LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Aiko Jones finished with a team-high 11 kills, hitting .558, and adding two blocks and an ace to lead the No. 1-seeded University of Louisville women’s volleyball team to a 25-9, 25-13, 25-12 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament over Samford Friday night at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
“I’m really proud of how we came out tonight,” said UofL head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. “When you play in the NCAA Tournament, there can be nerves and a lot of distractions. But we were really focused and played very clean from point one. I was just really proud of our effort tonight and we’ve been preparing. Any team at this moment believes they can win and they (Samford) had some great wins at the end of their season so we were prepared for them to really battle. I’m just proud of how we came out and took that fight away right away.”
The Cardinals won in dominating fashion, not allowing the Bulldogs to lead at any point in the match and hit a season-high .514. The win moves Louisville’s record to 27-2, while Samford ends the season at 19-12 overall. Claire Chaussee finished the match with nine kills, seven digs, and a block. Amaya Tillman added six kills, and a team-high three blocks while hitting .625. Raquel Lazaro chipped in with 28 assists and five digs
UofL will return to action Saturday, Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. as they are set to host Purdue in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Purdue outlasted Tennessee 3-2 (14-25, 25-14, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11) to advance in the earlier match.
Set by Set Recap
Set 1
Louisville…
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