CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes volleyball program hosted No. 3 Louisville, Sunday, playing their third match against a top-five team in four games. The Cardinals took the first two sets and despite a push by the Hurricanes that saw them win the third set, Louisville held on to defeat Miami, 3-1.

With the loss, Miami falls to 9-10 on the season and 7-3 in ACC play, as they currently sit in fifth place in the conference standings.

The Hurricanes were led offensively by Ruth Martinez, who tallied 15 kills in the loss. She added two service aces, six digs, and two blocks. Setter Ariana Rodriguez recorded 34 assists and ten digs for her eighth double-double of the season.

Set 1: Louisville 25, Miami 18
Miami found itself in a hole early in set one, trailing 4-2. Three straight points thanks to a Sonja Danilovic kill and Logan Wiley and Ruth Martinez block gave the Hurricanes a 5-4 lead. The two teams continued to play closely, with neither team building larger than a one-point lead until Louisville scored three straight to go up 11-8.

The Hurricanes responded, scoring three of their own to tie the match at 11. Louisville outscored Miami 7-3 over the next ten points, capped by back-to-back service aces to make it 18-13. Despite the deficit, the Hurricanes pulled themselves within three, but Louisville would go on another 7-3 run to earn the first set victory.

Set 2: Louisville 25, Miami 15
Louisville got out to a quick start in the second set, taking a 10-2 lead to force a Miami timeout. The Hurricanes scored three consecutive points, as Martinez earned the kill and recorded consecutive service aces, pushing Louisville to take their first timeout of the set.

The Cardinals immediately responded, recording the next three points to re-extend their lead to eight. Miami scored four of the next six points, going into the media timeout trailing 15-9, and added two points out of the break to make it a four-point match. The Hurricanes recorded two kills  fromWiley and one from Martinez, but Louisville outscored Miami 10-4 down the stretch to go up 2-0 in the match.

Set 3: Miami 25, Louisville 21
The Cardinals held a slight advantage in the score early in the third set, leading Miami by at most two points before the Hurricanes rallied to score four straight. Martinez recorded consecutive kills before two Cardinals’ errors gave Miami an 11-9 lead and forced a timeout.

Louisville climbed back to tie the match, but the Hurricanes held a 15-13 lead into the media timeout. The Cardinals pulled even on the other end of the break, tying the set at 16. Both teams continued to trade points until trailing 19-18, Miami got kills from Wiley and two from Martinez to give the Hurricanes a 21-19 lead.

Miami went on to score three more points after a Louisville timeout as Ariana Rodriguez and Asia Harvey recorded a block and Martinez another kill to give the Hurricanes a 24-19 lead. The Cardinals scored two to make it a three-point set, but Wiley put it away, forcing a fourth set.

Set 4: Louisville 25, Miami 12
The Hurricanes started the must win fourth set slow, falling into a deficit they couldn’t pull out of. With the set tied at one, Louisville scored 13 points before allowing Miami to score back-to-back times. Leading 14-4, the Hurricanes recorded two consecutive points to make it 14-6, but the Cardinals took the lead into the media timeout, building it to as many as ten when they led 18-8.

Trailing 20-9, Harvey tallied two kills to pull Miami within nine, but Louisville scored five of the final six points to earn the victory over the Hurricanes.

The loss at Freeman Indoor Stadium at the Knight Sports Complex marks the first home loss for Miami since Sept. 5.

Up Next: The Hurricanes go back on the road, this time traveling to Virginia. Miami will take on the Cavaliers in the first match of the road trip on Friday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. You can watch the match on ACCNX.