Volleyball Falls to No. 5 Minnesota

Friday, September 9

Chapel Hill, N.C.

4:00 PM

University of Louisville

4-3

Minnesota

4-1

Louisville

Minnesota

September 09, 2016 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score

Cards face No. 2 Wisconsin on Saturday at ACC/Big Ten Challenge

By: Nancy Worley

Alexis Hart had 13 kills and two blocks to lead the No. 5 Minnesota Gophers to a 25-10, 25-12, 25-13 sweep of the University of Louisville volleyball team Friday afternoon at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on the campus of the University of North Carolina.

"I thought we passed really well but we had trouble converting those great passes into points," said Anne Kordes, UofL head coach. "Minnesota runs really fast and one way to slow down a fast team is to make them play the ball. We need to focus on taking care of the ball and eliminating unforced errors. This was a learning experience and we will get there."

UofL (4-3) hit .038 and four blocks and were led by Janelle Jenkins' 10 kills. Minnesota blocked the Cards 15 times and hit .462 with Sarah Wilhite adding 12 kills.

In the first set, Minnesota powered out to a 6-0 lead that included two aces by Sarah Wilhite. At one point the Gophers were hitting .775 against the Cardinals, who were without two starters, including setter Kali Eaken. Minnesota continued to build its lead with an 8-1 run to get to a 21-8 lead and then scored four straight points to end the set 25-10. The Gophers had eight blocks in the first set alone.

In the second set, Louisville was able to pop out to a 4-2 lead but the Gophers tied at five, went ahead on the next play and then never trailed again. The Cardinals called timeout at 14-7 but ended up being outscored 8-2 down the stretch before falling 25-12. Jenkins had three kills in the set to lead the Cards offensively.

In the third set, the Cardinals switched to a 6-2 offense and inserted freshman Megan Sloan into the left side slot to try to change up the momentum. UofL took a 5-3 lead but Minnesota had a 10-3 run to go up 14-6 and never looked back.