No. 5 Cardinals Drop Duke 3-0

Friday, November 10

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

22-3,13-2ACC

Duke

17-9,8-7ACC

Duke

Louisville

November 10, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

UofL moves to 22-3 and 13-2 in ACC play.

By: Trey Curry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Outside hitter Charitie Luper hit .407 with 13 kills, two aces, three digs, and three blocks to lead the No.5-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 25-17, 25-21, 25-22 win over Duke on Friday night inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Louisville moves to 22-3 overall and 13-2 in the ACC as the Cardinals hit .206 with nine aces and 10 blocks. Middle blocker Cara Cresse tallied nine kills and three blocks, outside hitter Anna DeBeer recorded eight kills, three aces, and 10 digs, and opposite hitter Aiko Jones added five kills, eight digs, four blocks, and an ace. Setter Elle Glock had 30 assists, 10 digs, and a block, while libero Elena Scott totaled 10 digs, six assists, and two aces.

Duke falls to 17-9 overall and 8-7 in the conference, as the Blue Devils hit .151 with three aces and seven blocks. Outside hitter Kerry Keefe led the way with 12 kills and 13 digs.

Louisville is back inside L&N Arena Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals continue ACC play against North Carolina. First serve is set for 1 p.m. The Cards will celebrate Senior Day after the match.

Set-by-Set Recap
Set 1
After the Blue Devils scored the first two points of the set, the Cardinals went on a 11-3 run, featuring kills by middle blocker Phekran Kong and Luper and an ace from Scott, to take an early 11-5 lead and force a Duke timeout. Coming out, the Blue Devils went on a 4-1 run, as they came within three at 12-9. Louisville maintained the three-point lead up to leading 15-12, and the Cardinals would then gain some breathing room with five straight points, headlined by three kills from Luper and two from Cresse, to take control at 20-12 and force another Duke timeout. Later, Jones connected with Glock for a kill to put the Cardinals at set point, and Louisville would close the set out on a DeBeer ace to win 25-17 and take a 1-0 match lead. The Cardinals tallied three aces and three blocks in the set.

Set 2
The Blue Devils again scored the first two points of the set, and Louisville again had a response, going on a 5-1 run capped off by an ace from Jones to take a 5-3 lead. Duke fought back to tie it at 6-6, but the Cardinals followed that by reeling off three straight points, headlined by a Kong solo block, to take the lead at 9-6. A flurry of back-and-forth action ensued, with no team leading by more than three up to the Cardinals leading 15-13 going into the media timeout. Coming out, Louisville went on a 4-1 run, highlighted by kills from DeBeer and Cresse and an ace by Luper, to seize command at 19-14. Duke responded with a 6-2 run, capped off by back-to-back kills by Keefe, to cut their deficit to 21-20 and force a timeout by Coach Busboom Kelly. The timeout worked as planned, with the Cards reeling off a 4-1 run coming out, featuring kills by Cresse and Luper, to win the set 25-21 and take a 2-0 match lead. Louisville hit .306 with two aces and two blocks.

Set 3
The Cardinals were firing on all cylinders early in the third set, scoring the first five points on three team blocks, a kill by Jones, and an ace from DeBeer. A kill by middle blocker Hannah Sherman would later make it 12-7 in favor of the Cards, and Louisville followed that by scoring three of the next four points, headlined by yet another Luper kill, to take a 15-8 lead into the media timeout. The Blue Devils weren't done yet, as they came out on a 5-1 run, including two kills each by Keefe and Gracie Johnson, to cut the Cardinals lead to 16-13 and force a Louisville timeout. Later, an ace by Luper made the score 18-13, and another ace by setter Brigitta Petrenko made it 20-15 as the Cardinals eyed a sweep. Duke scored the next two points to come within three at 20-17, but Louisville wouldn't budge, responding with two of their own on a kill by DeBeer and a solo block by Jones to take a 22-17 lead and force a Blue Devils timeout. Duke just wouldn't quit, reeling off four straight points coming out to cut their deficit to 22-21 and force a Louisville timeout. The Blue Devils tied the set at 22, but the Cardinals scored the next two on a DeBeer kill and ace to come within match point at 24-22 as Duke called another timeout. Coming out, Luper connected with Scott for the match-winning kill as Louisville won the set 25-22 and finalized a sweep of the Blue Devils. The Cards recorded four aces and five blocks in the final set.