The start of the ACC section of the season has not gotten off to a good start for the Hurricanes’ volleyball team. Even though Miami pulled it out against Notre Dame on Friday, winning 3-2, this loss against No. 4 Louisville on Sunday, puts it at 2-4 in conference play.
The final scores of the match were 23-25, 17-25, 25-18 and 20-25, with the ’Canes losing the match 3-1. Despite losing the match, the star sophomore Grace Lopez had an incredible performance, tallying 25 kills, five digs and four blocks. Her 25 kills were more than half the 47 kills the Hurricanes had as a whole.
The first set was close the entire way through, with the largest lead being only four points. The first five points of the set for the ’Canes came off kills, two by Lopez, one by junior Flormarie Heredia Colon, one by senior Ashley Carr and one by sophomore Ava Carney. After those kills, the ’Canes were leading 5-2 early in the set. They held that lead until Cardinals senior Charitie Luper scored a kill to tie the set up at 8-8.
Both teams then went back and forth, scoring and not letting either hold a lead for much more than a point. The set remained close the rest of the way through, but the Cardinals came up on top in the end, winning the set 25-23 after a kill by graduate student Anna DeBeer.
The second set started off decently for Miami, with the score all tied up at seven a piece after a kill by Louisville graduate student Phekran Kong. Louisville went on a 5-0 run right after that to make the score 12-7. The Hurricanes were never able to close the gap for the rest of the set. and the Cardinals ended up winning the set 25-17 to give them a 2-0 lead in the match.
Things were finally looking up for the ’Canes in the third set. It was tied late in the set, with the score tied at 17 after a kill by Carney. Miami went on a 7-0 right after getting the tie to make the score 24-17. Not long after, it closed out the set with a kill by junior Dalia Wilson to give the Hurricanes the 25-18 set win.
The fourth and final set did not end up being the next part of a UM comeback. It started off with the score tied at four after a kill by Heredia Colon. The Cardinals held a small lead for the rest of the set. Even though Lopez tallied a kill late to make the score 24-19, the outcome remained as expected, with the Cardinals winning the set 25-20 to give them the 3-1 match victory.
After the loss, the Hurricanes now sit at 11-6 on the season, and the Cardinals improve to 14-2. For their next match, the Hurricanes will travel up to Syracuse, N.Y. to face the Syracuse Orange (12-6, 0-6 ACC) on Friday. This will be the Hurricanes’ first of four consecutive road matches in a row that will last them through the rest of October. Miami will not have a match back in Coral Gables until Friday, Nov. 1, when it plays the Stanford Cardinal (13-2, 5-1).