Virginia Drops Weekend Finale to No. 5 Louisville, 3-1

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Virginia volleyball team (8-8, 1-5 ACC) fell to No. 5 Louisville (14-2, 6-0 ACC) in four sets (11-25, 21-25, 25-23, 17-25) on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 12) at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.

Reagan Ennist led the Cavaliers’ offense on Sunday with 14 kills. Kadynce Boothe added a career-high 13 more kills of her own, while Lauryn Bowie killed 10 balls. The UVA trio of Boothe, Bowie and Jasmine Robinson each had a pair of blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Set 1: Louisville 25, Virginia 11

To open Sunday’s matinee, Louisville tallied the first three points of the set before Booth ended the run with a kill. The two squads traded runs through the heart of the set before the Cardinals took the game with an 8-0 run.

Set 2: Louisville 25, Virginia 21

Sunday’s second set saw a match-high 11 ties and five lead changes. After trading points, Virginia took an 11-9 advantage on the heels of a 3-0 UVA run that was highlighted by a Hannah Scott service ace. Louisville took the lead back at 13-12 with its own service ace. The tug-of-war continued into the later stages of the set as Virginia got within a point at 20-19 thanks to a Boothe block. Following the block, the Cardinals score five of the last seven points to take the set.

Set 3: Virginia 25, Louisville 21

After being tied at 3-3, Louisville collected six of the next nine points to build a 9-6 advantage. Virginia answered with a 5-0 run of its own that was powered by back-to-back aces from Boothe. Through the heart of the set, Virginia built a 21-11 lead with an 8-0 run. Louisville answered with a run of its own that brought the Cardinals to within a point at 24-23 before Boothe ended the set with a kill.

Set 4: Louisville 25, Virginia 17

The homestanding Cardinals tallied the first three points of the final set and proceeded to build a 10-3 lead in the early going of the fourth game. Virginia cut the deficit to three points at 16-13 on the heels of a 4-1 run by the Cavaliers. After the UVA run, the Cardinals responded with a 5-0 run of their own before taking the match on a Virginia service error at match point.  

 MATCH NOTES

• Virginia’s set win over Louisville was the program’s first set win over a Top-5 opponent on the road in program history.
• Louisville moves to 13-3 all-time against Virginia and has won nine consecutive matches over the Cavaliers.
• UVA was credited with six blocks on Sunday to Louisville’s four.
• From the service line, Virginia tallied five aces against Louisville’s four.

 FROM HEAD COACH SHANNON WELLS:

“I’m very proud of the effort and competitiveness we showed today.  We challenged our team before the match to make history and take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. We have a lot of season left in front of us and we are excited for this team to get back in the gym and get 1% better!”

“There is nothing like the rivalry with Virginia Tech. We had to go to Blacksburg on Wednesday and are excited to come back on Sunday at JPJ to take them on again. We would love to see JPJ packed and loud, supporting these women who are representing our program and university so well.”

UP NEXT

Virginia will close out the road swing on Wednesday (Oct. 15) at Virginia Tech for the first leg of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network.