Cardinals Stage Comeback Win at Notre Dame

Wednesday, October 16

South Bend, IN

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Notre Dame

Louisville

Notre Dame

October 16, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Down 2-0 in sets, Cards come back for the win to stay unbeaten in the ACC

By: Nancy Worley

The University of Louisville came back from a 2-0 set deficit to beat Notre Dame 3-2 to remain unbeaten in ACC volleyball Wednesday night in South Bend.

The Cardinals move to 14-3 and 7-0 in the ACC with the 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-22 win. UofL hit .219 for the match with 14 blocks and four aces. Aiko Jones led the Cardinals with 16 kills, nine digs and an ace. Anna Stevenson had eight kills and nine blocks. The Irish drop to 13-4 and 6-1 in the league.

Notre Dame used a 5-0 run midway through the first set to take a 13-9 lead. It was enough breathing room for the Irish as the Cards struggled to get going with .178 hitting. UofL had a 3-0 run to come within two at 19-17 and then within one at 22-21 on a kill by Melanie McHenry. The Irish got two kills from Charley Niego to give the 25-22 win to ND.

The Cardinals' hitting improved to .238 in the second set but let the Irish pop out to a 14-9 lead. The Cards used a 3-0 run to tie at 14 but the Irish answered immediately with three straight points to go up 17-14. UofL lost senior starter Melanie McHenry at that point to a knee injury and the Cards had to regroup. With the Irish up up 22-18, three straight kills powered by two Anna Stevenson blocks and a kill by Aiko Jones brought the Cards within one at 22-21 and force a ND timeout. The Cards would score just once more as the Irish sealed the set at 25-22 to take a 2-0 set lead into the lockerroom at the break.

In the third set, UofL roared out to an 11-4 lead on a block by Anna Stevenson and the Irish burned a timeout to try to chill the Cardinals. A 7-1 run spread the Cardinal lead to 21-8 when Amber Stivrins connected with setter Shannon Shields for a kill. The Irish came on late with a 6-0 at 23-17 but the Cardinals got a kill from Stevenson and an error by Lauren Wenzel gave UofL the 25-17 win.

UofL popped out to a 12-4 lead to start the fourth set with Amber Stivrins' three kills putting the Cards out front. Leading 22-16, the Cardinals had to hold off an Irish comeback rally and use a timeout to try to turn the tide. UofL got to set point on a ND miss but the Irish staved off the loss with two more points before falling 25-22 on a kill by Aiko Jones, her 13^th of the match.

In the fifth set, UofL used a 4-0 run to take an 8-4 lead at the side switch. Notre Dame called timeout, down 11-7 after an Anna Stevenson block. The Cards called timeout as ND pulled within two at 12-10 on a kill by Caroline Meuth. Amaya Tillman killed an overpass for the 15-10 win.

UofL heads to Virginia Tech on Sunday for a matchup in Blackburg at 1 p.m.