Jamaican Aiko Jones had 10 kills, four aces and six blocks to lead the No. 4-ranked Louisville volleyball team to a 25-14, 25-14, 25-20 sweep of South Dakota on Friday night at the Coyote Invitational.
The Cardinals hit .369 with nine aces and nine blocks. Anna DeBeer notched 10 kills with Claire Chaussee adding six kills and a block. Setter Raquel Lazaro led with 25 assists and a team-high 10 digs. South Dakota hit .120 with one ace and four blocks. The Yotes were paced by Elizabeth Juhnke's 15 kills and eight blocks.
The Cardinals took off with an early lead of 7-4 before the Coyotes countered with a five-point run to take the lead at 8-7 in the first set. UofL pushed back with a 12-1 run to take a 20-11 lead. Jones had two of her five kills late in the set to get the Cards to set point. A USD hitting error gave UofL the 25-14 win. UofL hit .478 with four blocks and three aces. Anna DeBeer tallied four kills for the Cards.
The Coyotes improved their -.036 hitting from the first set to a .346 in the second but the outcome remained the same as USD again fell 25-14. UofL hit .462 in the set with four aces, all four by Aiko Jones, three blocks and 13 kills. Anna DeBeer added five more to her total and Raquel Lazaro had three kills. USD kept it close early, down just two points at 10-8 before the Cards broke free to go up 17-9 and force a USD timeout. South Dakota never regained its footing as Louisville took a two-set lead into the set break.
Down 2-0 in sets, South Dakota came out swinging in the third set, standing close to the Cards. Trailing by just two at 16-14, the Yotes let the Cards go on a 6-2 run to go up 22-16. USD made one final push to 24-20 but could not close the set as the Cards won 25-20. Amanda Tillman and Phekran Kong both had four blocks, and Aiko Jones had four kills and 4 blocks. Claire Chaussee zinged four serves by the Yotes for aces in the set.
Louisville are now 2-0 in the young season and South Dakota drops to 0-1. The Cardinals play Missouri on Saturday as the Coyote Invitational continues.