No. 8 Cardinals Prevail Over No. 21 North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Freshman opposite Kalyssa Blackshear had 15 kills and seven blocks to help No. 8 University of Louisville hand No. 21-ranked North Carolina its first loss in conference play Sunday afternoon in Carmichael Arena.

The Cardinals, who cruised to an early 25-10 romp in the first set, then had to battle a determined Tar Heel squad before winning 25-23 in the second, falling 22-25 in the third and escaped a fifth set with a 26-24 win in the fourth for the 3-1 win. UofL moves to 16-4 and 8-2 in the ACC. UofL hit .144 with 54 kills, seven aces and 18 blocks. Chloe Chicoine contributed 13 kills and a team-high 23 digs with two blocks. Hannah Sherman put down 13 blocks and Kamden Schrand had 20 digs, adding a pair of aces to pace the defense.

UNC, now 16-2 and 9-1 in ACC play, hit .114 with 17.5 blocks, 49 kills and no aces. The Tar Heels were led by Laynie Smith's 12 kills and Jackie Taylor's 10 blocks.

UofL plays its travel partner this week with a road match at South Bend with Notre Dame at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29 and then a quick turnaround with another match with the Irish, this one in the KFC Yum! Center at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1.

Set-by-Set Recap

Set 1
Chloe Chicoine the began the match with an ace and then Hannah Kenny landed two more to take the Cards to a 7-2 start and force UNC to call a timeout early. Later in the set, Kenny put together a six-point serving run to go up 14-6 and UNC had to burn its last timeout to try and cool her hot hand. UNC managed to sideout but one point later, the Cards ran off a 9-2 run to go up 22-8. Kamden Schrand aced the Heels to get to set point at 24-9 and then a UNC hitting error gave UofL the 25-11 win.

Set 2
Louisville used a 5-0 run in the second set to go up 14-9, causing UNC to call timeout. The break benefited the Heels as they answered with a 4-1 run to pull within three at 17-14. The teams traded points before a Molly Wilson ace gave the Cards a 22-17 lead. A Tar Heel hitting error and a block by Kalyssa Blackshear put UofL at set point but UNC ran off four straight points to pull within one point at 24-23. Payton Petersen put an end to the late UNC rally with a kill from the left side to give the Cardinals a 25-23 win and a 2-0 set lead going into the break.
Set 3
The third set featured 14 ties and five lead changes. UNC took its first lead at 8-7 as part of a 4-0 run that took the Heels up 10-7. The teams traded points and UNC led 15-14 at the media timeout. Chloe Chicoine had three straight kills to tie at 19 before North Carolina called timeout. The break was effective as the Heels went on a 5-2 run to take a 23-21 lead and force a Cardinal timeout. UofL scored coming out of the huddle but UNC benefited from a UofL hitting error before a kill by Chelsea Thorpe gave UNC the 25-22 win.

Set 4
Tar Heel momentum carried over to the fourth set and Louisville had to call time out when the Cards fell behind 9-4. UofL battled back to tie at 14 and took the lead at 17-16 after two straight kills by Ava Utterback. UNC called timeout when UofL went up 19-18 and then went on to tie at 19 and retake the lead at 20-19. After UNC tied at 20 and then scored twice more to take a 22-20 and Meske had to call timeout. UNC scored once coming out of the break but a Cardinal block and a kill by Blackshear drew the Cards within one at 23-22. The Cards finished on a 4-0 run to win 26-24. A challenge on the final point was not upheld to give the Cards the set and match win.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kalyssa Blackshear

Chloe Chicoine

Hannah Kenny

Payton Petersen

Kamden Schrand

Hannah Sherman

Ava Utterback

Molly Wilson

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