University of Louisville
Illinois State
Volleyball Drive off Redbirds 3-1
October 31, 2000 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 31, 2000
LOUISVILLE -- Stacey Mercer had 14 kills to lead the University of Louisville volleyball to a 3-1 win over Illinois State and extend the Cardinals' winning streak to 11.
The Cardinals, the No. 1 ranked team in the South Region, advanced to 17-6 thanks to a 65-58 digging edge and an 11-8 blocking advantage. Illinois State drops to 13-8 after being outhit .228 to .143 for the match.
"This is a program with a ton of tradition, " said Leonid Yelin, U of L head coach. "A win against them is definitely a confidence booster."
The Cardinals took a 6-2 lead in the first game but allowed the Redbirds to take an 8-7 lead. However, ISU would not score again. The Redbirds outhit Louisville .302 to .000 to win game two. After falling behind 8-4, the Cardinals allowed Megan O'Connell serve four straight points to move to 12-4. The Cardinals could manage just one more point.
"They showed how dangerous of a team they could be in game two," said Yelin.
Louisville rolled to a 9-0 lead in game three, which began with one of Kelly McClain's three aces. Bing Sun served for five more points and Anastasia Zaitseva finished the game with four service points. The Cardinals hit .444 to ISU's .027.
Louisville opened a 10-5 lead in the fourth game before the Redbirds staged a rally that brought them to within one at 10-9. However, the Cardinals finished the match strongly at 15-11.
The Cardinals finished the month of October with no losses. The Cardinals have not lost in October since 1998.
Lesley Drury had 11 kills and seven blocks with Bing Sun adding 10 kills and 14 digs to lead the Cardinals.
The Cardinals return to Conference USA action at 7 p.m. Friday at Cardinal Arena when DePaul visits.
