University of Louisville
vs Sacramento State<br>(University of Miami Tournament)
No. 9-Ranked Volleyball Swat Hornets 3-0
September 17, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2005
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- Ana Yartseva had 11 kills and 10 total blocks to lead the No. 9 University of Louisville volleyball team to a 30-24, 30-26, 30-18 win over Sacramento State in the Orange and Green Challenge Saturday morning in Coral Gables, Fla.
U of L moves to 8-0 and Sac State evens its record at 6-6. "We were much more in sync today," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "Ana Yartseva had a strong day at the net in both hitting and blocking."
U of L outblocked Sac State 14-0 and had six aces, including three by Lena Ustymenko and 54 digs led by Ustymenko's 15.
"You have to work hard against a team like Sac State because they don't let balls hit the floor. They have a lot of fight. The early start made it 6 a.m. in California, and that may have been a factor in the early going."
In the first game, U of L used a 7-1 run to build a 17-10 lead and never trailed again. The Cardinals outhit the Hornets .304 to .125. Sacramento State used two straight aces by Atlee Hubbard to threaten the Cardinal lead at 24-19 but could get no closer. Ana Yartseva led all hitters with six kills on nine attacks.
In the second game, after trailing by two, U of L had a 9-2 run to go up 14-12 before Sac State had to call a timeout. Although the Hornets scored the first point after the timeout, U of L went on a 5-1 run to kick it up a notch. When the Cardinals neared game point at 27-20, Sac State scored five unanswered points to pull to 27-23 and force Yelin to call timeout. SSU scored just once more and the Cardinals scored game point on a block by Ustymenko and Yartseva. U of L hit .300 to SSU's .212 and outblocked the Hornets 6-0.
In the third game, U of L used relentless hitting and stinging serves to keep Sac State on its heels. The Cardinals pulled to a 21-15 lead after a five point run and never looked back. U of L hit .368 to SSU's .100 in the final set.
U of L plays host Miami at 7 p.m. Saturday, in the final match of the Challenge.
