NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. - The Rutgers University volleyball team was unable to give No. 25 Louisville its first BIG EAST loss as the Cardinals topped the Scarlet Knights 3-0 (30-17, 30-16, 30-17) at the College Avenue Gym Sunday afternoon.

Louisville, which broke into the Top-25 rankings in this week's CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time this season, improves to 16-4 overall and a perfect 10-0 in the BIG EAST, while the Scarlet Knights fall to 3-17 and 1-9 in conference play.

Sophomore Kyra Thompson (Tuscon, Ariz.) led RU with 13 kills to go along with five digs, while Jamie Godfrey (Rahway, N.J.) led the Scarlet Knights in digs with 10. Louisville was led by Svetlana Dukule, who tallied 13 kills.

Louisville controlled the net for much of the match as they tallied 13 blocks. The Cardinals also out-aced the Scarlet Knights 11-1.

"I thought the effort was good," said head coach Orlando Gonzalez. "We didn't sustain it long enough though. We competed well in the early part of the first and second game, but for whatever reason the wheels came off."

The Scarlet Knights hung tough in the first game as the score was knotted at 9-9. However, the Cardinals broke through with a 9-1 run to grab control of the game.

In the second game, Louisville used its momentum from the first game to jump out to a 5-1 lead. RU would fight back to pull within two at 9-7. The Cardinals would win the next five points though to take control of the second game. In the third game, RU once again kept it close early as the game was tied 9-9. Louisville would go on an 8-0 run though midway through the game to take a 21-10 lead and complete control of the match.

"Obviously Louisville is a top 25 team for a reason," said Gonzalez. "When we were playing consistent, we could hang with them. We just have to learn that we can make mistakes, but we can't make consecutive mistakes like we've been doing."

The Scarlet Knights will resume their four-match home stand Saturday, Nov. 3 against Villanova. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.