ball and the hitters' 1,588 total kills ranked among the Top 10 in Auburn program single season history. The two top hitters from 2015 return in junior Courtney Crable of Louisville, Ky. and Brenna McIlroy. The pair finished with 333 kills apiece, while Crable had a 2.82 kills per set average over 118 sets played.

Volleyball Set to Host Active Ankle Challenge at KFC Yum! Center

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tess Clark

Melanie McHenry

University of Louisville Athletics