Cardinals Fall to No. 23 Purdue 3-1

Friday, September 13

Nashville, TN

4:00 p.m. ET

University of Louisville

5-2

Purdue

3-1

PUR

Louisville

Aiko Jones during the Cardinals match with Arizona State at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena in the Floor De Lis Tournament on September 7.

September 13, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Aiko Jones has 12 kills and three blocks

By: Nancy Worley

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Melanie McHenry had 15 kills, an ace, 12 digs and two blocks but her efforts were not enough as the No. 22-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell 3-1 to No. 23 Purdue in the first round of the Lipscomb Tournament Friday afternoon in Nashville.

UofL, 5-2, hit .141 with three aces and six blocks. Aiko Jones pitched in 12 kills and three blocks and Alexis Hamilton had 21 digs for UofL. Purdue, 3-1, hit .261 with five aces and 14 blocks. The Boilers were led by Caitlyn Newton's 26 kills and four blocks.

To begin the match, UofL hit .222 with three blocks and two aces in a set that saw 16 ties and five lead changes. Up by just one late, Amaya Tillman and Melanie McHenry had kills to give the Cards the 26-24 win.

In the second set, Purdue used a 7-1 run to break away from Louisville which was down by just one at 15-14 on a kill by Claire Chaussee. The run put the Boilers up 23-16 and the Cards would not score again, falling 25-16. UofL hitting chilled to .119 and Purdue had four blocks in the win.

In the third set, UofL struggled out of the gate, burning both timeouts but used a 6-2 run to come within two at 16-14. Purdue pushed back with a 7-1 run to get to set point at 24-16. UofL staved off the final point with a 5-0 run that forced a Boiler timeout but fell 25-21.

The Cardinals had the lead early in the fourth set when they went ahead 12-11 on a kill by Anna Stevenson. UofL managed to hold the lead until the 14-12 mark when Purdue exploded with a 7-1 run to go up 19-15 with the Cardinals burning both timeouts to try to interrupt the run. Louisville was outscored 6-3 down the stretch, falling 25-18.

UofL will play the loser of the Xavier/Lipscomb match tomorrow at either 4:00 (ET) or 7:30 (ET).