Volleyball Set for Road Trip to Wake Forest and Duke

After the Cardinals earned a share of first place in the ACC with wins over Notre Dame and Pitt last week, the University of Louisville volleyball team will hit the road for Wake Forest and Duke this weekend.

Melanie McHenry had 20 kills and 15 digs to lead UofL to a 3-2 win over Notre Dame iin South Bend. UofL won 25-22, 25-17, 18-25, 18-25, 15-10 The Cards got 13 kills from Tess Clark, who added a pair of blocks. Maggie DeJong had eight kills and three blocks and Jasmine Bennett had 8 kills and three blocks. Setter Wilma Rivera had a season-high six aces and added 50 assists and 15 digs. Notre Dame was led by Rebecca Nunge's 16 kills and two blocks. Sam Fry had 13 kills, hit .423 and had three blocks.

The University of Louisville volleyball team used an 8-0 run in the fifth set to put away ACC leader Pittsburgh 3-2 Friday night at Cardinal Arena. Senior outside hitter Tess Clark tied her career best with 19 kills to help the Cards move to the top of the standings.

"It was a gritty win by our team tonight," said UofL head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "After playing a five-game match on Wednesday night at Notre Dame and getting home at 2:00 a.m. to come out against Pitt, who's obviously a very good team, and play through a couple minor injuries, it just felt like we had to play as a team for every point. It's pretty awesome to see our girls do that."

UofL (16-6, 10-2) moves to first place in the conference with the 25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 19-25, 15-12 win. The Cardinals hit .190 with 12 blocks and survived 12 service errors. Melanie McHenry had 13 kills and 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Amanda Green added 11 kills and four blocks and Wilma Rivera had 53 assists with Molly Sauer adding 13 digs.

Wake Forest
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons bring an overall record of 11-13 and a conference record of 3-9 into the weekend. They are coming off a 3-0 loss at Clemson and a 3-1 loss at Georgia Tech last weekend. Senior outside hitter Kylie Long who carries 304 kills and a 3.45 kills per set average leads the Demon Deacons in both categories. Senior libero Caroline Wolf is second in the ACC and leads the team with 361 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Caroline Rassenfoss is fourth in the ACC and leads the team with 29 service aces.

Duke
The Duke Blue Devil's carry an overall 15-8 record and a 7-5 conference record. Head coach Jolene Nagel's Blue Devils are currently on a four-game winning streak and beat Georgia Tech 3-1 and Clemson 3-0 last weekend. Senior outside hitter Cadie Bates leads Duke with 269 kills and a 3.02 kills per set average, and is second on the team with 260 digs. Senior defensive specialist/libero Nicole Elattrache is tops on the team and third in the ACC with 357 digs. The Blue Devils will take on Notre Dame Friday, November 3rd before their matchup with the Cards.

Series Record vs. Wake and Duke
Louisville leads the series with Wake Forest 6-2
Louisville trails the series with Duke 3-6.

Tess Clark hits the 1000 kills mark
Senior OH Tess Clark hit the 1000 career kill mark during the FSU game. She is the 18th player to joing the 1000 Kill Club. The last being Janelle Jenkins last season when she hit 1152 mark.

Cardinal Middle Hitters Lethal in ACC
Middle blockers Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett are formidable at the net for the Cards in ACC play. Bennett is hitting .335 and has 47 blocks already (1.00 per set.) Maggie DeJong is hitting .371 with 49 blocks (1.04 per set).

Streaking
The Cards have won nine of their last 10 matches and 11 of their last 13.

Home Sweet Home
The Cards are 6-0 in the ACC at home in newly refurbished Cardinal Arena this season.

Home Sweet Home in the ACC
ACC home teams are 95-60 at home this season, for a .613 winning percentage.

Cards Receiving Votes on Volleymob Poll
The Cardinals are receiving votes on the latest poll by Volleymob, a new website devoted to volleyball.

Cards Face Steep Schedule
After 20 matches, the Card's rank No. 36 in the nation in toughest schedules. Four of their first ten opponents were nationally ranked. Add Illinois and Notre Dame into the receiving votes category and it's easy to see how the Cards rank this highly.

Cards Ranked in RPI
After 20 matches, UofL's RPI is No. 22. Wake Forest is 171, Duke is 79. The rating percentage index, commonly known as the RPI, is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule.

Cards Attendance is Ranked
UofL ranks No. 54 in attendance in NCAA with an average of 945. The Cards are ranked 18th in capacity percentage (80.30). Ranked first in the conference in capacity percentage.

Clark Among NCAA Career Leaders
Tess Clark is ranked No. 16 in active career leaders in hitting percentage with .352.

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Players Mentioned

Jasmine Bennett

Tess Clark

Maggie DeJong

Amanda Green

Melanie McHenry

Wilma Rivera

Molly Sauer

University of Louisville Athletics