Cardinals Outlast North Carolina in Five-Setter

Sunday, September 23

Chapel Hill, NC

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

9-4, 2-0ACC

North Carolina

4-7, 0-2ACC

Louisville

North Carolina

Megan Sloan hits for a kill during the Cardinals volleyball game with Chattanooga at Cardinal Arena on September 15.

September 23, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Louisville at UNC Box Score

McHenry has 19 kills, and Sloan adds 18

By: Nancy Worley

Megan Sloan had 18 kills and seven blocks to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-2 win at the University of North Carolina in ACC volleyball action Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill.

UofL moved to 9-4 with the 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 25-27, 15-13 win and improved to 2-0 in the ACC. The Cardinals got 19 kills and 14 digs from junior Melanie McHenry and eight blocks and seven kills from freshman Emily Scott. UofL had 17 blocks and survived 15 service errors. North Carolina drops to 4-7 on the season and 0-2 in the league. The Tar Heels were paced by Ava Bell, who had 20 kills and five blocks.

In the first set, Louisville popped out to a 7-2 lead and never trailed. Down 11-6, UNC called timeout and followed that break with a 3-0 run that was halted by an ace by Wilma Rivera. Emily Scott scored three consecutive points for the Cards with two blocks and a kill to spread the lead at 18-12. The teams traded points until a kill by Melanie McHenry, her fifth of the set, got the Cards to set point at 24-19 and a game winner by Jasmine Bennett gave Louisville the 25-20 win.

In the second set, the Heels used .353 hitting to stay ahead of the Cards for all but five points of the set. UofL went down 21-16 on a UNC ace but battled back to within two at 23-21 on a kill by Amanda Green. UNC took advantage of a UofL hitting error and a kill by Skyler Wine gave the Heels the 25-22 win.

The Cards stumbled early, going down 7-1 but fought back to tie at 15 on a kill by Melanie McHenry, one of her five in the set. The team traded points and after the Tar Heels tied at 20, UofL ran off the final five points of the set on two straight blocks by Emily Scott and Melanie McHenry. An ace by McHenry gave UofL the 25-20 win.

Louisville carried the momentum over in the early going of the fourth set, going up 5-1. UNC then tied at eight, one of 14 ties in the set. UofL gained some breathing room when it went up 16-13 on a kill by Wilma Rivera but the Tar Heels tied at 16 on a net call. The teams traded points until, tied at 25, UNC scored on a kill by Ava Bell and another by Skyler Wine for the 27-25 win that forced a fifth set.

In the fifth set, UofL took a 7-4 lead on a solo block by Wilma Rivera. UNC came within one at 12-11 and then tied at 13 to spark a UofL timeout. Two straight bombs by Amanda Green gave UofL the 15-13 win.

UofL returns to the road next weekend when it faces Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. ton Friday, Sept. 28 and Clemson on Sunday, Sept. 30 at 1 p.m.