No. 25-ranked Cardinals Fall to No. 10 Florida

Friday, August 30

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

0-1

FLORIDA

1-0

Florida

Louisville

August 30, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score UL vs UF Box Score Photo Gallery

McHenry leads with 11 kills

By: Jerry McCarty

Senior outside hitter Melanie McHenry led the No. 25-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team with 11 kills and seven digs but it was not enough as the No. 10-ranked University of Florida Gators won 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 on Friday at the Cardinal Classic inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

The Cards hit .107 with five service aces and three blocks in their regular season opener. Cardinals Claire Chaussee and Anna Stevenson tallied 7 and 6 kills respectively with libero Alexis Hamilton leading the team with 11 digs. Florida hit .304 with Thayer Hall leading the team with 12 kills.

Florida jumped out to an early lead in the first set, grabbing a 14-4 advantage. The Cardinals could get no closer than seven points at 17-10 when McHenry unleashed a service ace. Powered by .464 hitting in the set, the Gators proved too much for the Cards and secured the first set 25-17. The Cardinals were led by Claire Chaussee and Melanie McHenry with 3 kills each.

The Cardinals bounced back in the second set, taking an early 11-6 lead. The Gators tied the game at 11 and then retook the lead and extended it to 21-16 before the Cardinals were able to bring it to within one point at 22-21 on a kill by McHenry. However, Louisville would not score again as the Gators closed out the set 25-21 with two straight kills by Holly Carlton. McHenry led the Cards offensively with 3 kills. Shannon Shields led the Cards defensively with 5 digs and offensively with 2 assists.

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 3-0 lead to start the third set, however the Gators fought back and took the lead at 5-4 on a Cardinal service errors and never relinquished it. Louisville kept the set within arm's length but the Gators pulled away to win the set 25-21. Melanie McHenry led the Cardinals with 5 kills, followed by Anna Stevenson with 4 kills respectively in the set.

The Cards will be back in action tomorrow August 31 at 7:00 pm. where they will take on Texas A&M in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. The Aggies beat Dayton 25-23, 22-25, 25-18, 25-27, 15-13 in the first match of the Classic. The Gators will play Dayton at 4:30 before the feature match.