Volleyball Set for Kentucky and Lipscomb Matches

The University of Louisville volleyball team will face their in-state rival, Kentucky, at 7 p.m. this Thursday evening in the KFC Yum! Center before facing Lipscomb University at 7 p.m. on Friday in Cardinal Arena.

The Cards, 4-4, are coming off an 0-2 weekend at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge held on the campus of North Carolina. Short three starters, the Cardinals were swept by then-No. 5 ranked Minnesota 25-10, 25-12, 25-13. Louisville fine-tuned its lineup and turned in an inspired performance against No. 2-ranked Wisconsin the next night, falling 25-19, 26-24, 25-20 still without starting setter Kali Eaken and starting middle Jasmine Bennett. Middle Maggie DeJong is back in the lineup but has doctor-imposed limitations.

The Cats have gotten a boost in offense from freshman Leah Edmond, who currently leads all Southeastern Conference freshmen in kills and kills per set and was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Edmond has been strong offensively for the Wildcats through nine matches this season and leads the team with 3.70 kills per set. Last week at the Bluegrass Battle, she helped UK to a 2-1 record with wins over Virginia and Saint Louis.

The 6-foot-2 outside hitter led the team in kills with three 10+ kill performances and had her first double- In Friday's loss to Marquette, Edmond posted 17 kills and a career-high 10 digs. After a tough loss to Marquette on Friday night, the Kentucky volleyball team bounced back with a sweep of Virginia 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-18) on Saturday morning in Memorial Coliseum.

Kentucky had 16 blocks in the match while holding Virginia to a -.010 hitting percentage. Junior Kaz Brown led the Wildcats with a season-high 10 block assists. After topping Virginia, the Kentucky volleyball team then earned its second sweep in beating Saint Louis 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-19) in the final match of the Bluegrass Battle. Kentucky's blocking was a factor with the Wildcats roofing 16.5 times, while holding the Billikens to a .079 hitting percentage in the contest. Junior Kaz Brown led the blocking attack with eight total blocks, while classmate Emily Franklin added seven of her own.

The Cardinals then play Lipscomb University at 7 p.m. on Friday evening at Cardinal Arena.

Lipscomb swept Virginia Tech 3-0 to end up with a sweep of the Lipscomb Invitational with a 3-0 record. This was the second time Lipscomb has swept its own invitational since 2013. The win over Virginia Tech was the second straight win for Lipscomb over an ACC team. They beat Miami 3-1 Sept. 2. The Lady Bisons notched a win on the first day of the Lipscomb Invitational with a 3-1 win over Northwestern from the Big 10. Lipscomb opened with a 32-30 win in set one but Northwestern rebounded in set two for a 25-16 decision. Lipscomb came back from the break to win set three 25-20 and then closed out the match with a 25-23 victory. The Lady Bisons had beaten Ole Miss 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 earlier that same day. It marked the first loss of the season for Ole Miss. The Rebels entered the match with a 7-0 record. Lipscomb has wins over Texas, Cal-Northridge and Pepperdine in addition to the LUV sweep.

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Players Mentioned

Jasmine Bennett

Maggie DeJong

Kali Eaken

University of Louisville Athletics