University of Louisville
Illinois
Volleyball Falls 3-2 to No. 3 Illini
September 17, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2011
Lola Arslanbekova's career high 30 kills and 11 digs were not enough as the University of Louisville fell 3-2 to No. 3-ranked Illinois in the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge Saturday night at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill.
"This match turned the corner for this program competitively speaking," said U of L head coach Anne Kordes. "I am so proud of their effort but not satisfied. Since I got here, I have preached energy and competitiveness and that was apparent tonight. We put ourselves in that position against the No. 3 team in the country and now we will learn how to win one."
Illinois remains unbeaten at 11-0 with the 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-9 win. U of L (8-4) hit .200 with 10 blocks and 56 digs. Arslanbekova was named to the All-Tournament team and was joined in double digit kills by Kaitlynn James, who had 10 kills and 13 digs. U of I was paced by Liz McMahon's 20 kills and seven blocks.
Louisville fell behind 8-3 early in the first set but managed to pull within two at 20-18. Five service errors hamstrung the rally but the Cardinal block kept things even. The Illini were able to sustain momentum and inched away to a 25-20 win. U of L was led by Lola Arslanbekova's four kills.
U of L fell behind 5-1 early in the second set but took its first lead of the match at 9-8 midway with a 6-0 run. Illinois answered with a 5-1 run before U of L was able to run off five unanswered points to lead 18-14. The Illini battled back to within one at 20-19 on a Louisville service error and a kill by Erin Johnson, prompting Kordes to call timeout. The Cards regrouped and ran off three straight, getting to set point on a Kaitlynn James kill. Illinois scored twice before a Lola Arslanbekova bounced one to end the frame.
In the third set, U of I tore out to an 11-4 lead before the Cardinals managed to come within three with a 6-0 run at 21-18. A service error by Gosia Lech gave the Illini set point and a kill by Colleen Ward got the win at 25-20. Illinois hit .438 in the set.
U of L used .390 hitting in the fourth set led by Arslanbekova's seven kills for the 25-21 win. After taking an early slim lead, U of L was able to spread the margin just a bit at 19-14 and force an Illini timeout. U of I got to within three at 22-19 on a U of L service error but was not able to sustain the rally.
In the fifth and deciding set, Illinois shot out to an 11-4 lead, and the Cards managed to stay alive but Arslanbekova was blocked twice down the stretch and U of L fell 15-9.
