Senior outside hitter Anna DeBeer hit .422 with 19 kills and 11 digs to lead the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 20-25, 25-18, 25-20, 26-24 win over Wright State Sunday afternoon in L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
The Cardinals are 3-0 on the new year. Louisville hit .377 as a team with 10 blocks and three aces. Transfer outside hitter Charitie Luper shined with 12 kills and 11 digs, middle blocker Phekran Kong tallied eight kills and three blocks, and setter Elle Glock had 36 assists and 11 digs. Wright State hit .340 as a team with seven blocks and six aces. They were led by Megan Alders, who registered 20 kills.
DeBeer was named the MVP of the Classic, and middle blocker Cara Cresse was named to the all-tournament team. Washington State defeated Troy in three sets in the first game of the day.
UofL is back in action next weekend when they travel to Missouri for the Tiger Invitational with Northern Kentucky, South Dakota, and host Mizzou Sept. 1-3.
Set by Set Recap
Set 1
Louisville tied the first set at 8-8 after Luper and sophomore Hannah Sherman blocked a Raider attack, but Wright State led the rest of the way, doing so on the strength of Megan Alders’ nine kills. With the score at 24-18, seniors DeBeer and Kong connected with setter Elle Glock for back-to-back kills to put the Cards within four, but a service error gave the Raiders match point and a 25-20 set win.
Set 2
The second set saw neither team lead by more than two points until a Kong kill gave Louisville a 13-10 lead. With the score at 15-14, the Cardinals reeled off four straight points off a kill from Sherman and multiple attack errors from the Raiders, setting the Cards up with a 19-14 lead. Louisville led 21-16 when Wright State called a timeout to attempt a late rally, and although Sam Ott landed a kill for the Raiders coming out, the Cardinals followed that with kills by Luper and DeBeer, as well as a block by Aiko Jones and Sherman, to set up match point. Sherman then finished the set off with a kill, giving the Cards the 25-18 win.
Set 3
The Cardinals trailed for most of the first half of the set, as Sherman and Alanna Bankston teamed up for a block to put them within two at 12-10. This was the beginning of an 8-1 run by Louisville, featuring an ace each by junior libero Elena Scott and transfer setter Brigitta Petrenko, on top of kills by Bankston and freshman middle blocker Reese Robbins, giving the Cardinals a 17-13 lead. Wright State fought within one and forced a timeout by Coach Busboom Kelly with Louisville leading 19-18. The timeout worked to perfection for the Cards, as they tallied four straight points, including another kill each from Robbins and Bankston. DeBeer closed the set out with a kill, granting Louisville a 25-20 set win and a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4
Wright State came out firing on all cylinders in the fourth set, with two aces from Andrea Bortulin helping them take a 4-0 lead, forcing a Louisville timeout. The Raiders added two more points, one on another ace by Bortulin, before a service error got the Cards on the board. Louisville stormed back to tie the score at 9-9, with DeBeer registering two kills and Cresse registering one during the 9-3 run. The set was again deadlocked at 14-14 before a 5-1 run by Wright State gave them a 19-15 lead, forcing another Louisville timeout. A Jenny Wessling ace right out of the timeout made it 20-15 before the Cards scored four straight, with Luper and Kong tallying kills. Luper then rocked L&N Arena with back-to-back kills to tie the set at 21, and once the score was tied again at 23, DeBeer scored the Cardinals’ final three points with kills to edge out the Raiders 26-24, earning Louisville a 3-1 match win. The Cards hit .474 in the final set, with 18 kills.
All Cardinal Classic
Amiah Butler (Troy)
Katy Ryan (Washington State)
Reilly Zegunis (Wright State)
Cara Cresse (Louisville)
Anna DeBeer (Louisville) — MVP
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