Volleyball Heads to Seton Hall and Villanova
October 11, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 11, 2007
The University of Louisville volleyball team hits the road again as the Cardinals continue BIG EAST play this weekend. The Cardinals will play Seton Hall on Saturday and Villanova on Sunday. Seton Hall hopes to rebound after a tight loss last weekend when junior Tricia Meyers career-high 28 kills and a .480 attack percentage was not enough as the Pirates (10-9, 1-5) were defeated by West Virginia in five games (30-20, 30-27, 30-32, 16-30, 15-13). Villanova University (12-7, 4-2) took its three-match BIG EAST winning streak to Pittsburgh, which was holding onto its own home seven-match unbeaten streak. It was a battle, but the Wildcats fell 3-2 (24-30, 30-21, 30-25, 18-30, 10-15).
Series Record Against the Field
U of L is 3-0 all-time in the series against Villanova and is 3-0 against Seton Hall. U of L swept both Villanova and Seton Hall last year during the regular season.
Mango Named BE Freshman of the Week
Libero Lindsey Mango of Naperville, Illinois, has been named BIG EAST Volleyball Freshman of the Week for the week ending Oct. 7. Mango's 17 digs and two assists helped guide the Cardinals to an important 3-0 sweep of No. 18 St. John's on Oct. 6. The win, coupled with a 3-0 victory over Connecticut the following afternoon, enabled UofL to secure sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST Conference. The libero chipped in 15 digs against the Huskies to bring her weekend total to 32. Additionally, Mango added five assists and four service aces while helping the Cardinals to a .287 hitting percentage.
Lecia Brown Leads Nation in Blocking
Lecia Brown is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with an average of 2.15 which is, of course, also top in the BIG EAST Conference. She tied a school record with 12 block assists against #11 Duke.
Blocking Continues to be Strength/Cards Ranked No. 1
Louisville spent much of 2006 ranked in the Top 20 in team blocking. Currently the Cardinals are No. 1 in the nation with a 4.19 block per game average. U of L outblocked No. 5 UCLA, No. 25 Kansas State and No. 16 Hawai'i at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic. U of L outblocked UConn 20-2 for the biggest margin of the season. Sophomore Lecia Brown averages 2.15 blocks per game with Rui Liu, Svetlana Dukule and Justine Landi just behind her at (1.39, 1.02 and 1.05 respectively). U of L has a 4.19-1.84 blocking edge.
Reminder About Tennessee
The match against Tennessee is Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in Cardinal Arena. It will be the Red-Out the Vols and free pom pons will be handed out at the gate.
Duke and Dabbs are Dynamic Duo
Senior hitter Svetlana "Duke" Dukule and sophomore setter Samantha Dabbs are the top two leading hitters by percentage on the Cardinal squad. Duke is hitting .327 and had a season-high 17 kills and six blocks against No. 16 Hawai'i. Sam is hitting .285 and had a career-high 13 kills and five blocks against the Wahine. Sam had a career-high 66 assists in the five-game marathon with Duke.
Stephanie Storen Jett Inducted into Hall of Fame
Stephanie Storen Jett was a four-year starting setter for the University of Louisville volleyball team from 1993-1996. She was the dominant team leader, floor general and an outstanding blocker. She is widely regarded as the cornerstone of Cardinal Volleyball as her four year run at U of L firmly established U of L as a national volleyball power. U of L Head coach Leonid Yelin, who coached her as a senior, said, "She will take on any hitter, any blocker and any team. She never backed down and had big enough shoulders to often carry our entire team." She led U of L to its first Sweet Sixteen NCAA Appearance, four consecutive conference championships and Four NCAA Appearances. The native of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where she was the No. 5 nationally- ranked high school setter, was the 1995 and 1996 Conference USA Setter of the Year and the 1994 Metro Tournament MVP, a rare honor for a setter. An outstanding student in mechanical engineering, she was a National USA Today Positive Performer, the Metro Conference Volleyball Scholar of the Year and never missed a semester of being on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the Metro Commissioner's List and the Conference USA Commissioner's Medallist. She was also a fixture on the U of L Dean's List. She left U of L as the career leader in assists with 4,881, single season assists (which she set and reset three times, (1531, 1473 and 1463 respectively) and assists in a match (74 versus the University of South Florida). As a senior, she quarterbacked the Cardinals to its first ever-win over UCLA to start the season and then to end the season by beating Brown and Maryland in the first two rounds of the NCAA before falling to No. 1 ranked Nebraska in the Sweet Sixteen in Lincoln. Former U of L coach Don Hardin, who recruited Stephanie, said, "Stephanie catapulted us into a new level of play. She had tremendous leadership skills and a fierce competitive nature which actually thrives on pressure. It was an honor to serve as her coach."
