University of Louisville
at Georgia Tech<BR>(Georgia Tech Tournament)
Volleyball Stung by Georgia Tech
September 06, 2002 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 6, 2002
ATLANTA -- With Louisville's leading hitter Sonja Percan injured early in the match, the No. 22-ranked Cardinals could not regroup fast enough before falling 30-28, 30-26, 34-32 to Georgia Tech at the Georgia Tech Invitational. The Cardinals stand at 3-1 for the season and Tech improves to 5-1.
In the first game, the Cardinals let Tech out to a 12-5 lead with Alexandra Priess getting three kills in the stretch. U of L chipped away at the lead and finally tied at 21 on a Percan kill, one of her eight in the first game. Tech answered with a three-point run and forced Yelin to use his first timeout. The Cardinals regrouped at took their first lead at 28-27 on a Anastasia Zaitseva kill. Two Louisville miscues, service error and a player being called for being under the net, took Tech to game point and the Yellow Jackets won on a kill by Priess. Neither team had a hot hand hitting, with Louisville posting a .182 and Tech a .185.
Louisville seemed to recover early in the second game, taking a 9-4 lead in the early going. Up 13-10, Percan hurt her ankle when she ran into the post after an attack. Fifteen-year-old freshman Lena Ustymenko substituted for her and got three of the next five Cardinal kills to go up 20-17. Tech answered with four straight points and forced a Louisville timeout. The Cardinals tied at 24 and 25. Craven's tip took Louisville to within one point at 27-26 but the Jackets scored on kills by Gergen and Sauer and a Cardinal lift to take a two game lead into the break.
"Sonja (Percan) is a big part of our offense plus we rely on her on-court leadership, but Lena came in and did a great job," said Yelin.
Ustymenko had flawless hitting with eight kills on 20 attacks and no errors.
With a patched-together lineup after the loss of Percan, the Cardinals never trailed by more than three. After trailing 29-26 in the third game, the Cardinals staved off six match points match points before falling 34-32.
U of L outblocked Tech 9-5 and despite eight Tech service errors, the opponent's .255 hitting percentage went a long way to even the stats. Mercer and Bing Sun combined for ten blocks.
Lynette Moster had 24 kills and 14 digs to lead Tech.
The Cardinals play Miami of Ohio at 11 a.m. and Florida A&M at 3 p.m. to close out the tournament on Saturday.
