After the Cardinals maintained a share of the ACC lead with a pair of wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech last weekend, UofL (20-18, 14-2) stays at home for the final two regular season matches in Cardinal Arena.
The Friday match with NC State will be at 7:30 and will feature stadium cup giveaways for the first 500 fans as well as posters. The Sunday match with UNC has been designated as Senior Day and will feature Senior Day Posters, Hike and Spike, and Raise Red. Both matches will be televised.
In the first match of last weekend, Senior outside hitter Tess Clark had 15 kills, hitting a season-high .652, to lead the University of Louisville to a 25-9, 25-13, 25-19 sweep of Virginia in Cardinal Arena. UofL hit .478 with four aces, four blocks and had 20 more kills than the Cavaliers at 47. UofL got nine kills from Jasmine Bennett, who added two blocks with Melanie McHenry pitching in seven kills. Senior Coline Coessens came off the bench and had a pair of kills. Molly Sauer had a match-high 14 digs and Wilma Rivera had 38 assists with three kills and an ace. UVA hit .128 with two blocks and one ace.
In Sunday’s 3-0 sweep of Virginia Tech, Amanda Green and Tess Clark powered the offense for the Cardinals, tallying 13 and 10 kills, respectively. The Cardinals were able to out-dig the Hokies 44-32, while accumulating three service aces to Virginia Tech’s one. The Cards hit .320 for the match with 44 digs and six blocks. WIlma Rivera added 40 assists and Molly Sauer had 11 digs. The Hokies were led by Kaity Smith’s 17 kills and three blocks.
North Carolina State
The North Carolina State Wolfpack come into the weekend sporting a 19-8 overall record and a 14-2 conference mark. They bring a five-game conference winning streak with them as they travel to Louisville. Last weekend, second-year head coach Linda Hampton-Keith’s Wolfpack defeated Clemson 3-1 and Georgia Tech 3-0 in Raleigh, N.C. Senior outside hitter Julia Brown leads the team in kills with 374 kills and a 3.70 kills per set average and digs with 248 and a 2.46 digs per set average. The Wolfpack are first in the ACC in kills as a team at 14.40 per set. They are also second in the league in hitting percentage at .265.
North Carolina
The University of North Carolina Tar Heels comes into this weekend riding a four-game winning streak. They have amassed a 14-10 conference record and a 11-5 conference record. Twenty-eight year head coach Joe Sagula’s Tar Heels are coming off a 3-2 win over Georgia Tech and a 3-0 victory over Clemson last weekend. Redshirt-junior outside hitter Taylor Leath is tops on the team in kills at 295 with a 3.24 kills per set average. Junior libero/defensive specialist Casey Jacobs leads the way on the defensive with 254 digs and a 3.14 digs per set average. North Carolina sports two ACC leaders with senior middle hitter Beth Nordhorn leading the ACC in hitting percentage at .416 and redshirt-freshman Katharine Esterley leading in blocks per set average at 1.42. North Carolina will travel to South Bend, Ind. to take on Notre Dame Friday, Nov. 17 before coming to Louisville.
Last meeting
Melanie McHenry’s 18 kills and 14 digs were not enough as the University of Louisville fell 3-2 to preseason favorite North Carolina Sept. 24 in Chapel Hill. UNC won 19-25, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19, 15-12 and hit .227 with 13 blocks and four aces. The Heels were led by Beth Nordhorn and Holly Carlton’s 10 kills, with Carlton adding two aces. UofL got 15 kills from Jasmine Bennett, and 14 from Amanda Green. Molly Sauer had 18 digs.
Series Record vs. NC State and UNC
Louisville leads the series with NC State 3-1.
Louisville trails the series with UNC 5-6.
Rivera Named ACC Player of the Week
Louisville’s Wilma Rivera and NC State’s Kaitlyn Kearney have been selected as the ACC Volleyball Co-Players of the Week. Rivera played a critical role for the Cardinals in wins over Wake Forest and Duke. The junior setter from Carolina, Puerto Rico, racked up 85 total assists for the two matches, along with eight kills on a .471 hitting percentage and 40 digs.
Twenty Win Seasons
This is the Cardinals’ 28th 20+ win season. UofL has had five 30-win seasons. The 1982 season mark of 39-14 is the school record.
Tess Clark Terminating for The Cards
Tess Clark had a nearly flawless weekend from the outside for UofL with 25 kills on 43 swings and just one error. She is ranked 22nd in career hitting errors of current players in the NCAA Neither team had an answer for Tess, who moved from middle blocker to outside this year after starting three years in the middle.
Triple Double-Digit Digs
Against Duke, UofL had three players with 20+ digs each. That is the only time that has happened in the rally score era. Wilma Rivera had 27, Amanda Green had 20 and libero Molly Sauer had 21 to complete the trifecta.
Tess Clark hits the 1000 kills mark
Senior OH Tess Clark hit the 1000 career kill mark during the FSU game. She is the 18th player to joing the 1000 Kill Club. The last being Janelle Jenkins last season when she hit the 1152 mark.
Cardinal Middle Hitters Lethal in ACC
Middle blockers Maggie DeJong and Jasmine Bennett are formidable at the net for the Cards in ACC play. Bennett is hitting .372 and has 56 blocks already (.92 per set.) Maggie DeJong is hitting .378 with 66 blocks (1.08 per set).
Cards Set School and ACC Blocking Record
The Cardinals had 15 blocks in the win against Miami on Oct. 1, a school and ACC record for blocks in a sweep.
Streaking
The Cards have won 13 of their last 14 matches and seven in a row.
Home Sweet Home
The Cards are 8-0 in the ACC at home in newly refurbished Cardinal Arena this season. UofL is the only undefeated team at home this season.
Cards Receiving Votes on Volleymob Poll
The Cardinals are receiving votes on the latest poll by Volleymob, a new website devoted to volleyball.
Cards Receiving Votes on AVCA Poll
The Cardinals are receiving votes on the Nov. 13 AVCA Coaches Poll.
Cards Face Steep Schedule
After 26 matches, the Card’s rank No. 41 in the nation in toughest schedules. Four of their first ten opponents were nationally ranked. Add Illinois and Notre Dame into the receiving votes category and it’s easy to see how the Cards rank this highly.
Cards Ranked in RPI
After 26 matches, UofL’s RPI is No. 25. NC State is 36 and UNC is No. 55. The rating percentage ind ex, commonly known as the RPI, is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team’s wins and losses and its strength of schedule.
RPI Jump from 2016 to 2017
Here is a listing of the teams who have had the largest RPI jump from the final RPI rankings of 2016 until now.
1. North Texas +139
Central Arkansas +139
3. Louisiana +138
4. Georgia +132
5. Louisville +131
Buffalo +131
7. Eastern Ill. +122
8. LSU +120
9. Furman +114
Cards Attendance is Ranked
UofL ranks No. 53 in attendance in NCAA with an average of 945. The Cards are ranked 14th in capacity percentage (78.36). Ranked first in the conference in capacity percentage.
Clark Among NCAA Career Leaders
Tess Clark is ranked No. 16 in active career leaders in hitting percentage with .354.
Nancy Allison Worley
Associate Director, Sports Information
University of Louisville Athletics
