Canfield stays unbeaten in AAC opener vs. Louisville
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CANFIELD -- On Thursday, Canfield got its first crack at Louisville, the All-American Conference's latest addition.
The Leopards gave Canfield everything it could handle, but the Cardinals won 3-1 to stay unbeaten. Canfield won 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 25-22.
"It took our serving, it took our defense ... offensively, we were moving the ball around a ton," Canfield head coach Krista Nesbitt said. "Overall, just really proud of our girls to get a win against a team like that."
Canfield (9-0, 1-0 AAC) was in control with a 19-13 lead in the first set. The Leopards cut the deficit to 19-16, but four straight points extended the Cardinals' lead to 23-16. And the Cardinals eventually won 25-19.
Louisville took the first three points of the second set, but a pair of kills by Canfield's Paige Roberts tied it at 3. The set was tied at 10 before the Cardinals began to slowly create some distance.
However, the Cardinals couldn't put the Leopards away, and their three-point lead evaporated as the Leopards tied it at 21.
The Leopards (5-2, 0-1) took the lead when a Canfield dig attempt flew in the air, hit off the rafters and landed in a hole in the defense. And they tied the match at one set apiece with a 25-22 win in the second set.
Just like the second, the Leopards started strong in the third. They took a 6-1 lead, forcing a Canfield timeout.
The stoppage did Canfield some good, because it cut the deficit to one point on five separate occasions and later tied it at 12.
"We knew we just had to control our side and start earning points again," Nesbitt said of the third-set rebound. "Made some adjustments based on what they were doing on their side."
The score was tied at 19 before Canfield strung together four straight points to take a 23-19 lead. A Vivian Biro tip for the set point resulted in a 25-21 victory in the frame and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth was tight, as neither team could get more than a few points ahead. It was tied at 21 before back-to-back kills and a tip by Roberts gave the Cardinals a 25-22 win in the fourth.
Canfield has won its first nine games of the season. Despite its success over the last couple of seasons, a 9-0 start was something it still hadn't achieved.
Add a league win to the mix, and the Cardinals felt good after a challenging victory.
"I'm really proud of our girls," Nesbitt said. "It takes everyone on the court, everyone on the bench, to get this done. Louisville's a great team. We're excited that we started the AAC off 1-0."