University of Louisville
vs Michigan State<br>(University of Miami Tournament)
No. 9 Volleyball Outlasts Michigan State 3-2
September 16, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2005
MIAMI, Fla. -- Lena Ustymenko had 24 kills and five aces to lead the No. 9-ranked University of Louisville volleyball team to a 3-2 win over Michigan State at the Orange and Green Classic in Miami, Fla.
U of L improves to 7-0 with the 23-30, 30-22, 28-30, 30-27, 15-10 in the first five-game match for the Cardinals this season. U of L has swept all six of its previous opponents. MSU falls to 6-2.
U of L outblocked MSU 15-8 and hit .228 to the Spartans' .154 but Michigan State rocked the Cardinals with 12 aces.
"Lena Ustymenko kept us in the match until we got back into our rhythm," said Leonid Yelin, U of L head coach. "That is what you need from your seniors. A good team finds a way to win even if it isn't pretty."
U of L seemed to start out strong in the first game, popping out to a 6-0 lead, powered by three Ustymenko aces. But .031 hitting chilled the potent U of L offense. Michigan State used a five point run to pull within one at 6-5 and then tied at 15. The Spartans took their first lead at 16-15 on a lift by Jennifer Craven. This sparked another five point run and forced a U of L time-out at 21-16. MSU continued to pull away, going up five at 27-22 before Yelin used his final time-out to regroup. Ustymenko had a kill after the time-out but MSU's Katie Johnson aced the Cardinals twice and had a kill by Megan Wallin to hand the Cards their first game loss of the season.
Louisville hitting recovered in the second game when the Cardinals had 13 kills on 33 attacks to hit .242 powered by Ustymenko's .417 hitting with five kills on 12 swings. The Cardinals used an 8-1 run early in the second set to go up 19-13 and never trailed again. When the lead spread to seven points at 27-20, MSU coach Cathy George called time-out to try to quell the Cardinal momentum but U of L came out of the time-out and libero Nicole Bateman aced the Spartans. U of L went on to win 30-22.
Michigan State used a 5-1 run midway through the third game to go up 16-10 and never trailed again. The Cardinals clawed back to within one at 27-26 on a solo block by Ustymenko. The Spartans got to game point at 29-26 but U of L managed to pull within one at 29-28 on a pair of Ustymenko kills, Michigan State scored the final point to win 30-28.
U of L hit .333 to MSU's .143 in the fourth game. After jumping to a 8-5 lead early, MSU scored five unanswered points to go up 10-8 on an ace by Nicole Colaluca. U of L ran off five straight to go up 18-11 and never trailed again. U of L did have to call timeout when the Spartans got to within three at 23-20 on two straight Katie Johnson kills but U of L held on to win 30-27.
In the final set, U of L started out strong, going up 9-4 before George called timeout. The Cardinals went on a 4-1 run to get to 13-6 but MSU answered with three straight to fend off match point. A service error by Tracy Bellwood ended the Spartan's bid for the upset. Michigan State hit .000 to U of L's .400 in the deciding game.
U of L meets Sacramento State (5-5) at 9 a.m. Saturday morning before playing host Miami at 7 p.m.
