University of Louisville
Pittsburgh
Volleyball Advances to BIG EAST Final with Win Over Pitt
November 22, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 22, 2008
Jana Matiasovska's 19 kills and four blocks powered the University of Louisville into the BIG EAST Tournament final with a 3-1 win over Pitt Saturday evening in Fitzgerald Field House.
The No. 3 seeded Cardinals advance to their fourth straight conference tournament final match with the 21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-19 and pushes their record to 17-10. Pitt, the upset-minded No. 7 seed, bows out at 17-14.
"We did what we had to do to win," said Leonid Yelin, U of L head coach. "This is a single elimination format, you win, don't look back and you live to play another day. We are looking forward to playing a familiar opponent in Notre Dame for the championship."
The Cardinals hit .268 and outblocked the Panthers 19.5-9. The Cardinals were aced eight times, led by Stephanie Ross' three In the first set, U of L jumped out to an 11-4 lead but had trouble containing a hard-charging Pitt team that tied at 18 and took its first lead at 20-19. A 5-2 run down the stretch by the Panthers gave the set to the Cinderella No. 7 seed the 25-21 win. U of L hit .259 to Pitt's .226 and both teams had three blocks. Pitt's Amy Town had five kills on five attacks and U of L was led by Jana Matiasovska's four kills.
The Cardinals regrouped and came out strong in the second set. They took the lead for good at 11-10 although Yelin called time out, leading 22-18 when Pitt went on a 6-1 run to come within two at 22-20. U of L reeled off the final three straight points for the 25-20 win. In that set, Jana Matiasovska continued to pace U of L with six kills and four digs. Pitt hit .086 to U of L's .400, but the Panthers aced the Cards four times, led by Stephanie Ross' three.
In the third set, U of L roared out to a 10-1 lead to knock Pitt flat-footed. The Panthers were further hampered when starting setter Nicole Taurence went down with a knee injury at 13-6. The Cardinals pressed on to a 23-10 lead but Pitt wasn't through and went on a 6-1 run and force a U of L timeout. Pitt staved off set point two times but a block by Lecia Brown and Rui Liu put an end to the PU rally. U of L hit a chilly .162 but Pitt was negative at -.097. The Cardinals continued to ride Matiasovska's offense, with the 6-8 senior adding five more kills.
In the deciding set, U of L could not get a solid grasp of the lead until they got the lead at 13-12 on a Matiasovska kill and then went on an 8-2 run to break it open at 21-14. Pitt kept snapping at the Cardinals heels and Yelin had to call timeout at 21-17 to make sure the effort did not catch fire. U of L got to match point on a huge solo block that Matiasovska put down on the two foot line. Fellow senior Rui Liu put the match away with a kill for the 25-19 win.
The BIG EAST Championship title match, which will be televised by ESPNU at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow, is set with No. 3 seed Louisville facing No. 5 seed Notre Dame. Beth Mowins and Krista Blunk will call the action for the match.
