Cardinals Advance in NCAA with Sweep of Dayton

Friday, November 30

5:30

University of Louisville

22-8

University of Dayton

23-8

Louisville

Dayton

November 30, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score UD vs LOU box score Louisville VB Season Stats after Dayton Louisville Dayton Match Quotes

McHenry and Green each have 15 kills to lead the Louisville offense.

By: Nancy Worley

Outside hitters Melanie McHenry and Amanda Green each had 15 kills to lead the University of Louisville to a 25-21, 25-23, 25-21 sweep of the University of Dayton in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Volleyball Championship Tournament in Champaign, Illinois.

"That was a great team win. We have been talking all week about competing for every single point. We stayed poised even when we had to come back from quite a ways behind in both games one and two," said UofL coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "I am just really proud of our poise which has been a huge part of the team's success when we stay together and keep working as a group."

UofL, making its 27^th appearance in the tournament, advances to meet Illinois which beat Eastern Michigan 25-13, 25-9, 25-20 in the second match of the evening. The two will play at 8 p.m. ET Saturday.

The Cardinals, 22-8, hit .232 with three aces, 56 digs and four blocks. UofL got nine kills from Jasmine Bennett, who had four blocks. Molly Sauer led with a match-high 16 digs. The tournament win is the first for Busboom Kelly in her second appearance in the Dance as the Cards' head coach.

Dayton ends their season at 23-8. The Flyers hit .155 with four aces and six blocks. Lauren Bruns had eight kills with two blocks. Maura Collins notched three aces and added three digs.

In the first set, Dayton flew out to a 5-1 early in the first set. The Cards countered with a 5-0 run to take its first lead at 7-6. The Flyers came back to take a 17-11 lead not long after the media timeout. UofL cobbled together a 9-0 run to take a 21-19 lead and then kills by Melanie McHenry and Amanda Green and a net call on Dayton gave the Cards the 25-21 win. The Cards hit .243 with an ace and two blocks. Melanie McHenry paced the Cards with six kills.

"We never panicked, even when we were down. We knew if we decreased errors. We could get back in it. We just focused on the game plan and had each other's backs no matter what," said Melanie McHenry.

In the second set, Dayton popped out to a 13-7 lead and forced a Louisville timeout. The Cards scored twice out of the break but UD reeled off three more to go up 16-9 and increased the lead to 20-16 on a Cardinal hitting error. An ace by Akelah Yuhl sparked a 6-0 run that was powered by three consecutive kills by Amanda Green and a dump by Wilma Rivera. The Flyers tied at 22 on an ace but lost a challenge on a hitting error. The Cards scored on a Marijke Van Dyke kill before Melanie McHenry muscled one by the Flyers for set point to give the Cards a 25-23 win and a 2-0 set lead going into the break.

In the third set, Molly Sauer's serving helped the Cards go on a 5-0 run to take its first lead at 6-5. The Flyers tied at 10 and took the lead at 11-10 on a kill by Brooke Westbeld. UofL had a 15-13 advantage at the first media timeout and never relinquished the lead. The Flyers cut the margin to 22-19 on an ace by Maura Collins but Amanda Green finished off the Flyers with three straight kills including the set and match winner.

"I think I managed to spark the team a lot just having my team at my back and covering me because I was going up and just ripping," said Amanda Green. "There was a tremendous amount of trust and we sparked off each other."