After nine straight wins and 27 straight set wins in non-conference matchups, Boston College volleyball has been unable to overcome its recent ACC matchups. After dropping its ACC opener to Notre Dame despite holding a 2–1 set advantage at one point, the Eagles entered their matchup against No. 5 Louisville searching for its first major upset of the season.
BC (11–5, 0–2 Atlantic Coast) battled with the Cardinals (11–1, 2–0) for three tight sets but ultimately fell in a lopsided 3–1 match. Katrina Jensen led BC with 15 kills on a dominant .433 hit percentage, but it was not enough to top Louisville, which had four players record 10-plus kills. The set scores were 25–23, 25–20, 25–23, and 25–17.
BC head coach Jason Kennedy declined to comment after the loss.
The Eagles rose to the occasion in enemy territory and got off to a hot start in the first set of the match, managing to match Louisville nearly point for point in the early rallies. BC took its first lead of the game when Katrina Jensen landed a kill to put BC ahead 3–2.
While Louisville rebounded and regained the lead shortly thereafter, the Cardinals could not shake the Eagles and run away with the set. Led by a Halle Schroder kill, the Eagles went on a four-point run and established a two-point lead to make it 13–11. But just as quickly as BC’s lead was created, it vanished, and Louisville reestablished a lead and closed in on the first set.
But BC refused to let up, and a Jensen missile evened the set at 23 points apiece. Back-to-back Aiko Jones and Cara Cresse kills, however, put an end to the potential first set upset. And despite holding the Cardinals to a .167 hitting percentage, Louisville’s four aces bailed it out to win the set.
Louisville’s momentum carried into the start of the second set, and the Cardinals set the tone and jumped out to a 5–1 advantage. But BC stormed back, notching six of the next seven points, including a block assist from Julia Haggerty to tie the game at seven.
Louisville took a small lead, but three Jensen kills propelled the Eagles back into contention, down 16–15. BC soon found itself trailing 24–19, and an Anna DeBeer kill put a swift end to the second set, ending the Eagles’ tough second set battle.
The Eagles refused to let Louisville dominate in the third set. Alayna Crabtree netted a kill, but Anna DeBeer’s attack error put the Cardinals ahead 14–13. A Haggerty block assist then tied the game at 17.
BC, however, dropped two of the next three points but still refused to give up the set, clawing back once again and knotting the game at 20.
Louisville’s service errors continued to let BC back into the game, and a Cornelia Roach block gave BC a 23–22 lead. Another service error allowed BC to once again take a 24–23 advantage, and Schroder’s kill delivered the Eagles’ first set win against Louisville in three years.
The Eagles kept it close to start the fourth set, but Louisville finally broke free to cruise to a 3–1 victory.
