By Jocelyn Scurlock

No. 8 Louisville took down the No. 21 North Carolina Tar Heels on the road in four sets Sunday.

Start swinging

The Cards were hitting on all cylinders to start the match including a huge overpass kill from Cara Cresse and an ace by Hannah Kenny.

They got out to an early 6-2 lead, forcing UNC to call a time out.

After the Tar Heels regrouped, they were able to string together a few points on big stuff blocks.

However, Louisville’s offense was just too strong and dominated the first set winning it 25-10.

The Cards picked up right where they left off to start the second, with all of their front row players getting involved offensively including setter Nayelis Cabello.

North Carolina began to fight back with strong kills from the outside and back row.

Although the Cards had four game points, the Tar Heels kept pushing to get within two. Ultimately, Louisville was able to survive and take the set 25-23.

The third set is where things began to take a turn in the wrong direction for Louisville.

Carolina came out swinging hard and the Cards struggled to find an answer. They fell behind 10-7.

Although there were quite a few very long rallies between the team, they all seemed to go the way of the Tar Heels.

The score was back-and-forth until the end, but North Carolina ended up winning the set 25-23 to force a fourth.

Set four was a nail-biter from start to finish.

The teams continued to trade points and multiple lead changes.

Carolina’s offense was very successful with finding the open spots on the court which gave them some momentum towards the end.

Despite that, the Cards refused to give up and they did everything they could to stay in the game.

Although the Tar Heels had two game points, Louisville was able to win the set 26-24 and the match 3-1, ending North Carolina’s 9-0 undefeated conference record.

More than a match

This match proved just how much resilience and determination Louisville has.

Despite struggling to close out games against ranked opponents, they dug deep and fought until the very end to close it out in four.

All the stars shined for the Cards today, with Chloe Chicoine having a career-high 23 digs and Hannah Sherman leading the team with 13 blocks.

Overall, this was a great win for Louisville as they were able to prove just how dangerous of a team they can be.

The Cards are now 16-4 on the year and 8-2 in ACC play. Louisville will remain on the road to play Notre Dame in South Bend on Wednesday.

Photo Courtesy / Lillian Camp / Louisville Athletics