By Morgan Davenport

The now No. 4 ranked Louisville Cardinals swept the No. 17 Tennessee Lady Volunteers Sunday evening bringing them to 2-0 on the season.

Louisville started off strong offensively in set one, getting 14 kills and only 1 error. Sofia Maldonado Diaz, Cara Cresse, and Reese Robins took care of business at the net getting both blocks and kills. The Cards took an early lead and held it steadily throughout the set. Anna DeBeer was serving very well for the Cards, making sure to hit the seams and put the Volunteers in a tough position.

Louisville came out victorious, winning set one 25-14.

As the second set began, the Cards started off giving the Lady Vols a 3-0 run due to attacking errors. Shortly after Louisville got their footing back, tying the set 5-5. Both teams struggled at the service line, making this a very close set. Coach Dani Busboom Kelly once again used the 6-2 rotation allowing both Elle Glock and Nayelis Cabello the ability to rack up assists while keeping three strong hitters on the net at all times.

 As the set neared an end, Tennessee took the lead, but Charitie Luper and DeBeer pulled through at the net giving the Cards the set 25-22.

As the game progressed to set 3, The Cards once again were playing a close game. Tennessee found their footing giving the Cards a rough start. The set was going point for point, as both teams were powerful offensively. Tennessee held a lead in the set as Louisville was getting good swings but could not defensively cover what they needed to keep the ball on their side.

This all changed when Luper put down a kill, giving the Cardinals a lead that is significant enough to keep their footing. After this, the Lady Volunteers struggled at the net having 4 attacking errors in a row. The set ended with a kill by DeBeer and a service ace from Glock.

The Cardinals win the set 25-20, completing the sweep.

Chugging along

For the second game of the season, the Cardinals have set a wonderful track for them to follow hopefully getting them to the tournament in December. With their strong team dynamic and high energy game play, even when the game gets tough is truly what makes this team one of the strongest in volleyball today.

Louisville sits at 2-0 on the season with two great top-25 wins.

Photo Courtesy // Adam Mouchrani, Louisville Athletics