Cardinals Fall in Regional Final

Saturday, December 14

Austin, TX

8:00 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

22-10

Minnesota

27-5

Louisville

Minnesota

December 14, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Aiko Jones and Tori Dilfer named Austin Regional All-Tournament

By: Nancy Worley

Aiko Jones had 13 kills and two blocks, and two aces and hit .310 but it was not enough as the No. 7 seeded Minnesota Gophers won 25-12, 25-14, 25-16 to advance to the NCAA National Semi-finals in Pittsburgh next week.

The Cardinals end their Cinderella season at 22-10 after pulling the upset of the tournament, beating second seeded Texas on Thursday. The Cardinals hit .067 for the match. Amber Stivrins had eight kills. Jones and Tori Dilfer were named to the Austin Regional All-Tournament Team.

Minnesota hit .284 with 12.5 blocks and nine aces. Adanna Rollins paced the Gophers with 12 kills and three blocks.

In the first set, Minnesota pulled out to an 8-4 lead early before the Cards used a 5-0 run to tie at 14 for its first and only lead that came on a kill by Aiko Jones. When the Gophers spread the lead to three at 20-17 on a kill by Adanna Rollins, Busboom Kelly called timeout. The Cards pulled within one at 22-21 after a kill by Jones. But the Cardinals would not score again and fell 25-21. UofL hit a chilly .128 but had four kills apiece from Jones and Anna Stevenson. The Gophers hit .310 and had three blocks. Rollins had five kills on seven attacks with no errors.

The Gophers used a 10-2 run to break away from the Cards to take a 20-11 lead. Louisville was hampered by .026 hitting and after Jones was blocked for her first error of the match, the Cardinals called timeout down 21-12. But Minnesota ran away with the set 25-14, ending the set on an ace by Kylie Miller.

In the third set, the Cardinals did everything they could to stay close but after tying at 12, the Gophers had a 7-0 run to go up 19-12 and then cruised to a 25-16 win.