University of Louisville
UCONN <i> (Disco Night) </i>
No. 7 Volleyball Sweeps UConn in Big East Debut
September 24, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2005
Jennifer Hoffman had 16 kills and five blocks to lead the No. 7 ranked University of Louisville to a three-game sweep of Connecticut in the Cardinals volleyball Big East debut.
The Cardinals stayed undefeated at 10-0 with the 30-28, 30-27, 30-23 win which stretches the home match winning streak to 21 straight. UConn falls to 5-6 and 0-1 in the Big East.
"It is a new conference, there are so many unknowns, but one thing I know for sure is that everyone will play us like it is for a championship," said Leonid Yelin of the scrappy performance by the Huskies. "That is when you turn to senior leadership to step up and deliver. That is what Jennifer Hoffman did for us today."
Senior Jennifer Craven led the Cardinals in assists with 25 and fellow senior Lena Ustymenko had 13 kills and nine digs for The Ville.
In the first game, U of L battled a resilient UConn team to a two-point win at 30-28. After leading at 8-7, UConn had to withstand a Cardinal 8-2 run. The Huskies battled back and regained the lead at 21-20. The Huskies stayed in the lead until U of L tied them at 26 and then pushed forward to the 30-28 win. U of L hit .289 to UConn's .214. Ustymenko led the way with six kills and five digs.
Game two saw UConn power out to a 13-7 lead. U of L finally tied at 22 and then took the lead for good at 24-23 and then pushed to the 30-27 win. Neither team had stellar hitting ith U of L edging the Huskies .179 to .135. Hoffman came alive with eight kills in the second set.
U of L used a six-point run to build a 15-9 lead in the final game and the Huskies never threatened. They didn't go out without a fight as UConn staved off match point five times before falling 30-23.
UConn was led by Shade Chambers who had nine kills with Kaity Craig hit .429 with four kills on seven swings.
U of L returns to action Sunday afternoon against St. John's at 2 p.m. in Cardinal Arena.
