Volleyball Starts Homestand with Syracuse and Marquette
September 28, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2007
The University of Louisville volleyball team hits the road again as the Cardinals continue BIG EAST play this weekend. Travel partners Syracuse and Marquette swing through Cardinal Arena. The Cardinals Play Syracuse Saturday at 2 p.m. and Marquette on Sunday at 2 p.m. Syracuse (10-6, 1-0) opened the 2007 BIG EAST schedule with a 3-0 sweep against Rutgers. The Marquette volleyball team opened its conference season on a strong note, as they shut out Rutgers, 3-0 (30-26, 30-21, 30-26), at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles are 4-6, 1-0.
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.
Series Record Against the Field
U of L is 7-0 all-time in the series against Syracuse and is 20-3 against Marquette. U of L beat Marquette 30-24, 31-33, 30-26, 25-30, 15-10 in the semi-finals of the BIG EAST Tournament last year. The Cardinals beat Syracuse 30-20, 20-30, 30-21, 30-19 on 9/22/07 during the regular season.
The 400-Win Mark Coach Leonid Yelin reached his 400th career victory with the 3-0 sweep of Eastern Kentucky. He now stands at 402-114. His very first victory as the Cardinal head coach was over UCLA in 1996.
Lecia Brown Leads Nation in in Blocking
Lecia Brown is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with an average of 2.03 which is, of course, also top in the BIG EAST Conference. She tied a school record with 12 block assists against #11 Duke. Last weekend, she had Lecia helped U of L to sweeps of USF and Georgetown. She averages more than two blocks per game. She also had 19 kills and only plays front row. She hit a blistering .571 against Georgetown and .304 against USF.
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 .303 and had a season-high 17 kills and six blocks against No. 16 Hawai'i. Sam is hitting .319 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/Cards Ranked No. 3
Louisville spent much of 2006 ranked in the Top 20 in team blocking. Currently the Cardinals are No. 3 in the nation with a 3.63 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. At Nebraska, U of L outblocked Duke 23-8 for the biggest margin of the season. Sophomore Lecia Brown averages 2.03 blocks per game with Rui Liu and Svetlana Dukule just behind her (1.15 and .90 respectively). U of L has a 3.62-1.73 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 7-4 start, U of L is off to a similar start of 2003, when the Cardinals went 8-4 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 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 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
