By Conner Farrell —
No. 22 volleyball (15-4, 8-0) extended their winning streak to nine-games and an unbeaten conference record with a win (25-17, 25-18, 25-20) against Virginia Tech (12-7, 3-3).
The Cardinal attack was a three-part effort from the front row.
Junior hitter Melanie McHenry had 11 kills. McHenry also achieved a milestone in Cardinal volleyball history by becoming the 19th player to join the 1,000 kills club.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Melanie McHenry. I am honored that I was coaching her when she got her 1000th kill. She works really hard to be a great player and be an outside hitter that is really hard to stop,” said head coach Dani Busboom Kelly.
Senior hitter Amanda Green and junior hitter Megan Sloan chipped in on the Cardinal attack with 11 and 12 kills, respectively.
First Set
U of L cruised through the first half of the set holding a 17-10 lead. However, the Hokies didn’t make it easy later cutting the Cardinal lead at 22-17.
Louisville took the final three points with two kills coming from McHenry and Piper Roe. The Cards also capitalized on eight errors from the Hokies.
U of L won the set at 25-17.
Second Set
The second set did not go as smoothly for the Cardinals. The first 16 points of the set were a deadlock at 8-8.
Louisville began to get some breathing room and captured the next five points to retrieve the lead back at 13-8.
The set tightened up once again with the Hokies crawling back into the match at 20-16.
U of L shut that door by only allowing two more Hokie points and winning 25-18.
Third Set
The final set mirrored the second set. The beginning portion of the set was contentious with a tight score of 10-10.
Much like the second set, U of L held a vice grip on the lead following the stalemate.
Just when it seemed the Cards were going to wrap up the win, the Hokies climbed back once again cutting the Cardinal lead to four at 23-19.
However, a thunderous kill by Green propelled the Cards to secure the final two points to put the match away at 25-20.
The Cardinals are back in action next Friday against Virginia, which will be the first of two weekend road games.
You can follow the Louisville Cardinal on Twitter @thecardsports.
Photo by Matt Bradshaw / The Louisville Cardinal