Cardinals Down Ohio State in Spring Exhibition Match

Saturday, April 8

Columbus, OH

6 p.m.

University of Louisville

Ohio State

Alexis Finnvold sets with Cara Cresse, Aiko Jones and Anna DeBeer ready to attack

April 08, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

By: Nancy Worley

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The University of Louisville volleyball team downed Ohio State 25-15, 25-16, 25-16 in a spring exhibition match Saturday evening in the Covelli Center.

The Cardinals were led by Aiko Jones, who had 10 kills, hitting .421. Transfer Charitie Luper added seven kills, hitting .467 with six digs and an ace. Middle blocker Cara Cresse had 11 kills, hitting .450 with three service aces. Libero Elena Scott had four digs and two aces while setters Elle Glock had 14 assists and Alexis Finnvold had 13 assists.

In Ohio State, the Cardinals faced one of the two opponents who were able to knock them off in the regular season as Louisville ran to a 26-2 regular season mark and advancing to the National Finals before falling to Texas.

In the 2022 season, the Buckeyes (22-10, 15-5 B1G) fell to top-seeded Texas in four sets (18-25, 25-21, 13-25, 21-25) in the NCAA Regional Finals in Austin. OSU beat No. 2 seeded Minnesota in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-19) in the NCAA regional semifinals to advance to the program's first regional final since 2004. OSU will be without its setter, Mac Podraza and leading scorer Gabby Gonzales. But Cardinal fans will recognize Louisville native Rylee Rader and Emily Londot, whose mother Laurie was Louisville's first All-American.

The Cardinals finished the season ranked No. 2 in the final poll with a record of 31-3. The No. 2 overall seed advanced to its second-straight Final Four appearance. After beating ACC rival Pittsburgh in the Semi-finals, the Cardinals advanced to their first-ever NCAA Championships match before falling to top-seeded Texas.

The Cardinals earned their spot in the Final Four after sweeping No. 4 Baylor in the Sweet 16, before defeating No. 3 Oregon in a five-set thriller in the Elite Eight. The Cards dispatched Samford and Purdue in the first and second rounds at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena without dropping a set. UofL earned the ACC's automatic qualifier with a 17-1 record in the league with Dani Busboom Kelly being voted ACC Coach of the Year. Claire Chaussee was voted ACC Player of the Year. Raquel Lazaro was voted ACC Setter of the Year and libero Elena Scott winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

The Cards placed four players on the AVCA All-American Team with Claire Chaussee being named an AVCA First Team All-American. Chaussee was joined by All-American teammates Elena Scott, who earned Second Team honors, Amaya Tillman, who earned Third Team honors, and Raquel Lazaro, who earned Honorable Mention honors.