Matiasovska, Dukule, Mango Named to All-Louisville Marriott East Invitational
Jana Matiasovska had 46 kills in three matches en route to MVP honors of the Louisville Marriott East Invitational Tournament. She had 46 kills, 9 aces, 19 digs and seven blocks after returning from last year's injuries and surgeries that forced her to miss the final 15 matches of 2006. She led her team in kills in all three matches with 21 against Tennessee Tech in the final match of the tournament. Playing in her first tournament with the Cardinals, Mango averaged four digs per game and contributed three aces to the team's cause. Mango's best effort came against Memphis on Aug. 24, when she scorched the Tigers for 20 digs. She is a two-time high school All-American. Svetlana Dukule had 33 kills, hit .452 with six blocks to earn her way on the all-tournament team.
Starting out the Season
With the 11-4 start, U of L is off to a similar start of 2003, when the Cardinals went 11-4 to begin the season. U of L had four straight losses this season which is the first time since 1999. U of L's best start is 2005 when the Cardinals strung together a school-record 20-0 stretch to start the season that ended at the 2005 Sweet Sixteen in Omaha.
Home Sweet Home
U of L has won the last 20 straight matches in Cardinal Arena. The Cardinals are 8-0 this year and were 16-2 last year. Entering the 2006 season, U of L had won 27 straight matches making the three year total mark at 44-2. The Cardinals have been sold out for five matches of the season.
Cardinals on TV
U of L volleyball will be on WHAS-TV three times this season. U of L staffer Sean Moth will be calling the action and executive director of volleyball operations, Patty Dennison Norton, will provide color commentary.
10/20 vs. Cincinnati @ 2pm11/2 vs. West Virginia @ 7pm11/4 vs. Pittsburgh @ 2 pm
The 400-Win Mark
Coach Leonid Yelin reached his 400th career victory with the 3-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky. He now stands at 406-114. His very first victory as the Cardinal head coach was over UCLA in 1996.
Out of the blocks
U of L has won the first game in ten of the 15 matches this fall. U of L is 9-1 when they win the first game of a match. U of L is 1-1 in five-game matches with a win against No. 11 Duke and a loss to New Mexico State.
Follow the Cards
U of L fans can follow the action on Gametracker on UofLSports.com. Or for more complete coverage and video, fans can purchase UofL All-Access at www.UofLSports.com/allaccess for only $9.95 per month or $79.95 for a year. Weekly programming schedules and updates and complete UofL All-Access info is also available online at www.UofLSports.com/allaccess.
Jana Matiasovska Named All-Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge 9/9
Jana Matiasovska was named to the All-Nebraska Ameritas Players Challenge. She led the team in kills in both matches, including the upset of #11 Duke. She had 25 kills, 4 blocks and seven digs against the Blue Devils and 21 kills versus NMSU, adding two aces and three blocks.
Jana Matiasovska Named All-HAL Wahine Classic 9/2
Jana Matiasovska was named to the All-Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic. She led the Cardinals in kills with 15 versus No. 5 UCLA and 10 versus Kansas State. She was the third leading hitter with 11 versus host Hawai'i.
Lindsey Mango Named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week 8/26
Playing in her first tournament with the Cardinals, Mango averaged four digs per game and contributed three aces to the team's cause. Mango's best effort came against Memphis on Aug. 24, when she scorched the Tigers for 20 digs. As Louisville breezed past the competition to win the Marriott East Invitational, Mango earned All-Tournament Team honors. She is a two-time high school All-American.
Kolesnikova Picked as Co-Preseason Player of the Year/Cardinals Picked Second
Louisville received the other seven first-place votes and is picked to finish second in the BIG EAST. The Cardinals are coming off a tremendous 2006 season that saw them win their first BIG EAST Championship after only two years in the league. UofL returns four starters from the squad that went 25-7. Leading the way is Kolesnikova, the 2006 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, who held the league's second-best kills average (.352) during her first year with the Cardinals. Joining Kolesnikova on the 2007 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team is sophomore setter Samantha Dabbs.
Landi and Dabbs Spend Summer on Junior National Team Sophomore volleyball player Justine Landi and sophomore setter Samantha Dabbs earned honors last month as members of the USA A2 Junior National Team. Landi was named MVP and Dabbs was all-tournament for the Americans. The USA A2 Junior National Tea, coached by Lee Maes, defeated the Italians from Spes Volley Conegliano in straight sets (25-15, 28-26, 25-18). They become the first American team to win the Global Challenge in its three years of existence. The Russians won in 2005 in Salt Lake City, and the Croatian Junior National Team won in 2006 in Maribor.
