By Jocelyn Scurlock

Louisville volleyball took on the top ten ranked SMU Mustangs in a nail biter Friday night, but unfortunately fell in five sets. The Cards are now 6-1 in conference play.

Set one was back and forth until the final point with 12 lead changes between the teams.

Hannah Kenny had two aces in a row to get the Cards out to a small lead, but SMU responded.

Strong swings allowed the Mustangs to pull away just enough to win the set 25-22.

The Cards struggled big with defending SMU’s hard hitters and it unfortunately cost them the set.

The second set started rocky for Louisville with a few blocking and serving errors, but Cara Cresse came alive at the right time with a huge block and overpass kill. This allowed Louisville to take the lead after falling into a five point deficit.

Offense was the name of the game for the Cards in the second set with 16 kills and a 0.468 hitting percentage to take the win 25-19.

SMU took control early in set three with four kills and got the Mustangs out to a 7-0 lead.

The Cards struggled to find an answer to defend her and were forced to call an early time out and regroup.

Despite their defensive struggles, Louisville rallied hard by finding creative ways to score such as a lethal back row attack from Payton Peterson and an aggressive setter dump by Nayelis Cabello.

The Cards’ grit and determination allowed them to tie the set up at 20 and get themselves right back into the game.

Although the Mustangs ended up with set point, two killer blocks from Hannah Sherman and Kalyssa Blackshear brought the Cards ahead to win 26-24.

The fourth set was once again a thriller with both teams fighting for each point. SMU got out to an 8-4 lead but Louisville came right back to tie it up at nine. Kills by Peterson, Blackshear, and Cresse continued the momentum that the Cards were building.

The Mustangs continued to fight and got out to a lead late in the fourth due in part to strong blocking from the Mustangs and a string of errors on the Louisville side. SMU took set four 25-21 to force a fifth.

The Cardinals got out to a strong start in the fifth taking an early 4-0 lead off an ace from Kamden Schrand.

They continued their momentum thanks to their front row players getting involved both offensively and defensively.

Even with a large deficit, the Mustangs refused to quit and tied the set up at 14 with a kill.

Despite the Cards having four set points, their multiple blocking errors allowed SMU to take the set 19-17 and win the match 3-2.

Overall, although this game will go on Louisville’s record as a loss, there were a lot of positives that should be recognized. Blocking has been a huge part of the Cards identity for years and this game truly showcased that.

The team combined for 24 blocks with seven from Sherman and Blackshear and five from Cresse and Cabello. It’s exciting to see this part of their game getting stronger especially as they get deeper into conference play.

The Cards also showed incredible determination when faced with adversity as they were able to fight their way back from large deficits many times throughout the match.

On the other hand, the amount of errors that they had on defense and serve-receive were detrimental and really seemed to kill any momentum they were building offensively.

If their serve-receive can get a little more consistent, Louisville has the potential to be an unstoppable team.

The Cards are at home once again this Sunday to take on their conference rival Pitt, in what is sure to be a thrilling matchup.