Volleyball Opens BIG EAST Slate at USF, Georgetown
September 20, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2007
The University of Louisville volleyball team hits the road again as the Cardinals open their BIG EAST slate this weekend. U of L heads to Tampa Friday and then up to Georgetown to face the Hoyas on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls are currently riding an eight match win streak and own an overall record of 8-1. USF's start to the season is its best since 1996. The Hoyas defeated Mercer, 3-1 but then lost the final match of the tournament to host Winthrop in a five-game match. The Hoyas are now 4-10.
Follow the Action 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's subscription. Weekly programming schedules and updates and complete UofL All-Access info is also available online at www.UofLSports.com/allaccess.
Series Record Against the Field U of L is 18-4 all-time against South Florida. U of L won the last meeting 30-12, 30-15, 30-17 (11/11/07). The Cardinals are 2-0 all time against Georgetown. U of L won the last meeting with the Hoyas 30-17, 30-27, 30-27 (11/12/07).
400-Win Mark Coach Leonid Yelin reached his 400th career victory with the 3-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky. He now stands at 400-114. His very first victory as the Cardinal head coach was over UCLA in 1996.
Lecia Brown Ranked Fourth in Nation in Blocking Lecia Brown is ranked No. 4 in the NCAA with an average of 1.74 which is also top in the BIG EAST Conference. She tied a school record with 12 block assists against #11 Duke.
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 .335 and had a season-high 17 kills and six blocks against No. 16 Hawai'i. Sam is hitting .304 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.
Blocking Continues to be Strength Louisville spent much of 2006 ranked in the Top 20 in team blocking. Currently the Cardinals are No. 13 in the nation with a 3.28 block per game average. Although the Cardinal block has shown inconsistency at times in 2007, U of L outblocked No. 5 UCLA, No. 25 Kansas State and No. 16 Hawai'i at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic. At Nebraska, U of L outblocked Duke 23-8 for the biggest margin of the season. Sophomore Lecia Brown averages 1.74 blocks per game with Rui Liu and Svetlana Dukule just behind her (1.07 and .94 respectively). U of L has a 3.28-1.69 blocking edge.
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 5-4 start, U of L is off to a similar start of last year, when the Cardinals went 5-4 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. The Cardinals were 5-0 to start the 2004 and 3-0 to start 2002.
Home Sweet Home U of L has won the last 16 straight matches in Cardinal Arena. The Cardinals are 4-0 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 the first three matches of the season.
Cardinals on TV U of L volleyball will be on WHAS-TV twice 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 @ 7pm
Leonid Yelin Ranks No. 10 in Career Winning Pct. U of L head coach Leonid Yelin ranks No. 10 in career winning percentage among active coaches. Three of his fellow top ten coaches are on the slate for this year.
