University of Louisville
21-8, 14-4
GEORGIA TECH
17-14, 6-12
Cardinals Sweep Georgia Tech in Regular Season Finale
November 23, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
Seniors shine on final night in Cardinal Arena
Led by junior Melanie McHenry's 20 kills  the Louisville Cardinals celebrated Senior Night in style, sweeping Georgia Tech 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-21) in ACC volleyball action Friday evening inside Cardinal Arena.
With the win, the Cards improve to 21-8 overall and 14-4 in ACC conference play. The Yellow Jackets drop to 17-14 overall, and 6-12 in ACC play. McHenry hit a season high .462 hitting percentage, while seniors Amanda Green and Jasmine Bennett chipped in eight and seven kills of their own, respectively. Senior setter Wilma Rivera racked up 36 assists in her final home game. Senior libero Molly Sauer went out with a bang, leading the team defensively with 17 digs. Tech was led offensively by Mariana Brambilla's 10 kills, while Matti McKissock led the Yellow Jackets on defense with 16 digs.
"I thought we had a lot of energy tonight, very fitting for senior night." said head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "It was good to see all the seniors play so well and have fun. We had an awesome crowd so it was a great, great Friday night for Volleyball. It was good to play well under pressure on an emotional night."
The Cards came out firing on all cylinders in the first set, jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage. Tech scrambled to stay in it, pulling to within two at 9-7 and 10-8, but the Cards would stretch the lead back out to 12-8, forcing a Yellow Jackets timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Georgia Tech would again pull within two, but a quick 5-0 run by the Cards would stretch the lead back to seven for Louisville at 17-10. The Cards would ultimately keep the Jackets at arms' length for the remainder of the set, never leading by less than four from that point on. UofL went on to win the set, 25-18. Green led the Cards offensively in the set with 4 kills, while Sauer paced the Cards defensively with 5 digs.
Georgia Tech came out swinging in the second set, as back-to-back Tech kills followed by back-to-back Cardinal errors put UofL into an early 4-0 hole. The Cards pulled to within 2, but Tech quickly upped their lead to 5 with a 3-0 run, forcing a UofL timeout. Things wouldn't improve for the Cards right out of the timeout, as a 4-2 Jackets run put Tech up 11-4. However, a subsequent 5-1 Cardinal run pulled UofL to within 12-9. It became a game of runs at that point, as Tech maintained control, but the Cards never trailed by more than five. Tech would go on to establish a 24-20 lead before a clutch 5-0 UofL run, capped by three straight McHenry kills, gave the Cards their first lead of the set at 25-24. The set then became a back-and-forth affair before a Tech attack error capped off the Cardinal comeback and gave UofL the 28-26 win in the second set. McHenry led the Cards with seven kills in the set, while Sauer again led with 9 digs.
"We have talked a lot about playing with courage, and our play tonight was the perfect description of it, especially in the second set," said Busboom Kelly. "We were going after it and not letting the ball drop, no one was tipping the ball, so it was really cool. We've talked about that all week."
The third set began as a tightly contested match before back-to-back Louisville attack errors gave Georgia Tech a 6-3 lead. Tech held a steady lead until a 4-0 UofL run, which saw back-to-back kills by Green and McHenry and was capped off by back-to-back Georgia Tech attack errors, gave the Cards their first lead of the set, 11-10. Tech would come back and tie things up at 14, but a 5-1 UofL run that saw three more Georgia Tech attack errors and an Akela Yuhl service ace gave the Cards a 19-15 lead and forced yet another Tech timeout. The Jackets would not go away quietly however, as a 4-2 run brought the Jackets back to within two at 21-19. UofL did not relinquish the lead, as the Cards went on to take the third set 25-21, giving them the clean sweep. McHenry again led the team in kills with 10, while Sauer and Rivera both had 3 digs.
The Cardinals await their fate in the NCAA Tournament when the pairings are announced at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night.Â
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