University of Louisville
Marshall
Volleyball Quiets Thundering Herd
October 24, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 24, 2001
Huntington, WV -- Sonja Percan had 20 kills and two aces to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-0 sweep of Marshall University in collegiate volleyball action Tuesday night.
Louisville raises its record to 14-4 with the 30-20, 30-16, 30-14 win. It is the first three-game sweep in eight matches for the Cardinals. Marshall drops to 3-12.
"Our hitting and blocking was the difference," said Leonid Yelin. "We were trying something different in our lineup and it seems to be successful for a first try."
Tied at seven, a Stacey Mercer kill sparked a 15-6 run for the Cardinals in the first game. The Thundering Herd could get no closer than nine and fell 30-20. Louisville hit .359 to MU's .160.
In the second set, U of L blew out to an 8-2 lead. Marshall cut the lead to four at 11-7 when setter Emily Roberson was called for two hits. The Cardinals then outscored the Herd 19 to 8, including scoring seven of the last eight points. After the first two games, U of L had committed only five hitting errors and hit .354.
In the final game, Louisville built a 12-2 lead in the early going and then used blocking and accurate hitting to seal the match with a 30-14 win.
Marshall was without its leading blocker, Louisville native Nicole Michal and the stats reflected that with the Cards out-blocking MU 8-1. The Cardinals hit a season high .402 with 55 kills on 122 attacks and just six errors.
The match with Marshall was added to the schedule after the Cardinals lost four matches in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy. The Cardinals return to Conference USA action this weekend when Southern Miss and Tulane swing through Friday and Saturday.
