University of Louisville
at Villanova
No. 6-ranked Volleyball Sweeps Villanova
October 01, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2005
Lena Ustymenko had 16 kills, 13 digs and two blocks to lead the No. 6-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 30-19, 30-14, 30-21 sweep of Big East opponent, Villanova.
U of L hit a hot .462 and had 12 blocks to VU's .098 and 1 block to move the Cardinals to 13-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Big East.
"Some of the intensity from the match with Tennessee may have carried over because we hit the ground running today," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "Any time you can get a conference win on the road it is a bonus."
In the first set, after being tied at five, U of L ran off six consecutive points as part of an 11-3 run. VU stalled at nine points as U of L ran off another four straight to go up 20-9. The Wildcats had a quick run of their own to pull within 10 at 25-15. The Cardinals got to game point on an Ustymenko kill and a block by Jennifer Hoffman and Elena Pilnikova gave U of L the first game 30-19. U of L hit .351 led by Ana Yartseva's four kills. Hoffman had four blocks. Villanova hit .070 and did not have a block.
U of L had no hitting errors in the second game with 19 kills on 30 attacks for a .633 average. The Cardinals built a lead 18-6 that proved insurmountable. 'Nova used both timeouts to try to chill the Louisville offense before falling 30-14.
Villanova fell behind by 10 at 18-8 in the early going of the final set, but went on a 9-3 run and pulled to within four at 20-15 on three straight kills by Alona Cherkez. Louisville called timeout and managed to use .432 hitting to keep the Wildcats at bay.
Hoffman hit .667 with nine kllls and six blocks. Pilnikova hit .700 with seven kills on 10 attacks. and five blocks.
The Wildcats were led by Cherkez's 15 kills and Adrian Semrau who added 11 kills.
