Volleyball: #4 Louisville Volleyball Beats #11 Kentucky 3-1

Mark BlankenbakerSeptember 19, 2024

Anna DeBeer had 13 kills, and ace and 12 digs to lead the No. 4-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 3-1 win over rival Kentucky Wednesday night in Historic Memorial Coliseum.

The Cardinals improve to 8-1 with the 25-21, 25-18, 20-25, 25-16 win increasing the winning streak over their rival to four straight. UofL hit .252 with three aces and a season-high 17 blocks. Reese Robins hit .556 with 11 kills on 18 swings with Cara Cresse adding six kills and nine blocks. Elle Glock and Nayelis Cabello combined for 37 assists with libero Elena Scott scooping up a match-high 20 digs.

“Volleyball in the state of Kentucky is unbelievable,” said UofL head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. “You have Louisville, Kentucky, Western Kentucky, and Morehead has had good wins this year. We played NKU and they were very scrappy and played hard. It isn’t just us and Kentucky. These matches always feel like they will come down to a few key plays here and there and we have been lucky enough to win those big points in the last few matchups.”

No. 11 Kentucky moves to 6-3 on the season with the Cats hitting .118 with nine aces and seven blocks. Brooklyn DeLeye paced the offense with 17 kills and two aces. Brooke Bultema landed 11 kills and four blocks.

“I think Kentucky is a fantastic serving team,” said Busboon Kelly. “I do not think we passed great but we held our own and because we knew they were such a good serving team and they would score points there and it would be hard to sideout. We knew we would have to block balls and that is what we did. We just had to play great defense. We knew what we had to do to combat that advantage. I think they are the best serving team in the country. I was very concerned about that coming in.”

The Cardinals return to KFC Yum! Center Sunday, Sept. 22 at 12:30 when they host No. 5 Nebraska.

In the first set, the two teams swung away toe-to-toe with neither team able to maintain a lead of more than two points. Kentucky had a narrow 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Louisville ran off three straight points to go up 17-16 and forced a UK timeout. The teams continued to trade points until an Anna DeBeer ace induced another Kentucky timeout. Cara Cresse took the Cards to set point at 24-20 and then scored the winning point after connecting with setter Elle Glock for the 25-21 win. UofL hit .225 with five blocks and a pair of aces.

In the second set, Louisville managed to keep Kentucky out of the lead and then went on 3-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, the Cats called timeout to regroup. The Cats’ serving was keeping UK close, with three aces as a part of their eight points at the time. Louisville spread the lead to seven at 17-10 on a kill by Phekran Kong. After a Kentucky timeout at 18-10, the Cats ran off four straight points and sparked a Cardinal timeout. UofL responded with three straight points, two on blocks by Anna DeBeer and Phekran Kong to go up 22-15. A Kentucky service error and hitting miscue gave the second set to the Cards at 25-18. UofL hit .400 in the set, adding three blocks.

In the third set, Kentucky jumped out to an early lead at 9-6 before strong serving by Anna DeBeer powered a run that tied at nine. Kentucky countered with a 3-0 run of its own to to up 11-9. Kentucky took a 16-12 lead after the media timeout. Louisville called timeout when UK went up 17-12 after Brooke Bultema notched her eighth kill of the match. The Wildcats let the Cards close the margin to three points on three straight errors. Kentucky used its first timeout with a 19-17 lead. After the break, the Cats went on a 4-0 run that involved two replays, two challenges and a Louisville timeout. An ace by Molly Tuozzo took UK to set point and a Megan Wilson block gave UK the 25-20 win.

Four unanswered points early in the fourth set gave UofL a 9-5 lead and caused Kentucky coach Craig Skinner to call timeout. Louisville built the lead to seven at 13-6 on a kill by DeBeer. UofL continued to pull away and cruised to the 25-16 win landing nine blocks with .280 hitting in the stanza.

The Cardinals return to KFC Yum! Center Sunday, Sept. 22 at 12:30 when they host No. 5 Nebraska.