University of Louisville
WEST VIRGINIA
Volleyball Outlasts West Virginia 3-1
October 22, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 22, 2011
Junior outside hitter Lola Arslanbekova had 20 kills and 11 digs to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-1 win over West Virginia in BIG EAST volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Arena.
The Cards remain unbeaten in the league at 8-0 and stand at 16-5 overall. WVU drops to 5-14 and 3-5 in the conference. U of L hit .344 and outblocked the Mountaineers 10-5. Brooke Mattingly joined Arslanbekova in double digit kills with 10, adding six blocks. Cardinal setter Taylor Brauneis had 10 digs to go along with a match-high 38 assists. Caitlin Welch had a career-high 25 digs to lead the Cardinal defense. The `Neers were led by Anke de Jong's 15 kills.
"It is great to stay unbeaten in the BIG EAST. We had a fantastic crowd that really helped us over the hump," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. "I am proud of the way we came together with yet another new lineup. I am just real happy about how we rebounded and got the win."
The Cardinals used a 4-0 run early in the first set to go up 7-2 and then were able to build the lead to 14-6 and force WVU to burn both timeouts. The Cards extended the lead to 21-11 for the biggest margin before two Arslanbekova kills and a dump by Taylor Brauneis put the set away for the Cards at 25-14. The Cards hit .379 to the Mountaineers' .171. Four aces with two by Emily Juhl powered the Cards' offense.
In the second set, WVU pulled out to a 6-2 lead but the Cardinals rebounded and spread the margin to three when they took a 16-13 lead. The two teams traded points with WVU inching ahead at 23-22 when Kaitlynn James was blocked, forcing Kordes to burn her final timeout of the set. Kylie Armbruster took the Mountaineers to set point with a kill and then Michelle Kopecky aced the Cards for the set point 25-22 going into the break. U of L hitting cooled to .176 although the Cards did notch three blocks. It was just the second set the Cardinals have dropped in eight BIG EAST matches.
U of L used an 11-3 run midway through the third set to spread the lead to 18-8 and spark a WVU timeout. The Mountaineers responded with a 6-2 run but two kills by Brooke Mattingly took the Cards to the 25-17 win. U of L rode .419 hitting and added four blocks for the victory.
In the fourth set, U of L built an 18-12 lead with enough momentum for WVU to use both timeouts.
The Cardinals play Pittsburgh Sunday at 2 p.m at the KFC Yum! Center in a televised match on WHAS-TV. It will be the Dig Pink match, and U of L fans are encouraged to wear pink.
"I am looking forward to tomorrow's match against a big, athletic Pittsburgh team and playing for Dig for the Cure. We are going to play hard wearing pink for a great cause," said Kordes.
