By Morgan Davenport

No. 4 Louisville sweeps unranked Notre Dame in a big conference win.

This game started off rough for the Cards, causing Notre Dame to take an early lead in set one.

The Cardinals opened with an unusual lineup, having no Charitie Luper at all.

Most of the beginning plays were off speed due to the Cards struggling on serve receive. It seemed like Elena Scott was simply just having an off game, causing the whole back row to crumble with her. Throughout the set, Scott figured out her rhythm again and Louisville pushed back to take the lead from the Fighting Irish.

The high amounts of errors from both teams made this set feel never-ending but luckily the Cardinals pulled it together for a 25-17 win.

Set two began much better for the Cardinals, with a lead-off ace from Elle Glock. Unfortunately, the Cards were struggling with connecting with the ball.

On the other side of the net, the Fighting Irish were hitting in the negatives the whole set. This was good for the Cards as that meant along with Notre Dame’s own errors, their blocking was working. Reese Robins and Hannah Sherman were putting up a wall throughout the whole game, making it hard for Notre Dame to get kills.

Sherman also hit an impressive .500 on the match, having three powerful overpass kills and seven kills overall for the match.

Luckily for the Cards, their powerful kills and blocking power gained them set two 25-17.

Set three started off with a bang for the Cardinals, having a lead-off kill from Anna DeBeer. This momentum was exactly what the Cards needed, going kill for kill. Peyton Petersen had a free ball kill off her shoulder and an ace to follow. Eventually the Cardinals finally had their mojo back after a sloppy first two sets, taking a 10-point lead.

Then, Dani Busboom Kelly subbed in new players, putting in Molly Urban and Alanna Bankston cold could have been a good move on her part but unfortunately Notre Dame targeted Urban on serve receive. This messed up the flow that the Cards finally got back.

The Cardinals ended up taking the set 25-21 on a kill from DeBeer, completing the sweep.

This gameplay is definitely not the Cardinals that should be presented at the big dance but a good win nonetheless. Louisville advances to 18-3 on the year and 10-1 in conference.

The Cards will face Notre dame again Saturday in South Bend.

Photo Courtesy // Rachel Klotz, Louisville Athletics