Volleyball Drops Road Contest at No. 5 LouisvilleVolleyball Drops Road Contest at No. 5 Louisville
Volleyball

Volleyball Drops Road Contest at No. 5 Louisville

Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Mizzou volleyball fell to No. 5 Louisville 3-1 in the ACC/SEC Showdown at the Net on Wednesday night in Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center.

KEY PLAYERS 

  • Junior Paige Felder led the offense with 10 kills and also recorded an ace.
  • Senior Ainoah Cruz held up the defense with a season-high 29 digs.
  • Junior Nina Mandovic recorded her third double-double of the season, tallying 29 assists and 13 digs.
  • Junior Lauren Larkin had eight kills with zero errors, earning a .381 to lead Mizzou in hitting percentage.

SET ONE (Louisville 25-21, UL leads 1-0)

The opening frame began with the teams trading points. Freshman Eva Smith earned the first kill for Mizzou (3-2), and sophomore Maca Lobaglio had one shortly after to jumpstart the Tigers’ attack. 

Louisville’s offense responded and saw the Cardinals (6-1) leading by five with a score of 10-5, but two more kills by Smith and another two from sophomore Paige Felder shrunk the deficit to one, making it 12-11. 

However, the remainder saw Louisville in control despite a strong offensive effort from the Tigers. Back to back kills by freshman Ceylin Kuyan and Felder brought the score to 20-17, but the Cardinals kept their lead and ended the first set 25-21.

SET TWO (Mizzou 25-22, Tied 1-1)

Lobaglio recorded the first point of the second with a kill, but an early six-point run by Louisville saw the Cardinals with a 7-2 lead. Junior Lauren Larkin snapped the run with a kill, and Felder had one shortly after. 

A pair of aces by both Mandovic and Felder continued to close the gap, and a Tiger block tied the score at 11-11. Mizzou had a two-point edge of 15-13 after Larkin and senior Grace O’Reilly both notched kills. O’Reilly earned another a few points later, and the Tigers led 18-16. 

Mizzou stretched their lead to a score of 22-18 fueled by kills from Felder and Lobaglio. Louisville attempted to close the gap, but the Tigers’ defense prevented them from taking the lead. Larkin hammered a kill during the final point to give Mizzou the set with a final score of 25-22. 

SET THREE (Louisville 25-15, UL leads 2-1)

Fifth-year Kimani Johnson made her debut in the match with a kill during the opening points. A strong run gave Louisville a 15-3 lead to begin the set, despite kills by Smith and Larkin during that span. O’Reilly and Felder performed strong offensively and tallied three kills each in the following points. However, the Cardinals held their lead for the rest of the set, and Louisville took the third 25-15.

SET FOUR (Louisville 25-17, UL wins 3-1)

Carrying momentum from the previous set, Louisville took an early 10-3 lead. A block by Smith and Lobaglio attempted to stop the run, however the Cardinals were quickly up 15-5. An ace by sophomore Zoey Matias and two more kills from Felder helped to shrink the deficit to five, and the Tigers fought back to make it 19-14. The Cardinal’s offense again widened the lead, and Louisville won the match after taking set four 25-17.

GAME NOTES

  • Missouri is now 2-7 against Louisville all-time.
  • Tigers head coach Dawn Sullivan is now 169-73 all time and 60-35 at Mizzou
  • Ainoah Cruz nears the milestone of 1,500 digs, at 1,471 after today's 27 digs.
  • Middles O’Reilly and Larkin remain strong for Mizzou, accounting for 14 of the Tigers’ 49 kills with only one error.

NEXT UP

The Tigers return home for the weekend’s Mizzou Tournament at Hearnes Center, featuring Arkansas State, Florida Gulf Coast and Wichita State. Mizzou opens play Friday against Arkansas State at 6 p.m.

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