By Morgan Davenport
Louisville Volleyball took down Illinois in four sets this afternoon, dropping their first set of the season.
The Cardinals started the set strong with a kill from Cara Cresse, but the Fighting Illini were ready to put up a fight.
Illinois kept the Cards on their toes, keeping it close for the majority of the set. The Cardinals came out victorious, taking set one 25-19.
Chloe Chicone and Payton Petersen both had incredible games, combining for 37 kills.
Set two was even closer; Illinois targeted the Cardinals’ defense and held their ground. The Cards had very slow momentum, making simple errors that cost them an early lead.
The Cardinals fought hard and took set two, 25-23.
Nayelis Cabello played very strategically, playing beautiful offensive plays and playing to not only their hitters’ strengths, but also Illinois’ weaknesses. She had 52 assists for the match.
Set three is when the wheels fell off for the Cards. Louisville, unfortunately, kept the errors going, costing them the set. The momentum was slow, but the Cardinals tried their best to keep up.
They kept it close through the majority of the set, but dropped it 25-20.
The fourth and final set was where the momentum came back for the Cardinals.
Cara Cresse came out hot to end the match, having zero errors.
Payton Peterson ended the match being the Cardinals top hitter for the game, seemingly taking over Anna Debeer’s coveted outside hitter position.
Overall, the Cardinals are looking good for this new season. While they have some kinks to work out to get their momentum flowing smoothly, they truly have so much potential.
Louisville will face Texas on Wednesday in a top ten matchup, hoping to become 4-0 to start off the season.
Photo courtesy / Louisville Athletics
