University of Louisville
TENNESSEE TECH
Volleyball Sweeps TTU, Awaits NCAA Bid
November 29, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 29, 2008
Tatyana Kolesnikova and Justine Landi combined for 21 kills to lead the University of Louisville to a 25-12, 25-20, 25-18 win over Tennessee Tech in the final regular season match Saturday afternoon at Cardinal Arena.
"This match helped us stay sharp, stay focused and helped get us going after the holiday," said U of L head coach Leonid Yelin. "Now we wait to find out where we will play in the brackets on Sunday night."
U of L, the BIG EAST Champion, improves to 19-10 with the win. TTU, the OVC Champion, stands at 19-12. Both will receive the NCAA automatic bid into the Tournament which will be announced Sunday night at 10 p.m. on ESPNU. It will be U of L's 19th appearance in the tournament.
The Cardinals hit .372 for the match and outblocked the Eagles 9-4. The Cards aced the Eagles four times, led by Landi's three. Lecia Brown led all blockers with four. Kolesnikova had 11 kills and hit .556. Landi added 10 kills and 23 assists for her fourth triple double. Kristie Wetterer had four digs for the Cardinals. Tech was led by Leah Meffert's eight kills and two blocks.
U of L powered out to a 17-7 lead when Tennessee had its third straight hitting error in the first set. The Golden Eagles were hampered by -.031 hitting and were outblocked 5-2. The Cardinals hit .478 and were led by senior Tatyana Kolesnikova's five kills.
The Cardinals hitting stayed hot as they hit .400 in the second set. Down 8-5, the Cards scored 11 unanswered points to go up 16-8 as Justine Landi served throughout that run. The Eagles made a little run, getting as close as four at 19-15 when Jessica Asplund had her second straight kill for TTU. The Cardinals pushed to set point at 24-17 on an ace by Justine Landi. The Eagles scrambled to stave off set point by scoring three of their own points. A kill by freshman Gwen Rucker gave U of L a 2-0 set lead going into the break.
The Cardinals hit .278 in the final set and built a seven point lead at 19-12 and then cruised home for the 25-18 win.
