University of Louisville
vs Rice<br>(Irish Thanksgiving Invitational)
No. 9-Ranked Louisville Sweeps Rice 3-0
November 26, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2005
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Senior outside hitter Lena Ustymenko had 17 kills, an ace and 10 digs to lead the University of Louisville to a 30-16, 30-15, 30-18 win over Rice at the Irish Thanksgiving Invitational at Notre Dame.
The Cardinals improve to 29-2 with Rice ending its season at 17-12. U of L now awaits the NCAA pairings announcement for the tournament that starts late next week at sites. The Cardinals, who bid to host Dec. 1-3 at the Louisville Gardens are hoping for the nod from the NCAA Volleyball Committee which will be announced Sunday at 2:30. U of L will be making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
"It was a important to keep our competitive edge during the holiday break," said U of L coach Leonid Yelin. "Rice has some injuries and they were without their best player. We were hitting and blocking well."
The Cardinals used .457 hitting to go on a 8-3 run late in the first game to beat Rice 30-16. Ustymenko had six kills and the Cardinals outblocked the Owls 4-0 who were without point leader Olaya Pazo who was injured yesterday against Notre Dame.
U of L powered out to an 18-7 lead early in the second game and Rice could get no closer than than 10 at 25-15. Stephanie Marsh and Nicole Bateman each added four kills and Jennifer Hoffman had three blocks in the Cardinal effort.
Rice stayed close in the final set and trailed by just four points at 19-15 when the Cardinals launched a 11-3 barrage to put the match away in there.
Ustymenko had her 11th double/double of the season to lead U of L. She had help from freshman middle blocker Rui Liu who had nine kills on 15 attacks and no errors.
Rice was led by setter Kristina Hoban who had nine kills and 27 assists.
