Miami Falls to No. 13 Louisville

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami volleyball’s second-set heroic’s fall short to No. 13 Louisville on Thursday night.

Miami was led by Elizaveta Lukianova with 18 kills and four blocks, while sophomore Savannah Vach led the way with 24 assists.

The Cardinals took the early 1-0 lead behind a dominating .391 attack percentage, led by Anna DeBeer’s five kills and five team blocks. Both Lukianova and Angela Grieve registered four kills each in the first, but the Canes couldn’t overcome the early Louisville lead and dropped the set, 25-12.

Miami put up a strong performance and stole the set from the Cardinals behind a six-kill set from Lukianova and six different Canes registering two or more digs. With the score tied 13 times and six lead changes, Miami evened the match with a 25-23 set win.

The third set saw another back-and-froth battle between the two sides, but the Cardinals extra bodies and fresh legs gave the away team an advantage. Nena Mbonu led Louisville with six kills to help edge Miami in the third, 25-23.

Louisville took the match with a 25-16 fourth set win and held Miami to just eight kills.

Miami returns to the Knight Sports complex for its final match of the season to host North Carolina on April 3 at 1 p.m.