Photos by Patrick Boling, Clemson Athletic Communications
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville, first team outside of the AVCA top-25 coaches poll, defeated Clemson, 25-18, 24-26, 25-18, Sunday afternoon in the Cardinals’ L&N Federal Credit Union Arena. Clemson’s Kaylin Korte led all Tiger hitters with 10 kills, while Solei Thomas and Jori Radtke chipped in eight kills each.
Both teams were tied 9-9 in the opening set before the Cardinals embarked on a 6-0 run leading up to media timeout. Coming out of the break, Clemson Head Coach Michaela Franklin switched to a 6-2 rotation and inserted sophomore setter Gabby Easton into the lineup, but the Cardinals’ headway was too much to overcome as Louisville took game No. 1, 25-18, after hitting .387 for the set.
After Clemson took two of the first three points to open the second, the Cardinals orchestrated another unanswered run – this one 9-0 – which gave Louisville a 12-3 lead. The Tigers responded with an 8-1 run later in the set that was initiated by a heads-up play from Ava Pritchard, who sent the ball with two hands to the back of the court behind all six Cardinal defenders. Louisville had set point, 24-20, but the Tigers fired off four unanswered points to even the set. A Clemson service error followed by a Cardinal kill ended the set (26-24) and gave Louisville a 2-0 lead heading into the break.
Once again, the Tigers kept it close early in the third as they trailed Louisville 11-10 to open the set, but Louisville would extend its lead to 21-12. Korte’s ninth kill of the match cut the Tiger deficit to as little as six (23-17), but a Cardinal kill and Clemson service error would seal the set, 25-18, and match.
With the win, Louisville improved to 11-3 on the season and 4-0 in ACC play.
Up next, Clemson (6-9, 0-4 ACC) hosts Georgia Tech (8-6, 1-2 ACC) on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s matchup against the Yellow Jackets is Clemson’s first of two matches to air ACC Network. For live stats, visit ClemsonTigers.com.
For complete coverage of the Clemson Volleyball team, follow @ClemsonVB on Twitter and Instagram, and @ClemsonVolleyball on Facebook.
