University of Louisville
Tennessee
Volleyball Outlasts Volunteers 3-2
September 18, 2001 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2001
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Sonja Percan had 24 kills and three blocks to lead the University of Louisville to a 3-2 win over Tennessee in collegiate volleyball action Tuesday night at Cardinal Arena.
Louisville, idle since Sept. 9, prevailed 26-30, 30-27, 20-30, 33-31, 15-11 and boosted its record to 5-1. Tennessee falls to 4-2.
"We are, of course, happy that we won, but we did not show how well we have been playing up to this point until the fifth game," said Leonid Yelin, U of L head coach, whose team's only loss came to No. 5 ranked Arizona.
The Cardinals' serving was erratic, with eight aces to 19 errors. With the new rally scoring system, that is spotting the opponent more than half of an entire game.
Tennessee blocking thwarted the Cardinal offense, known for overpowering opponents. The Volunteers out-blocked U of L 22-13, led by Ariana Wilson's ten. Cardinal setter Jing Ding mixed up the Cardinal attack with four players notching double digit kills. Anastasia Zaitseva added 21 with Lesley Drury adding 14. Ding scored 11 kills herself.
"Tennessee is a team that blocks well and they can dig just about anything," said Yelin. "This takes patience to overcome and our serving troubles prevented a big momentum swing."
The turning point came when Louisville was able to tie the Volunteers at 30 in the third game and hold on to win 33-31 powered by .326 hitting. Visibily enthused after staving off a loss, the Cardinals then outhit the Vols nine kills to five in the final set.
The Volunteers were led by Wilson's 24 kills and 10 blocks.
