Cardinals Sweep UT Martin in Season Opener

Friday, August 24

LOUISVILLE, KY

12:30 p.m.

University of Louisville

1-0

TENNESSEE-MARTIN

0-1

UTM

Louisville

August 24, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score UTMLOU Box Photo Gallery

Cards hit .478 with 10 aces against the Skyhawks

By: Jake Stanley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A strong performance on offense powered the University of Louisville volleyball team to a straight-sets (25-7, 25-17, 25-12) victory over UT Martin in its season opener Friday afternoon during the Cardinal Classic at Cardinal Arena.

Junior outside hitter Melanie McHenry led all attackers with nine kills, with redshirt-sophomore teammate Piper Roe pitching in with eight of her own. As a team, the Cardinals (1-0) turned in a .478 attack percentage with 10 service aces. On the defensive front, senior libero Molly Sauer totaled nine digs, while Roe posted five blocks.

The Cardinals came out firing in the early-going, building a 10-2 lead off four aces before the first timeout. Following the break, the Skyhawks (0-1) worked to narrow the margin to 16-5, helped by a pair of kills from Gintare Mackeviciute, but attack errors late in the set prevented them from cutting further into the deficit. The Cards took advantage of the miscues to close the set with a 9-2 run, finished off by a McHenry kill. For the set, the Cards posted a .533 attack percentage as McHenry and senior outside hitter Amanda Green both tallied three kills, while Roe added in four of her five blocks in the period.

Strong serving continued to benefit the Cards in the second set as three early aces from senior setter Wilma Rivera crafted a quick 7-0 advantage. After the lead was extended to 12-3, the Skyhawks attempted a comeback with a 5-2 run, finishing off the rally with their first ace of the match. Despite a Louisville timeout, UT Martin continued to battle, narrowing the margin to 19-16 with a 6-2 sequence. The Cards soon responded with a run of their own, scoring six of the final seven set points to take a two-set advantage to the locker room. Overall, the Cards turned in a .357 percentage, with McHenry posting four kills. Sauer and Rivera led a strong defense with four digs each.

In the third set, both teams were less dependent on scoing runs, yet Louisville maintained control throughout with UT Martin scoring most of its points on errors. The Cards worked to secure the set with five unanswered points following a Skyhawks timeout. Although met with a final rally, the Cards closed out the match with a trio of kills. The attack was on point in the final frame with 17 team kills and a .583 attack percentage.

Louisville will return to the court Friday evening to face Southern Illinois in its second match of the Cardinal Classic. Earlier in the morning, the Salukis (1-0) opened their regular season with a 3-1 victory over IUPUI. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast online on ACC Network Extra.