No. 5 Louisville Volleyball earns sixth-straight win in victory over Virginia Tech 

By Luke Boran

Staff Writer

October 23, 2023

BLACKSBURG — No. 5 Lousiville (18-2, 9-1 ACC) beat Virginia Tech (12-9, 2-8) 3-1 on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum behind a dominant performance from the Cardinals.

The Cardinals blazed in the first set, going up 10-4. Tech’s defense played incredibly well, but Louisville’s attack would not let up. 

“We typically play Louisville real hard,” Tech middle blocker Sydney Petersen said. “They have some big attackers. It's all about buckling down and being super gritty.” 

The highlight of the first set was point 15 for Tech. Both teams had a tremendous back-and-forth rally which displayed the talent both squads possessed. The Hokies battled back and eventually tied with the Cardinals. However, Tech could not overcome Louisvillie’s offense and dropped the initial set, 25-19.  Charitie Luper, outside hitter for Louisville, took over with nine kills in the first set alone. 

Set two was a great display of defense and energy by the Hokies. 

“We knew it was going to be a climb,” Petersen said. “There was never a doubt that we would battle back, in my mind.” 

Elayna Duprey, outside and rightside hitter for Tech, energized the Hokie attack, getting a back-to-back block and kill to tie the set at seven each. Tech fended off the Cardinal attack and after 16 ties in the set, Tech libero Iliana Rodrigez won the set with an ace. 

The Hokies could not catch the same fire they had in the second set, and fell victim to Louisville’s potent offense. Luper continued to give the Hokies trouble, and Cardinal middle blocker Phekran Kong started to heat up as well, with two kills in the third set. However, many of Tech’s shortcomings in the third were self-inflicted. The Hokies had nine attack errors and one service error. The Cardinals ended up dominating the third, winning 25-11.

The fourth set was very similar to the first. The Cardinals were ahead by at least three points for the entire set. Everytime the Hokies seemed to battle back, Kong would get a kill and halt the Hokies’ momentum — she finished the final set with seven kills. Attacking and service errors were also an issue in the fourth for the Hokies. Tech had ten errors in the fourth, half of which were attacking errors. The Cardinals went on to win the fourth set 25-19 and the match.

“I would love to see middles get more active in transition, attacking, and serving tough,” Petersen said. “Defensively, we’re in a good place.” 

The Hokies travel north on Friday to take on No. 7 Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.