No. 22 Cardinals Fall to Syracuse in Five

Sunday, October 28

LOUISVILLE, KY

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

17-6, 10-2

SYRACUSE

13-7, 9-3

LOUISVILLE

Melanie McHenry hits the ball during the Cardinals game with Virginia Tech at Cardinal Arena on October 12.

October 28, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery Syracuse at Louisville box score

Melanie McHenry had 22 kills, Marijke Van Dyke has seven blocks

By: Alexis Chevalier

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville volleyball team fell to Syracuse University in five sets, 3-2, on Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Arena.

The Cardinals move to 17-6, 10-2 in the ACC with the 21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 15-13 loss. The Cards hit .250 with seven aces and nine blocks. UofL's Jasmine Bennett had 16 kills and Marijke Van Dyke added 11 from off the bench. Molly Sauer totaled 20 digs through the match. Syracuse (13-7, 9-3) hit .299 with 10 blocks and one ace.

Through a back-and-forth first set, the Cardinals and Orange traded the lead four times. After finding the biggest lead of the match at 21-17, the Cardinals rode a .471 hitting percentage to a 25-21 win. Jasmine Bennett tallied six kills for the Cardinals to start the match, while Melanie McHenry was not far behind at five kills.

Despite coming back to tie five times through the second set, the Orange's early lead was too much for the Cardinals to overcome. The Cardinals stayed within two of Syracuse through 10-10, but the Orange took advantage of Louisville errors to even the match at one set apiece, 25-18.

The Cardinals commanded the third set from the beginning. After jumping to a 5-1 lead, the Cardinals gave the Orange little room to try and comeback from the deficit and took the third set 25-17. Led by McHenry's four kills, the Cardinals posted a .423 hitting percentage in the third set while holding Syracuse to .174.

In the fourth set, Syracuse claimed the first two points and never let the Cardinals get any closer. The Orange slowly increased their lead as the set went on to tie the match with a 25-18 fourth set win.

The Cardinals took the two-point lead to start the final set. However, a three-point run by Syracuse a few points later saw the score be tied at 5-5. After trading points until the score was 11-11, Syracuse broke away to a two-point lead and clinched the match with a 15-13 fifth set victory.

The Cardinals return to action on Friday, Nov. 2 as they Host Miami at 7 p.m.