University of Louisville
OHIO<br>(Cardinal Thanksgiving Challenge)
Volleyball Upsets No. 18-ranked Ohio
November 25, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2006
Svetlana Dukule had 14 kills and four blocks to lead the University of Louisville volleyball team to a 30-26, 30-25, 17-30, 30-17 win over No. 18-ranked Ohio University Saturday night in Cardinal Arena.
U of L finishes its regular season at 25-6 and awaits its bracket pairing as the BIG EAST's automatic qualifier, which will be announced tomorrow at 3 p.m. on ESPN News. Ohio, the MAC qualifier finishes its regular season with a 28-4 record.
"This win was good on more than one level, it showed us once again how to withstand a serious comeback attack and hopefully beating a ranked team will make the NCAA Championship committee take notice and help our seed," said Leonid Yelin, U of L head coach.
U of L had three other players in double digit kills with Tatyana Kolesnikova adding 13, Ana Yartseva Stewart posting a double/double with 10 kills and 12 digs and three blocks. Ohio's Melissa Griffin had 23 kills and three blocks to lead the Bobcats.
In the first game, after establishing a slim six point lead at 14-8, U of L had to fend off a charging Ohio team. U of L came to within one at 25-24 after a 10-4 run. A Yartseva Stewart kill took the Cards to game point before a kill by Kolesnikova after a long, spirited rally gave U of L the win. U of L just barely out-hit OU .256 to .227 but the Cardinals had five blocks to OU's one.
Ohio came out swinging in the second game, knotting the score at 10 and then staying within one until the 17-16 mark. U of L ran off four straight points and drew an OU timeout. The Bobcats wouldn't go away and took the lead at 24-23 on a U of L hitting error. The Cardinals pushed through with a 7-1 run to win 30-25.
The MAC tournament champions emerged from the lockerroom after the break and rocked the Cardinals back on their collective heels with .474 hitting. OU pulled out to a 15-7 lead and when things did not improve, Yelin used both his timeouts to try to staunch the point flow. But the hot hitting of the Bobcats proved too much and no blocks by the Cardinals did not help matters. Griffin had seven kills to pace the Bobcats in that set.
U of L paid heed to the wakeup call and tore out to a 9-1 lead. U of L was leading 14-6 when OU used its last timeout. The Bobcats didn't break into double digits until 22-10 on a kill by Ellen Herman. When the Bobcats showed signs of life, Yelin called timeout to regroup at 26-15 but had no worries as his team cruised to a 30-17 win.
