Miami Drops ACC Opener to No. 5 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Miami volleyball team fell in its conference opener, 3-0, to No. 5-ranked Louisville on Friday night inside L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
The Cardinals won the sets with scores of 25-10, 25-21, and 25-14.
“I don’t want to make any bones about it: we got outclassed in almost all phases tonight,” said head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara. “It’s painful reminder that we have lots to get better at. I thought we had some decent stretches of blocking but couldn’t put enough of the pieces together to mount sustained resistance. Hats off to Louisville – they’re great evidence that the conference is a good as any in the country this year.”
“It’s never fun to get swept like that, but I’m optimistic about our team’s resilience. Notre Dame is a high-level program. Our preparation for them starts now, and if we get our heads right, I like our chances.”
Miami reached the media timeout trailing by just six, 15-9, after a strong battle to open the match in the first set. Louisville followed the break with a 3-0 run to go on to win the opening set, 25-10.
The Canes came out with a fire in set two, jumping in front 8-4 early that included a 5-0 run sparked by a Peyman Yardimci kill. UofL used a 6-1 run to regain the lead, 10-9, and force a UM timeout. The Cardinals extended its lead to 15-11 before two Yardimci kills, a Hanna Bissler ace and Janice Leao kill brought Miami within one. A 4-1 Louisville run made the Hurricanes use their second timeout with UofL up 19-15. The teams traded points down the stretch, including a Nyah Anderson kill to battle off the first Cardinal set point. UofL went on to take the set 25-21 and a 2-0 match lead.
It was a split of the opening eight points of set three between the teams. Louisville utilized a 6-1 run as Miami was pressed to use its first timeout of the set. The Cardinals never looked back as they went on to the 25-14 set three win.
The Hurricanes will travel to face Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday at 1 pm (ET).
