U of L volleyball advances in NCAA tournament

Anne Kordes didn't hide from the emotion or weight she felt ahead of Louisville volleyball's first-round NCAA tournament match against Belmont.

Her Cards, fresh off an ACC title, entered the tournament as the 15th overall seed, with a ton of momentum after winning 22 of their final 25 matches and eight of their last nine. They were the heavy favorites on Friday night at Cardinal Arena.

"It's really tough to play when you feel like you have something to lose," Kordes said. "It's the worst feeling in the world."

Belmont, Kordes said, played like it had nothing to lose and was feisty enough to win a set, but Louisville (25-6) advanced to the second round of the tournament for the first time since 2012 with a hard-fought 25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21 win.

Louisville advances to Saturday's 7 p.m. second-round match against Illinois, which swept in-state rival Southern Illinois in Friday's earlier match. A bid in the third round is on the line, with U of L hoping to get there for the first time since 2005.

But, like Friday night, Kordes said the key for her team will be staying calm. The Cards have high expectations after such a strong season, and they can't afford to get caught up in anything other than the task at hand.

"From that standpoint, the only thing I could do to aid my players in trying to calm down and just play is for me to be calm and just give them adjustments that we've been talking about," Kordes said, "(and) not trying to comment to them on every single thing that happens."

The passing game wasn't perfect, setter Katie George said, but she did total 48 assists. Erin Fairs (15 kills) and Tess Clark (14) teamed up with bench spark Janelle Jenkins, who had 10 kills, to push back Belmont's resilient defense.

"With a team like Belmont, they make you really impatient," George said. "We're used to going up and getting kills, because we're really physical. Belmont is super scrappy, so they were making a lot of plays on a lot of balls and it was up to Tess – I think she got dug three times in one rally and put it down on a fourth ball. It was just staying patient, making smart shots."

Belmont's Arianna Person had 24 kills and 15 digs, and setter Emma Price had 49 assists. But Louisville, carried by Molly Sauer's 18 digs, kept its composure through some sticky late-set situations.

After winning the first set and losing the second, the Cards needed some late juice to score the final two points of the third and final four points of the fourth.

"A lot of times when it's back and forth, back and forth, we get nervous or get timid," Fairs said. "If we be aggressive at the end of a game, that usually turns out well."

That's what Kordes wanted from her team when it had so much to lose and so much to play for. The Cards cut through that tension Friday night. Now they have to do it again on Saturday night.