University of Louisville
Notre Dame
Volleyball Upsets Notre Dame to Gain BIG EAST Final
November 21, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2009
Louisville, Ky. - No. 4-seeded Louisville upset the top seeded Notre Dame 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 18-25, 25-16, 15-13) in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship. For the 12th straight year, the Cardinals have made the final of their conference tournament as they will face long time rival Cincinnati in the championship at 3 p.m. in the Kentucky International Convention Center.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Lola Arslanbekova totaled 21 kills and 16 digs for U of L while senior Justine Landi posted five of her 18 kills in the final set including the match winner. The Cardinals hit .260 and outblocked the Irish 17-7. Senior Lecia Brown had nine blocks and eight kills. Notre Dame was led by Kristen Dealy's 23 kills with native Louisvillian Christina Kaelin adding 17 kills.
"Our seniors provided great leadership and we saw how four years of playing together can pay off when the going got rough," said U of L coach Leonid Yellin.
Louisville came out strong in the first set and jumped out to a 7-4 lead over the Irish. The Cardinals extended their lead to 13-7 but Notre Dame used an 8-2 run to tie the set at 15. The teams continued to trade points until the 24-24 mark when a kill from All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Kellie Sciacca gave Notre Dame a 25-24 lead. An attack error by U of L put Irish ahead 1-0.
The Cardinals took control of the second set early, building a 5-1 lead and did not look back. UofL extended its advantage to 17-8 and continued its hot hitting to take the second set 25-16 and even the game count to 1-1 going into the break.
The third was tightly contested as both teams traded points until the 10-10 mark. Notre Dame separated from the Cardinals with an 8-2 run. Louisville was able to close within four points, 20-16, but the Irish turned it on with 5-2 rally that earned the squad a 2-1 advantage.
Louisville regrouped in the fourth set and opened up a 9-4 lead and carried the lead to 12-7. Notre went on a 4-1 run to cut the lead to two but could not get any closer as the Cardinals outblocked the Irish 4-2 in the set and never trailed. The Cardinals used an 11-4 run to close out the set.
Notre Dame and Louisville both came out strong in the fifth set which saw the momentum swing back-and-forth as the teams traded points until the 7-7 mark. The Irish had their best opportunity when they went on a 3-0 run, but the Cardinals refused to go away and tied the game at 10. The teams swapped two more points each but U of L used a timeout to refocus and went on a 3-1 run to close out the match.
Louisville will face the No. 2 seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the BIG EAST Championship match tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 22 at 3 p.m. ET. The final match will be aired live on ESPNU.
