University of Louisville
<B>CINCINNATI *</B>
Volleyball Outlasts Bearcats 3-2
September 27, 2002 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2002
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Outside hitter Bing Sun had 22 kills and a career high 20 digs to lead U of L to a 3-2 win over Conference USA foe Cincinnati at Cardinal Arena.
The Cardinals improve to 10-3 and 1-0 in the league opener. U of L won 30-24, 23-30, 26-30, 31-29, 15-7. Cincinnati falls to 7-6 and 0-1 in the C-USA.
"This was a very competitive match between two teams who are intense rivals," said head coach Leonid Yelin. "There were some wild rallies and either I was cheering or pulling my hair out."
U of L had five hitters in double digit kills with freshman Lena Ustymenko adding 19 and three service aces. Stacey Mercer pitched in 15, with Anastasia Zaitseva and Benny Flynn recording 14 and 12 respectively.
The Cardinals came out swinging in the first game, hitting .289 to UC's .128. Sun had nine kills in that game and U of L notched a pair of aces. U of L was sluggish in the second set, and got behind by as many as nine before staging a brief rally. Cincinnati stayed in charge, hitting .273 with Julie DuPont getting eight kills and the Bearcats won 30-23. The two teams traded games and then U of L rolled 15-7 over the Bearcats in the final game, hitting a gaudy .571. Mercer had five of U of L's points. Although U of L was outblocked for the match 12-10, the Cardinals had four in the final game to UC's none.
Flynn led blocking for U of L with a solo block and eight block assists.
Cincinnati was led by DuPont's match-high 26 kills. Bonita Wise added 18 with a pair of aces and four blocks for the Bearcats.
