Cardinals Travel South for Florida Bubly Tournament

Friday, August 31

Gainesville, FL

4:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Central Florida

Melanie McHenry goes for a kill during the Cardinals' game with IUPUI at Cardinal Arena on August 25.

August 29, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Louisville VB Stats after IUPUI Louisville VB Match Notes for Florida Invitational

UofL is set to face No. 7 USC, No. 4 Florida and former conference rival UCF.

By: Nancy Worley and Alexis Chevalier

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville volleyball team heads to Gainesville, Fla. this weekend for the Bubly Invitational hosted by the University of Florida. The Cardinals will face off against UCF, No. 7-ranked Southern California, and No. 4-ranked Florida.

Louisville will face UCF on Friday, Aug. 31 at 4 p.m., followed by Florida on Saturday at 5 p.m., and Southern California on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Cardinals are 3-0 heading into the tournament, having swept Southern Illinois, UT Martin, and IUPUI at the Cardinal Classic. Louisville's offense is led by Amanda Green and Melanie McHenry, who have 28 and 26 kills, respectively. Green and McHenry also lead the team in points, with 33.5 and 33 respectively. Molly Sauer leads the defensive for the Cardinals, boasting a top of team 40 digs. Jasmine Bennett and Wilma Rivera were named to the All-Cardinal Classic team while Molly Sauer was named the Cardinal Classic MVP.

UCF
The Knights head into Gainesville with a 2-1 record following the Sunshine State Challenge to open their season. UCF defeated Florida Gulf Coast (25-16, 14-25, 25-21, 25-16) and Florida Atlantic (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) to open the tournament before falling to Miami (FL) (22-25, 20-25, 20-25) in their final match.

The Knights are led by freshman outside hitter McKenna Melville who has recorded 35 kills so far in the 2018 season, along with a .322 hitting percentage. On the defensive side, senior libero Jordan Pingel leads UCF with 30 digs, while Melville is a close second with 29 digs.

Southern California
Southern California opened their season with three straight victories at the Trojan Invitational to hold a 3-0 record. The Trojans beat Kentucky 3-1 (22-25, 25-22. 25-23, 29-27), swept Northern Iowa 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-20), and overcame the challenge Creighton to win 3-2 (28-26, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16) . The Trojans are currently ranked #7 in the nation.

Sophomore outside hitter Brooke Botkin leads the offense for the Trojans with 52 kills. Junior outside hitter Khalia Lanier is right behind with 48 kills. Senior libero Victoria Garrick leads the defense with 54 digs. Botkin has a second-best 34 digs. Junior middle blocker Jasmine Gross has recorded 16 of the 24 blocks for Southern California this season.

Florida
Florida started their 2018 campaign at the Vert Challenge, defeating #2 Nebraska 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 23-25, 25-23). The Gators dropped their next match to #3 Texas, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 21-25, 10-15) to enter the Bubly Invitational with a record of 1-1. The Gators are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the latest AVCA Poll.

The Gators are led by freshman outside hitter Thayer Hall, who has 41 kills and 21 digs. Junior defensive specialist and Louisville, Ky. native Allie Gregory has a team-best 37 digs to power the Gators' defense.n

Follow the Cards
Fans can follow the action on Twitter @UofLVolleyball and live stats here: http://www.sidearmstats.com/florida/wvball/

UofL's match against Florida will be broadcast on the radio here: http://www.wruf.com/listen-live/

For the UCF match, watch here: http://www.espn.com/watch/_/id/3429012/ucf-vs-louisville-w-volleyball