University of Louisville
JACKSONVILLE STATE<BR>(UofL Hampton Inn Downtown Classic)
Volleyball Falls 3-2 to Jacksonville State in Season Opener
August 25, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2006
Newcomers Jana Matiasovska and Justine Landi each had 14 kills but it was not enough as the University of Louisville volleyball team fell 3-2 to visiting Jacksonville State and snapped a 27-match home winning streak dating back to the final match of 2003.
"There has never been a win of this magnitude for the Jacksonville State volleyball program," said former U of L assistant Rick Nold, who is now the skipper of the Gamecocks. "I almost feel guilty for winning."
Louisville Presentation product Abbey Breit had a match-high 23 kills, four aces and 15 digs to lead JSU to the 28-30, 30-25, 25-30, 31-29, 16-14 win. U of L was outhustled as JSU recorded 68 digs to U of L's 52 and aced the Cardinals 10 times. U of L did little to help its own cause, committing eight blocking errors and nine service errors. Despite outblocking the Gamecocks 21-10 and hitting .290 to their .215, U of L was struggling with passing.
"Our style is the only way we can hang with a powerful team like Louisville. Hustle, defense and aggressive serving is the only way we can pressure them. I have all the respect in the world for my alma mater and Leonid Yelin and his program that he has built. We were hitting on all cylinders tonight."
JSU had three players with 20-plus kills with Rebekah Nichols adding 20 and Brittney Whitten adding 22. Ashley Brown added 17.
"We proved that preseason rankings are based on last season's team," said Yelin. "We learned the hard way that you have to earn the respect and ranking on your play on the court, not on paper."
JSU served notice early when it was down 17-12 and pulled within one at 24-23 and forced a U of L's timeout. The teams traded points before U of L's Svetlana Dukule had a cross court winner to take the Cardinals to game point at 29-28. Rui Liu smacked one home for the win. U of L was led by Matiasovska's four kills and three blocks.
JSU outhit U of L .250 to .242 in second set. The Gamecocks went on an 8-1 run and took its first lead at 23-22. JSU kept the pressure on and a kill by Nichols took them to game point. Emily Withers smacked home the game point and evened the match score at one apiece going into the break. Despite outblocking the Gamecocks 6-2, U of L was outdug 17-10.
U of L had it no easier in the third set as JSU rallied to a tie at 13. U of L built the lead to five going up 20-15 and forcing Nold to use a timeout. U of L struggled to a six point lead at 27-21 on an ace by Ana Yartseva Stewart. A kill by Elena Pilnikova took U of L to game point but JSU scored three straight before a kill by Tatyana Kolesnikova cemented the win.
JSU would give up and after trailing 20-16, the Gamecocks tied at 21 and then again at 28. U of L got to game point at 29-28 on a Dukule kill but JSU reeled off three straight points to take the game and send the match into a fifth set.
The fifth game was a see-saw battle before U of L clawed to a 13-12 lead. After a JSU timeout, the Gamecocks tied it at 13. U of L answered with a kill by Matiasovska for match point but didn't have an answer for the surging JSU squad who ran off three straight and took the match with the 16-14 win.
