By Derek DeBurger

Louisville swept their season opener against the Auburn Tigers.

In spite of the sweep, the match was still fairly close.

The Tigers struck first, but it didn’t matter too much as the score just bounced back and forth. Neither team led by more than two points, seeing the score get to 21-21.

Louisville then put their foot down and scored four straight to send the set.

Louisville won the first set 25-21.

The second set was just as close, with neither team able to create any serious separation.

Auburn got out to their biggest lead of the match thus far when they got up 14-10 thanks to a couple of errors from the Cards.

Louisville was able to slowly claw their way back to a 19-19 tie, then took a 21-20 lead off a kill from Chole Chicoine.

The Cards ended the set on a 5-1 run, once again winning 25-21.

The third set started much the same as the first two, with little to no separation.

Auburn got up by three points when Kalyssa Blacksear led Louisville to an 8-1 run, scoring half of the points on the run.

Louisville carried this momentum to their own biggest lead of the night at seven points. But Auburn went on a 5-0 run with the help of Louisville committing three errors.

But Louisville remained calm. They scored two more points, once again winning 25-21.

Starting strong

It was tightly contested from start to finish, but a sweep is a great way to kick off the Dan Meske-era of Louisville volleyball.

There didn’t seem to be too big of a drop-off from previous teams, but the Cards were noticeably sloppy at times. This could just be early season rust, but it’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

The team also shot a pretty low hitting percentage at just .162, but kept their identity as a defensive powerhouse holding Auburn to an abysmal .084.

Individually, the stars were out and shining for Louisville.

Cara Cresse, Chicoine and Blackshear all had 11 kills out of Louisville’s 45. Cresse also added four blocks.

The Cards start the season 1-0 as the Cardinal Classic continues Sunday with Morehead State.

Photo Courtesy // Reese Vierling, Louisville Athletics