University of Louisville
TENNESSEE
Volleyball Edged by Volunteers
September 30, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2009
University of Louisville freshman hitter Lola Arslanbekova had 21 kills but the Cardinals fell just short in the 3-2 loss to visiting Tennessee in college volleyball action Wednesday night in Cardinal Arena.
The Cardinals fell to 8-6 with the 23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 25-9,17-15 loss. Tennessee improves to 9-4, with the Vols hitting .225 for the match and recording eight aces. The Cardinals hit .180 but outblocked the Vols 14-8. Senior Lecia Brown joined Arslanbekova in double digit kills with 13 and a match-high eight blocks. Tennessee was led by Nikki Fowler and Kayla Jeter, who had 21 and 20 kills respectively.
"These are the battles that test us and this is exactly why we keep Tennessee on our schedule every year. Playing a strong SEC team helps prepare us for the BIG EAST schedule," said U of L coach Leonid Yelin.
In the first set, U of L trailed early but took the lead at 17-16 and never trailed again. Although UT had a brief flurry to come back within one at 24-23, a miss by Nikki Fowler gave the Cardinals the first set. U of L hit .200 and tallied four blocks to UT's one. In the second set, UT had a 7-3 run to come from an 8-6 deficit to go up 13-11. U of L retook the lead at 20-19 and then held off the Vols for a 25-21 win.
After the break, UT regrouped and used .343 hitting, led by Kayla Jeter's four kills to win 25-18. U of L blocking was not a factor in the third set although the Cardinals' hitting did improve to .229. Arslanbekova led U of L with six kills. In the fourth set, UT ran out to a 17-5 lead and hit .370 as the Cards floundered with -.062 hitting to fall 25-9. It is the first time this season, U of L has been held in single digits.
The fifth set initially looked like Tennessee had successfully carried the dominance over from the set before, taking a 8-4 lead. Gosia Lech came off the bench for the Cardinals and scored three straight points to come within a point. U of L got to match point at 14-13 but a hitting error by the Cardinals tied the score at 14. An error by Arslanbekova put UT up 15-14 but a kill by Lecia Brown tied the score at 15. Fowler connected for a kill and a U of L hitting error gave the match to the Vols 17-15.
U of L returns to action Oct. 3 against West Virginia at 2 p.m. in Cardinal Arena for the Think Pink game benefitting breast cancer research. BIG EAST play continues on Sunday when Pittsburgh invades Cardinal Arena, also at 2 p.m.
