No. 3 Cardinals Down Cavaliers 3-1

Friday, November 22

Charlottesville, VA

7:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

Virginia

November 22, 2024 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Nancy Worley

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Outside hitter Charitie Luper had 14 kills, an ace and two blocks to lead the No. 3-ranked University of Louisville to a 3-1 win in ACC volleyball action Friday night in Charlottesville.

The Cardinals improve to 24-3 on the season and 16-1 in ACC play with the 25-10, 25-14, 23-25, 25-16 win. UofL hit .286 with 14 blocks and five aces. Anna DeBeer contributed 13 kills and 12 digs. Hannah Sherman had nine blocks with Elena Scott pitching in a match-high 23 digs.

Virginia drops to 20-8 and 10-7 in league play. The Cavaliers were led by Abby Tadder and Kate Dean, who each had eight kills and combined for sevn blocks. The Cavs hit .079 for the match with three aces and seven blocks.

The Cardinals return home this coming Wednesday for a showdown with No. 1-ranked Pittsburgh at the KFC Yum! Center. First serve is 7:00 p.m.

The two teams traded points early in the first set with neither team able to take more than a two-point lead. Louisville had a quick 3-0 run, powered by two kills from Charitie Luper with another by Anna DeBeer to go up 9-5. The Cards spread the lead to six and were ahead 15-9 at the media timeout. After UofL scored twice coming out of the break, Virginia called timeout down 17-9. After a 6-1 run, Virginia burned its last timeout as Louisville took a 21-10 lead. The set ended on an 8-0 run as the Cards cruised to a 25-10 win, hitting .500 with four blocks and three aces.

In the second set, Louisville popped out to a five point lead at 11-6 on a block by Cara Cresse and then spread the lead to seven at 14-7 on a kill by Reese Robins and forced a Cavalier timeout. Although UofL's hitting cooled considerably, they spread the lead to nine at 19-10. The Cavs managed a 3-1 run to pull within seven at 20-13 but were outscored 5-1 down the final stretch as Louisville took a two set lead into the break with the 25-14 win. Louisville's hitting percentage did recover to .303 for that set as the Cardinals also added three more blocks.

Virginia came out strong after the break and took a 11-6 lead which caused a Louisville timeout. The Cardinals came out of the huddle and went on a 4-1 run to pull with two at 12-10 and sparked a Virginia timeout. But the Cards could not grab the lead, stymied by the Cavs' .342 hitting. Virginia got to set point at 24-19 on a UofL hitting error. A serving run by Charitie Luper brought the Cards within one at 24-23, forcing a Virginia timeout. A kill by Kate Dean gave the Cavs the 25-23 win.

Louisville powered out to a 6-1 lead early in the fourth and the Cavs had to use a timeout to try to stop the momentum. A kill and a subsequent ace by Luper game the Cardinals a 10-5 lead. Virginia used a 3-0 scoring run to come within five at 12-7. Elena Scott's serving took the Cards to a 17-11 lead and the Cavaliers had to burn their last timeout. UofL kept the pressure on and to take a 21-11 lead. UVA answered with three straight to pull within seven at 21-14 on a kill and then a block by Abby Tadder. An ace by Kamden Schrand gave the Cards the 25-16 win.