LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following a strong 3-0 weekend on the road to open the season, the Cardinals head to Bowling Green, Ky. for a mid-week match up with No. 22 Western Kentucky at the E.A. Diddle Arena on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Louisville and Western Kentucky have met 18 times in series history, with the Cardinals currently leading the series with an 18-0 advantage. The last time these two teams played in 2019, the Cards won a tightly contested 3-2 match in Bowling Green. Last season, the Hilltoppers finished 28-2 (12-0 in conference) winning the Conference-USA tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. They fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Georgia Tech. WKU is currently 3-0 in the 2022 season after three sweeps at the CEFCU Invitational at Bradley. The Hilltoppers were led by a duo of seniors: Paige Briggs and Lauren Matthews. Briggs, the 5-10 outside hitter who was named the CEFCU tournament MVP, finished the weekend with 32 kills hitting .456 and 29 digs. Matthews, a 6-0 middle blocker, was the 2021 Conference-USA Defensive Player and Player of the Year and finished the CEFCU tournament with 32 kills hitting .473 and six blocks.
The No. 3 Cardinals are coming off a stellar weekend in South Dakota with three straight sweeps against Northern Kentucky, South Dakota, and Missouri. 15 of the Cardinals saw the court this weekend. Louisville brought a balanced offense to the court with four players finishing the weekend with 19 kills or better. Anna DeBeer brought the heat with a team-high 31 kills (.377). DeBeer also had 20 digs, five blocks, and five aces. Claire Chaussee and Aiko Jones both hammered in 22 kills apiece, with Chaussee recording 17 digs, four blocks, and four aces and Jones recording a team-high 13 blocks and six aces. Amaya Tillman finished the weekend with 19 kills hitting an impressive .486, 12 blocks, and two aces. Setter Raquel Lazaro had 87 assists, 21 digs, nine blocks, and two aces.
Lazaro was named MVP of the South Dakota Coyote Invitational and Jones and Tillman were voted to the All-Coyote Invitational Team.
Team Rankings
As a team, Louisville is ranked tied for first in the ACC in hitting percentage (.367) and first in opponent hitting percentage (.066), first in blocks (33 total) and blocks per set (3.67), and first in service aces per set…
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