Boston College Athletics
Boston College
6-6, 1-0
Louisville
8-5, 0-1
Volleyball Beats Louisville In First ACC Match
September 26, 2014 | Volleyball
Louisville, Ky. - Volleyball traveled to the University of Louisville for the Eagles' and Cardinals' first volleyball match in their histories tonight.
The Cardinals, a new ACC member boasted an 8-4 record prior to the match versus the Eagles tonight. The Eagles, going into conference play with a 5-6 record were gunning to break a two game losing streak.
The Cards led the beginning of the first set until BC went on a 9-2 tear, putting the Eagles up 20-16 going into the final points of the first set. The Cardinal defense was on its heels as senior captain Kellie Barnum spread out her sets well in the debut set with each hitter on the floor tallying at least one kill.
BC notched 14 kills and just two hitting errors in set one, earning a solid 25-19 victory over the host team. Outside hitters Katty Workman and Sol Calvete both notched four kills. Freshman middle hitter Brittany Pavich finished the first set with three.
The Eagles came out strong in set two, continuing to fire off kills and put up strong blocks. After jumping out to a 5-1 lead, Louisville called an early timeout. The Eagles continued to hold a substantial lead through the second set, forcing Louisville to call their second timeout at 16-13.
BC held the lead through the remainder of the set, ultimately winning 25-22. After two sets the Eagles were hitting .209 percent, while Louisville was hitting .125 percent. Workman led the team with 10 kills after two sets. Pavich held a .400% hitting percentage, gathering 5 kills in the span of the first two sets.
Set three was a battle, as the Eagles fought to win the match and the Cards clawed the stay alive. Louisville showed gusto, pulling ahead 7-3 at the beginning of the third. The Eagles continued to struggle, committing attack and service errors, allowing the Cardinals to pull out to a 16-9 lead. BC was unable to dig themselves out of the hole, and the Cards took set three 25-16 to stay in the match.
As set four began Louisville seemed to be hitting their stride. The Cards jumped out to a 10-5 lead. Once again, the Eagles made costly mistakes throughout the set, allowing Louisville to hold a lead the entire time. The Cards capitalized on the Eagles' mistakes and took set four 25-17, forcing a fifth and deciding match.
Facing a similar situation to six previous matches this season, the Eagles were in a five-set match once again. BC refused to drop another five-setter and stormed out in their final set versus Louisville. The Eagles never trailed in set five and took it by a hefty margin, winning 15-8.
Workman led the Eagles with 21 kills on 55 attempts with just five hitting errors. Workman also had 12 kills, tallying another double-double. Julia Topor picked up 15 kills and 14 digs in the five set victory over new ACC opponent, Louisville. Freshman outside hitter Calvete notched 11 kills, 23 digs and two aces, while the two middles, Pavich and Anna Skold had nine and six kills respectively. Pavich also led the Eagles in blocks with five total on the night.
Barnum dished out 50 assists, while Louisville's setter only tallied 39. Senior libero Courtney Castle had a stellar night recording 31 digs in the five set victory.
The victory puts the Eagles at 1-0 in the ACC, matching their total conference wins from last season. Coach Campbell and his team will be back in action on Sunday, September 28 at 1:00 pm vs. Pitt. Tune in to ESPN3 to watch the match!
