Marquette Ends Volleyball Winning Streak At 11
July 25, 2000 | Women's Volleyball
November 7, 1999
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Veena Grbavac had a school-record 30 kills to lead Marquette to its first ever win against Louisville in school volleyball history.
Louisville falls to 14-10 and 11-3 in Conference USA play. The 11-15, 7-15, 15-12, 15-3, 10-15 loss snaps an 11-match winning streak for the Cardinals. Marquette improves to 15-10 and 8-5 in the league.
"I have been wondering about a wake-up call after things have been going so well," said head coach Leonid Yelin. "It also goes to prove that Conference USA volleyball is improving across the board. You can't go on the road and expect to win automatically."
In the first game, Marquette got its points in bunches. After tying at three, the Eagles scored four unanswered points to go up 7-3. The Cardinals fought back to trail by one at 7-6 when Sherry Hurley blocked for a point. Two Louisville misses and an Eagle ace put Marquette up four points at 10-6. The teams exchanged points, however the Eagles maintained their edge and won 15-11.
Marquette used a big run in the second game as well. With Louisville leading 5-2, the Eagles ran off 10 unanswered points to go up 12-5 and forcing a U of L timeout. Despite fighting off game point five different times, Louisville managed just one point after that on a Kelly McClain ace as the Cards fell 15-7.
Louisville used Marquette's technique against them in the third set when it ran up 6-1. Marquette sputtered and fell behind 12-5. Louisville had to hold off an Eagle rally which brought their opponents to within one at 12-11 on an ace by Grbavac. Louisville fought to game point and Marquette staved off three game points only to fall 15-12.
Louisville powered out to 10-1 in the fourth game. Marquette scored twice but the Cardinals cruised to an easy win at 15-3. The Cards held Marquette to .053 hitting and had four blocks in the fourth set.
In the fifth rally-scored game, both teams stayed tight until Marquette forged a four-point lead at 12-8. Louisville scored two more points on a Jing Ding tip and a Marquette error. However, Marquette scored three straight to win the match.
