By Morgan Davenport

Louisville moves on to the sweet sixteen after a thrilling five-set win over the Northern Iowa Panthers.

Following a sweep over Chicago State in round one, Louisville had major momentum going into this match.

On their heels

UNI held their ground for the first set, taking it out from under the Cardinals at the last minute. Louisville played to their strengths for this match, having 25 total blocks for the match.

Per usual, Anna DeBeer and Charitie Luper took charge at the net, swinging for a combined 38 kills in the match.

Louisville fought hard through set one but unfortunately fell 26-28.

Set two was much different, as the Cardinals fought to take this set to even the match out.

It was evident the Panthers laid everything on the line to grab the advantage and take down the Cardinals for the first time since 2017, but the Cardinals simply would not accept that.

Libero Elena Scott dug left and right, making sure to keep rallies going for as long as possible until Louisville could capture a point. This was a set of pure grit and determination from both teams, and it was amazing to witness.

The Cardinals took set two 25-23, keeping the fight alive the entire time.

Set three once again went to the Panthers, keeping up their strong swings and getting into the gaps that the Cardinals simply could not cover. Sofia Maldonado Diaz came out swinging for the set, though, taking every chance to get a kill and tie it up. Unfortunately, Louisville just couldn’t keep up with the energy the Panthers brought to the set.

UNI took set three 25-23.

I guess they got their swagger back

Set four was when the Cardinals got their fire back. This set was the team the fans know and love.

Cara Cresse was a star performer for the whole match, but she really came through when it was needed most.

Cresse put up 12 blocks for the Cardinals, constantly shutting down anything the Panthers had coming for her. This was by far her best match of the season.

The team was playing in pure harmony, recording seven blocks for the set. There was no withstanding the wall that Cresse put up.

Louisville also served much better in the fourth, making sure to put the ball in when it counted and keeping their lead at all times.

The Cardinals took set four 25-13.

The last and final set was an absolute nail biter.

UNI started out with a lead on the Cardinals, keeping them perpetually trailing by one. Once it hit match point UNI, the Cardinals knew it was time to kick it into gear. The set went going point-for-point as it was a constant battle.

Luckily for the Cardinals, UNI had three-consecutive service errors to give them advantages every time. The errors gave the Cardinals enough life to keep the set going.

After what felt like an eternity, Louisville strung together two points to beat UNI 22-20, winning the match 3-2.

Louisville advances to the Sweet 16, their sixth in a row.

This was one of the most thrilling games of volleyball I have ever watched, and it truly was an emotional game for the Cardinals as it could have been their last. Hopefully, this match gave Louisville a bit more passion to take down the Purdue Boilermakers and advance them to the Elite Eight once again.

Photo by Morgan Davenport