No. 2 Louisville Downs Deacons 3-1

Sunday, October 16

LOUISVILLE, KY

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

17-1,8-0ACC

Wake Forest

12-7,4-4ACC

Wake Forest

Louisville

October 16, 2022 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Claire Chaussee Notches 1,000th career kill

By: Nancy Worley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Opposite Aiko Jones had 20 kills with two aces and a block to lead the No. 2-ranked University of Louisville to a 3-1 win over Wake Forest Sunday afternoon in ACC volleyball action at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

With the 25-16, 25-15, 26-28, 25-20 win, UofL remains unbeaten in the ACC at 8-0 and posts a 17-1 overall mark. The well-balanced offense saw three other Cardinals join Jones in double digit kills. Amaya Tillman landed a career-high 4 aces to go along with her career-high 14 kills. Nena Mbonu tallied a season-high 11 kills. Claire Chaussee, who notched her 1,000^th career kill in the first set, had 15 kills and two blocks.

Wake Forest moves to 12-7 and 4-4 in the league. The Deacons were led by Paige Crawford's 16 kills with Olivia Franke notching 10 kills on 15 swings and no errors.

The Cardinals hit the road next weekend for two matches with Virginia on Oct. 21 before heading for a showdown with rival Pittsburgh on Oct. 23 in a match slated to be televised on ESPNU.

Set by Set Recap
Set 1
The Deacons popped out to an 9-5 lead early in the first stanza before the Cardinals put a string of four straight points under the power of aggressive serving by Raquel Lazaro to tie at nine. A 3-1 run by Louisville gave the Cards the lead back and at 12-10, and WFU called timeout. Louisville maintained that two-point lead until a Lazaro ace and a sneaky tip by Aiko Jones pushed the Cards to a 20-16 lead and force Wake to use its final timeout of the set. Lazaro served through the end of the set in an 8-0 run for the 25-16 run. UofL hit .500 with three aces and a pair of blocks. Claire Chaussee reached her 1,000^th career kill on her first kill of the match.

Set 2
UofL came out strongly in the second set, forcing WFU to burn a timeout early when the Cards went up five at 8-3. Nena Mbonu had three kills in the run that pushed UofL to a 11-5 lead. UofL pulled away, going up 19-7 on a solo block by Amaya Tillman. A kill by Mbonu got UofL to set point at 24-12. The Deacons staved off set point three times before a kill by Chaussee gave the Cards a 25-15 win and a 2-0 set advantage going into the break. The Cards hit .455 with another ace and 15 digs.

Set 3
An ace by Claire Chaussee put the Cards up 7-4 early in the third set. Wake Forest pulled within two at 13-11 on a block by Paige Crawford and Olivia Franke. UofL had a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. After Louisville took a 17-13 lead on a kill by Lazaro, WFU called timeout. Two straight aces by Amaya Tillman spread the lead to 20-13 before Wake used its final timeout. The Deacons made a little push to pull within four at 21-17, but a service error ended the run. Louisville had to call timeout when a long rally that went the Deacons' way took the score to 22-20. WFU scored again at 22-21 and again at 23-22 before a miss by Chaussee tied the score at 23 and forced Dani Busboom Kelly to use her final timeout of the set. Coming out of the break, Chaussee scored after a scrambling rally to get to set point and WFU scored on a Paige Crawford kill. The Deacons got a kill from Ashley Slater to turn the tables and give WFU set point. Amaya Tillman had a kill on a slide from the right side to tie at 25. Wake Forest scored again but Mbonu tipped for a kill to tie at 26. Wake scored again and a miss by Chaussee gave the Deacons the 28-26 win. UofL hit just .178 in the set but added four more aces.

Set 4
A block by Amaya Tillman and Raquel Lazaro gave the Cardinals the lead at 5-4 in the fourth set. Amaya Tillman tallied her third ace of the match before a kill by Mbonu sparked a WFU called timeout down 10-5. Louisville called timeout when Wake scrambled back to within one at 11-10 on a kill by Peyton Seuss. The Cardinals regrouped and up 17-12, WFU called timeout. UofL kept the pressure on the Deacons, taking a 21-16 lead on a WFU hitting error. Two Aiko Jones kills took UofL to match point at 24-19 before a kill by Amaya Tillman gave the Cards set and match at 25-20.