By Morgan Davenport
No. 4 Louisville takes down No. 12 SMU in four sets on Sunday.
Coming off a tough rivalry loss against Pittsburgh, the Cards needed something to bring their attitude back up on the road. The Cards came out strong, putting up an absolute wall on the net. Cara Cresse and Reese Robins were not letting anything pass them, having 18 blocks combined. Having an impressive .458 hitting percentage right out the gate showed everyone that they came to play.
The Cardinals won set one 25-14.
Set two was the only set the Cards gave up to SMU. The main reason was on attacking and service errors from the Cardinals causing them to fall behind. There seemed to be a common theme between both teams, which was missing serves right when a run would start.
Despite their sloppy play, the set was still fairly close as the Cards fell 21-25.
In set three, the Cards were back. There were a few lead changes but overall the Cards played very well together. Shockingly, they only hit .079% due to attacking errors. Their blocking mixed with powerful swings was their recipe for success, pulling them back together. They also held SMU to hitting 0.0 for the set. Anna DeBeer went kill for kill, making this her third double-double match in a row.
The Cardinals took set three 25-20.
Set four was really when the Cardinals came out swinging, having 17 kills for the set. This was an important set for both teams as it determined whether there would be a fifth set, and possibly for SMU to win.
Cresse understood the assignment, opening the set with a beautiful kill to give the Cards the lead. SMU held the Cards up to very good rallies, keeping the game tied or within one/two points. By the end of the set, SMU simply could not keep up with the power Louisville was putting out.
Louisville won the fourth set 25-21, winning the match 3-1.
A huge component to this top-15 win for the Cards was the incredible game play of Robins during the entire match. Robins’s court vision and defensive plays were one of the important keys to this win.
Another key component was the incredible game play by Elena Scott. Her ability to hustle for every ball and make sure that any ball is playable, even if it is out-of-system. The team was working very well together as well, making the game go smoothly.
Overall, The Cardinals showed exactly who they are as a team and hopefully showed the team that they will bring with them to the big dance in Dec.
The Cardinals are now 17-3 on the season and 9-1 in conference. They face Notre Dame at home Wednesday.
Photo Courtesy // SMU Athletics