Cards Fall at Virginia Tech

Sunday, October 20

Blacksburg, VA

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

14-4

Virginia Tech

8-13

Louisville

Virginia Tech

Alexis Hamilton during the Cardinals match against Clemson at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on October 6.

Photo by: Jeff Reinking | Louisville Athletics

October 20, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

UofL struggles without leading scorer Melanie McHenry

By: Nancy Worley

Right side hitter Aiko Jones had 19 kills but it was not enough as the University of Louisville volleyball team fell 3-1 at Virginia Tech Sunday afternoon in Blacksburg.

The Cardinals, without leading scorer Melanie McHenry, hit .181 and six service errors. UofL moves to 14-4 and suffers its first loss in the ACC at 7-1. Virginia Tech moves to 8-13 and 1-7 in the ACC. The Hokies were led by Kaity Smith's 12 kills.

In the first, UofL used high octane .400 hitting to keep Virginia Tech on its heels. Although they stayed within arms reach of the Cards, the Hokies never led and hit .167. Claire Chaussee, who stepped in for the injured senior Melanie McHenry, had four kills and three digs. UofL used a 7-2 run late to seal the set 25-19.

UofL's hitting cooled to .163 in the second set and VT used a 7-1 early to take a 16-13 lead and never relinquished it. The Cardinals tied at 22 but Tech got an ace and got a kill from Abby McKinzie and UofL got called for a ball handling error to give Tech the 25-22 win in the second.

A 6-0 run early gave the Hokies an 8-3 lead and UofL's .119 hitting hampered a comeback. Two kills by Amber Stivrins and a block by Amaya Tillman put the Cards down just one at 14-13 but Tech countered with a 4-1 run to go up 18-15. The Hokies used .294 hitting to close out the set 25-21 and take a 2-1 set lead.

In the fifth set, after being tied at eight, Tech had a 6-2 run to pull out to a 14-10 lead and never looked back.