University of Louisville
at Tennessee
Volleyball Falls to No. 24 Tennessee
September 22, 2004 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2004
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- - Lena Ustymenko's 28 kills were not enough as the No. 15-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team fell to No. 24-ranked Tennessee at Stokely Athletic Center Wednesday night.
U of L fell 30-28, 27-30, 26-30 27-30 to post an 8-2 record. Tennessee improves to 10-1.
Although U of L outblocked the Vols 14-11, they were outhit .291 to .275. The Cardinals were led by Bing Sun's 19 kills and two digs and Ana Yartseva's 11 kills and four blocks.
"This was a very competitive match with each team challenging the other," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "They were able to control the tempo and their quickness was a factor."
Neither team could build more than a two-point lead in a hard-fought first set. An Ana Yartseva kill took U of L to 16-14. Tennessee responded quickly to reclose the gap. Tied at 27, U of L scored on kills by Bing Sun and Jennifer Hoffman. At 29-27 amd game point, U of L had a serving error to prolong the game but a Lena Ustymenko kill ended the game. U of L hit .372 to .222 and outblocked the Vols 4-2.
Tennessee surged to a 9-4 lead early in the second set. And despite staying close, U of L never led. Down 26-23, U of L had two straight kills to come within one at 26-25 and force a Tennessee timeout. The Vols came out and ran off three and got ot game point on a hitting error by Ustymenko. a Kill by Kristen Andre puncutated the game. Volunteer hitting heated up to .343 in that game led by Michelle Piantadosi's six kills for UT.
U of L took its first lead at 10-9 in the third set before the Volunteers scrabbled back to tie at 21 in the midst of a six point run. U of L closed to within one at 24-23 and forced a UT timeout. Tennessee regrouped and ran off four straight to move to 28. U of L had three straight to move to 28-26 before a kill by Andre took UT to game point. A kill by Piantadosi gave the Vols a 2-1 lead. U of L had no answer for Amy Morris who had seven kills and no errors. Tennessee hit .375 to U of L's .255.
In the final game, both teams had small surges but neither was able to build more than a three point lead. Tied at 22, UT went on a 9-5 run to win the match.
Tennessee was led by Piantadosi's 25 kills and Andre added 20 with two aces and eight blocks.
U of L returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cardinal Arena when Xavier visits.
