Cardinals Down Troy 3-0 in Season Opener

Friday, August 25

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

1-0,0-0ACC

Troy

0-1,0-0Sun Belt

Troy

Louisville

August 25, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Cara Cresse hits .917 with 11 kills on 12 swings

By: Trey Curry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Cara Cresse connected on 11 of her 12 swings for kills to hit .917 to lead the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville to a 25-18, 25-12, 25-17 win over Troy University in the first round of the Cardinal Classic Friday night in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Louisville (1-0) hit .403 as a team with 37 kills, 11 aces and 7.5 blocks. Troy (0-1) hit .138 with 29 kills, 1 ace and 1 block. The Trojans were led by Amiah Butler's 11 kills.

Louisville has two more upcoming matches this weekend at the Cardinal Classic, with No. 21 Washington State on tap for Saturday at 7 p.m. and Wright State on Sunday at 2 p.m. in L&N Arena. Anna DeBeer had nine kills, five digs, and an ace to begin her senior season. Returning All-American Elena Scott had 11 digs, one assist, and two aces, while Aiko Jones recorded three kills and five blocks. Setter Elle Glock tallied a team-high 23 assists, on top of a kill and three aces. The Cards hit .403 as a team, with 11 aces and 15 blocks.

No. 21 Washington State beat Wright State 3-0 in the Cardinal Classic Opener. Wright State will take on Troy at 4 p.m. as the Classic continues.

Set by Set Recap
Set 1
Anna DeBeer tallied her first two kills of the season to tie the score at four. The Cardinals then reeled off four straight points, making the score 8-4, highlighted by a Cara Cresse block and an Elle Glock kill. Louisville later led 14-12, before going on a 6-1 run that gave them a 19-13 lead, forcing a Troy timeout. A pair of Phekran Kong kills helped the Cardinals total 14 kills for the set, closing it out 25-18.

Set 2
Louisville started the second set off on a 10-2 run, capped off by a Cresse kill, and never trailed. With the Cardinals leading 16-8, setter Brigitta Petrenko led a service run featuring two aces to put the Cards up 23-8, and another Cresse kill gave Louisville a 25-12 win and 2-0 set lead. The Cardinals hit .480 in the set, with 14 kills, six blocks, and 14 assists.

Set 3
The third set opened with transfer outside hitter Charitie Luper landing two aces. Later, with the score deadlocked at 6-6, the Cardinals tallied six straight points, highlighted by sophomore Hannah Sherman's first kill of the year. With the score at 13-10, Louisville went on its second 6-0 run of the set, with Elena Scott recording an ace, setting the Cards up to finish the match strong. Louisville secured the match win with a 25-17 victory.