No. 5 Cardinals Sweep North Carolina

Sunday, November 12

LOUISVILLE, KY

1:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

23-3,14-2ACC

North Carolina

12-13,6-10ACC

North Carolina

Louisville

November 12, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Cards win in three on Senior Day

By: Trey Curry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Middle blocker Cara Cresse hit .667 with eight kills and eight blocks to lead the No. 5-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-10 win over North Carolina on Sunday afternoon inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Louisville moves to 23-3 overall and 14-2 in the ACC this season, as the Cards hit .402 with four aces and 13 blocks in the match. Outside hitter Charitie Luper tallied 10 kills, six digs, and two blocks, outside hitter Anna DeBeer recorded seven kills, three digs, and two blocks, opposite hitter Aiko Jones totaled six kills, two aces, three digs, and three blocks, and middle blocker Phekran Kong added six kills and three blocks. Setter Elle Glock had 28 assists, one kill, eight digs, and four blocks, and libero Elena Scott had 14 digs, five assists, and two aces.

Louisville also celebrated Senior Day, recognizing the careers of setter Brigitta Petrenko, defensive specialist Ayden Bartlett, defensive specialist Ceci Rush, and Jones.

North Carolina falls to 12-13 overall and 6-10 in the conference, as the Tar Heels hit .124 with three aces and five blocks. Outside hitter Mabrey Shaffmaster led North Carolina with 16 kills, two aces, six digs, and a block,

The Cardinals next head on the road for a matchup with rival Pittsburgh on Saturday afternoon. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

Set-by-Set Recap
Set 1
North Carolina began the match on a 7-2 run, as Schaffmaster landed five kills in the first nine points. The Cardinals responded by reeling off four straight points, highlighted by a kill each from Luper and DeBeer, to cut their deficit to 7-6. Later, Kong connected with Glock for a kill to put Louisville back within one at 10-9 before the Tar Heels tallied three of the next four points to stretch their lead to 13-10. The Cardinals again had a response, as Louisville scored the next six points, featuring Cresse playing a part in four consecutive blocks, to take their first lead of the set at 16-13. A Cresse kill later extended the Cardinals lead to 19-15, forcing a timeout by North Carolina. Coming out, the Tar Heels rallied to score five straight points, including an ace by Shaffmaster, to take the lead right back at 20-19, but Louisville followed that with three straight of their own, headlined by a kill each from Glock and middle blocker Reese Robbins, to make the score 22-20 in favor of the Cards. Soon after, DeBeer connected with Scott for a kill to put Louisville at set point at 24-22, and Luper later landed the set-winning kill to finish off the 25-23 win and allow the Cardinals to claim a 1-0 match lead. Louisville recorded an ace and six blocks in the set.

Set 2
The second set began with the two teams trading points as the Cardinals held an early 5-4 lead. The Tar Heels then scored three consecutive points to go out in front at 7-5, followed by Louisville tallying three straight of their own, headlined by DeBeer and Kong teaming up for a block, to take the lead at 8-7. Later, with North Carolina leading 10-9 after another Schaffmaster kill, the Cardinals went on a 6-1 run, featuring kills by Cresse and Luper and an ace by Jones, to take control of the set at 15-11 going into the media timeout. Coming out, the Tar Heels landed back-to-back kills before Louisville's Luper and Cresse did the same, leading to a North Carolina timeout at 17-13. The Cards maintained this lead up to 20-16 before scoring the set's final five points, highlighted by Jones, DeBeer, and Kong all landing kills, to win the set 25-16 and take a 2-0 match lead. Louisville hit .536 with an ace and two blocks.

Set 3
Jones landed an ace to put the Cardinals in front 5-3 early in the third set, but the Tar Heels fought back to tie it at 7-7 after a Sydney Nolan ace. Louisville scored the next four points, featuring two kills by DeBeer and a solo block by Jones, to take the lead at 11-7 as North Carolina called a timeout. Coming out, the Cardinals continued firing on all cylinders, scoring five of the next six, including kills by Kong and Jones, and totaling their run at 9-1 to take a commanding 16-8 lead. North Carolina's Safi Hampton landed a kill to briefly halt the run, but Louisville then scored three straight, capped off by an ace from Scott, to extend their lead to 19-9 and force another Tar Heels timeout. Nothing could stop the Cardinals, as Louisville tallied the set's final five points, highlighted by a Rush service run, to win the set 25-10 and solidify the sweep of North Carolina. The Cards hit .529 with two aces and five blocks in the final set.